Invited by the Government of Colombia, and with the support of the Metropolitan Area of Barcelona, the Secretary General of MedCities, Josep Canals, was able to travel to Cali, Colombia, to attend the Conference of the Parties, COP16, of the Convention on Biological Diversity.

This COP16 put all its efforts to be for the citizens and was divided into different pavilions, from the Blue (the most official) to the Green or the EU Pavilion, where various meetings in European key took place. Once again, this activity served to highlight the importance of local authorities in international events where decisions are taken at a high level.

First, Canals was able to attend a meeting with university students from the University of ECCI; a conversation that aimed to establish the needs regarding the actions that should be taken by urban environmental authorities in the care of water as a vital element for life, and how the processes of climate change affect the conditions of the inhabitants in cities in the process of expansion.

A second important meeting for MedCities was to participate in the session “Environmental Governance and Local Action in Small and Intermediate Cities” where Canals was able to present what the network of Mediterranean cities is and some of its key projects that focus their activity on strengthening governance between various local and sub-state authorities. This was a dialogue between public, private and community actors from small and intermediate cities regarding the local governance necessary to integrate biodiversity into urban-rural planning and management. It was interesting to have an audience that included mayors and representatives of local and sub-national governments, social actors from small and intermediate cities, urban collectives, entrepreneurs, NGOs, academics, and the public interested in sustainable, resilient, and inclusive urban development.

We also had space to talk about the presentation of the manifesto for the participation of small and medium-sized cities in the implementation of the Kunming agreements: The Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework (GBF) is an international agreement that emerged from the conferences of the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) held in Kunming, China, and Montreal, Canada, in 2022. This framework seeks to promote participation, governance, and the public and collective nature of decisions on biodiversity. The framework proposes an action plan for 2030 that sets out 23 targets to meet four proposed goals by 2050. These targets, in turn, are grouped into three challenges. 

1. Reducing threats to biodiversity.

2. Meeting people’s needs through sustainable use and benefit sharing. 

3. Tools and solutions for implementation and integration.

In addition, it was very interesting to hear what was said in the session “From Inspirational Ideas to Transformative Actions: How to achieve transformational change to support the implementation of the KMGBF” from the Oceans and Climate Platform in which Josep Canals could take the opportunity to talk about the key role of local authorities in emphasizing the need to pave the way for a future where biodiversity thrives, and our planet can sustain us all.

A meeting with MedCities Presidency, Montpellier, represented by Clare Hart, Vice-president of Montpellier Méditerranée Métropole and Delegate for International Outreach and European Cooperation was also a key point to strengthen laces and show unity from the Mediterranean point of view.

The COP16 was a great occasion to showcase MedCities commitment to Global Biodiversity Framework Targets by sharing strategic alliances in which we are engaged as the Oceans Cities Network and the Ocean & Climate Platform and the advocacy we build together, governance projects as Mission 4 Nature and BlueMissionMed and their role in supporting EU biodiversity agendas: and the role of metropolitan areas and local authorities in contributing to reach those targets, with good practices as the dunes restoration initiative by the Barcelona Metropolitan Area (AMB).