Part 1/3 – Peace with Nature: Biodiversity Conservation, and Peace and Security
2024 was a special year for the three Rio Conventions’ Conferences of the Parties (COP). For the first time in history, all three COPs on biodiversity, climate change and desertification happened in the same year. Our Team at Alp Analytica was engaged at all of them in one way or another. At the beginning of the COP season, I thought that this would generate an unprecedented momentum and uplift for these issues, and we might witness some meaningful breakthroughs. However, the three events ended up being an overload with very limited achievements, and by the last COP in Riyadh, the sparkling energy that permeated Cali, the host city of the first COP, was nowhere to be seen. Now that the haze of the COP season is officially over, here are some highlights from a peace and security angle that I share in 3 brief articles in the Rio Convention Mini-series.
The first COP, the Convention on Biodiversity (CBD) – COP16, took place in October, in Cali, Colombia. For the first time ever, it was organized in the Latin America and the Caribbean region. The central topic of the event revolved around Paz con la Naturaleza (Peace with Nature) which is another first, since the connection between biodiversity and peace and security has been largely missing from the policy discourse despite the fact that in the last 30 years, a third of conflicts occurred within 10 kms from key biodiversity areas and protected areas, and over half of them within 25 kms of these hotspots (IUCN, 2021).
One of the key events that directly fed into this policy discourse was the Berlin Climate Security Conference’s regional event organized by adelphi and the Federal Foreign Office of Germany. The conference reunited experts to discuss regional issues around climate change, environmental degradation, exacerbating socio-economic vulnerabilities, biodiversity loss, natural disasters, migration, and conflict. The key findings of the BCSC Cali were summed up in the Practical Note: Harmonizing Biodiversity and Climate Action with a Peace Lens in Latin America and the Caribbean.
Among the many intriguing side events and discussions that took place over the two weeks, what striked me the most was the engagement of citizens in the green zone. Civil society actors, activists and curious bypassers showed a fascinating interest in sharing their stories, learning from each other and exchanging ideas. This COP truly lived up to its promise to be la COP de la Gente (COP of the People). It is unfortunate that decision-makers were largely missing from the green zone as they were isolated in the blue zone, in their little ivory tower, a solid 40 minutes drive away from where the most valuable discussions took place.
During these discussions, the importance of the Escazú Agreement popped up frequently. The agreement was signed in 2018 in Escazú, Costa Rica by 14 initial member states from the Latin America and the Caribbean region, followed by the signature of 10 others at later dates. The agreement aims to: “guarantee the full and effective implementation of the rights of access to environmental information, public participation in the environmental decision-making process and access to justice in environmental matters, and the creation and strengthening of capacities and cooperation, contributing to the protection of the right of every person of present and future generations to live in a healthy environment and to sustainable development.”
Colombia’s recent ratification of this regional agreement with the Constitutional Court’s approval in August 2024, gives tremendous hope to local communities, campesinos afro-descendants and indigenous groups who often suffer the disproportionate and the harshest consequences of environmental degradation, the loss of ecosystem services and biodiversity. The agreement could become a tool to step up against state-level corruption and the gambling with the country’s rich environment and biodiversity, to fight against multinational companies and the exploitation of natural resources, as well as to demand an equal voice at the table of decision makers, and environmental justice.
While a pathway for implementation in Colombia remains vague and blurry, several examples exist on how local communities, campesinos, afro-descendants and indigenous people are protecting biodiversity while also contributing to sustaining peace and security. One success story I heard was the conservation of jaguars in Guaviare. As a result of the signature of the 2016 Peace Accord, the natural riches of the state which was under decades of armed group control were finally unlocked that provided opportunities for local communities for sustainable and responsible development. One of the driving forces behind this development was the conservation of jaguars and the establishment of a peaceful coexistence between humans and wildlife. This also opened up alternative livelihood options such as eco-tourism which provides incentives to sustain the peace.
Another was the protection and awareness raising on the important role in the water cycle that the Paramo, as a unique high-altitude Andean ecosystem, and the frailejones plant play. The Paramo is responsible for 70% of Colombia’s freshwater resources. The frailejones, a unique species of large shrubs endemic to the Paramo, capture humidity from the air and transmit water into the soil which supplies a complex hydrological system. However, over the past years, the Paramo has been under threat from climate change, increasing temperatures, changing precipitation patterns and human activities. As the Peace Accord resulted in the withdrawal of armed groups from certain rural areas, local communities started an intensive expansion of agricultural activities, mining and urban expansion often at the expenses of the Paramo. Apart from the direct destruction of ecosystem through its repurposing, mercury contamination as a result of gold mining acts as a silent killer of the Paramo. (1gramme of mercury can contaminate 50 liters of water).
Given its fundamental role in the water cycle, as the Paramo disappears, water scarcity is increasing all across the Andes and especially in big urban areas. In Spring 2024, Bogota had to introduce water cuts on a rotational basis in different districts of the city. In Ecuador, since the Summer, there are government controlled electricity black outs, often lasting 14 hours a day, due to the unprecedented droughts that resulted in a drop of electricity production. This has also led to harsh economic consequences, social unrest and widespread protests adding further pressures to the political turmoil and increase of violence that the country has witnessed over the past year. This example underlines the potential of the preservation of the paramo as means to uphold peace, social stability and security.
Local communities, campesinos, afro-descendants and indigenous people play a crucial role in the conservation of biodiversity and maintaining peace throughout their communities. A win for these groups at the COP was the adoption of a new programme of work strengthening the role of Indigenous people and local communities in biodiversity efforts. However, the parties failed to adopt a new strategy for resource mobilization to secure $200 billion annual funding for biodiversity conservation by 2030. Despite all the expert panels and speeches given by researchers and scientists, the best elevator pitch that I heard on the importance of biodiversity preservation was from a driver during a taxi ride while rushing between events. Don Andrés said:
“While we might speak different languages and have different cultures, all of humanity has one zip code, and this is planet Earth. It doesn’t matter where you are from, your actions contribute to climate change that will be felt all around the globe. Whether you are from the most polluting countries such as China, US, India, EU, Japan, or from Latin America, we will all suffer the consequences of climate change and the loss of biodiversity. It is a pity that we need to organize conferences like the COP16 so that people understand how much we are reliant on biodiversity, and how its loss due to climate change will impact different systems like food, water, energy, our economies and ultimately peace and social relations, once these resources will become scarce.”
If you are interested in the relationship of climate change, conflict and forced displacement, continue reading here
Photo: Páramo, Colombia 2014 – photo (c) Dan Phiffer
