Over 350 green activists killed since 2018 in Colombia as COP16 'green zone' celebrates nature's bounty
by AFP Staff Writers
Cali, Colombia (AFP) Oct 23, 2024

More than 350 environmental activists have been killed since 2018 in Colombia, an NGO report said Wednesday, as the country played host to the world's biggest nature protection conference.

The PARES foundation reported a total of 361 killings over the period in the South American nation, with 81 murders making 2023 the deadliest year.

Colombia has been struggling to extricate itself from six decades of armed conflict between leftist guerrillas, right-wing paramilitaries, drug cartels and the government.

Armed groups often come into conflict with local communities and activists as they engage in illegal mining and land clearance for growing coca -- the main ingredient of cocaine, of which Colombia is the world's biggest producer and exporter.

"The dispute between armed actors over territorial control of areas of interest to them has become one of the main risk factors for environmental defenders," PARES said in a report issued in the city of Cali, host of the COP16 UN summit on biodiversity.

Cali has been placed under the protection of more than 10,000 police and soldiers after threats against the summit from the EMC guerrilla group.

Two-thirds of activist murders reported since 2018 have gone unpunished, according to the PARES report.

More than half occurred in only three of Colombia's 32 departments. Two of them -- Cauca and Narino -- are strongholds of EMC and other dissidents who rejected a peace deal that saw the FARC guerrilla army disband in 2017.

The report said that in cases where the perpetrators were known, FARC dissidents were responsible for more than half of the murders, the ELN rival guerrilla group for about 20 percent, and the Gulf Clan drug cartel for another 16 percent.

Fifty-seven percent of environmentalists killed in Cauca and Narino were leaders of Indigenous groups, according to PARES, which lamented "poor coordination of state institutions" to deal with the problem.

The international watchdog Global Witness has said Colombia is the deadliest country in the world for environmental activists.

Activists who opposed legal projects such as mines and hydroelectric installations were also among the victims, said PARES.

COP16 president hopeful of 'major announcements' soon
Cali, Colombia (AFP) Oct 23, 2024 - The Colombian host and president of the UN's COP16 biodiversity summit said Wednesday she expected "major announcements" soon regarding negotiations to increase funding and political commitment against the destruction of nature.

The 16th Conference of the Parties (COP16) to the UN Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) opened Monday in the city of Cali with the urgent task of devising ways to ensure 23 UN targets agreed upon two years ago can be met by 2030 to "halt and reverse" species loss.

Giving an update on progress, Colombian Environment Minister Susana Muhamad said in a statement there were still "important differences between the parties" on "resource mobilization."

However, "a methodology has already been agreed upon to address (the differences), and I think this is positive," she said.

"There is great expectation that in the coming days there will be major announcements of agreement between the parties," the minister added.

About 23,000 delegates, including some 100 government ministers and seven heads of state are accredited for what is the largest-ever biodiversity COP, running until November 1 and themed "Peace with Nature."

With about a million known species worldwide estimated to be at risk of extinction, delegates have their work cut out for them.

There are only five years left to achieve the target of placing 30 percent of land and sea areas under protection by 2030.

On Sunday, UN chief Antonio Guterres urged countries to "convert words into action" and fatten the Global Biodiversity Framework Fund (GBFF) created last year to meet the UN targets.

So far, countries have made about $250 million in commitments to the fund, according to monitoring agencies.

Under the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework (GBF) finalized in 2022, countries must mobilize at least $200 billion per year by 2030 for biodiversity, including $20 billion per year by 2025 from rich nations to help developing ones.

A key goal of the COP is to agree on a mechanism for sharing the profits of genetic information taken from plants and animals -- for medicinal use for instance -- with the communities they come from.

Muhamad said negotiations in this regard "are progressing at a good pace."

COP16 'green zone' celebrates nature's bounty
Cali, Colombia (AFP) Oct 23, 2024 - While delegates in suits gathered to hash out plans for protecting Earth's biodiversity at a UN summit, activists and ordinary citizens in T-shirts and feathered headgear celebrated nature's bounty at a colorful side-event in the Colombian city of Cali.

With song, dance and swirls of color in stark contrast to the seriousness of the official talks a few kilometers away, the COP16 summit's so-called "green zone" has attracted thousands of non-delegate visitors to the heart of the city of some 2.4 million people.

It is a part-educational, part-festive showcase of the country's natural, cultural and culinary riches, underscored by a weighty reminder of the need to preserve nature for future generations.

"There will be a before COP16 and an after COP16. I believe this event will help people take better care of the planet," 60-year-old artist Maria Ruiz told AFP at the zone.

"The world must think and act with an awareness of the importance of biodiversity, animals, plants," said Francia Garces, another visitor to the vast outdoor venue also hosting activist rallies, music performances and dance shows.

Visitors to the "green zone" -- decorated with giant posters of green parrots and pink dolphins -- can shop for crafts such as bead necklaces or woven baskets, Colombian fair trade coffee, bottles of Viche -- a strong alcohol -- or marijuana-infused beer.

The events and exhibitions programmed -- hundreds in total -- have a strong focus on the rights of women, Indigenous peoples, Afro-Colombians and young people.

On Tuesday, Indigenous protesters demanding more rights to the land they live on marched to the zone to meet Colombian Environment Minister Susana Muhamad in a traditional hut known as a "maloca."

After the talks, Muhamad -- also the COP16 president -- promised that seven representatives of the group will be granted official delegate status at the negotiations taking place in the "blue zone."

Some 23,000 people from more than 150 countries were accredited for the summit, with ministers from over 100 countries and seven heads of state expected.

Prompted by security fears sparked by a Colombian guerrilla group issuing threats, the summit was held under the strict supervision of more than 10,000 police and soldiers, with the backing of UN and US security personnel.

No incidents had been reported by Day 3.

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