Resumed Cop16 Outcomes Reaffirms the Power of Multilateralism in the Current Global Context

28 February 2025

The South African Deputy Minister of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment, Mr. Narend Singh attended the 16th session of the Conference of the Parties and extended heartfelt and sincere gratitude to the people and government of Rome, Italy, for their hospitality and to the Secretariat of United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity (UNCBD) and the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) for the excellent logistical arrangements. 

“We commend the leadership of the President of the 16th session of the Conference of the Parties H.E. Susana Muhamad in guiding us through the second round of the difficult negotiations on multiple areas of the work of this convention. The journey from Cali to Rome has not been easy but with the progress made, we can all agree that it has been worthwhile.

“The Convention is indeed stronger, thanks to the collective efforts of all parties that negotiated in good faith, prioritising biodiversity above national interests. The negotiations have reaffirmed the power of multilateralism in our current global context. We believe that we are stronger together than alone,” Deputy Minister Narend Singh said.

“Our collective commitment to the implementation of the Global Biodiversity Framework is closely linked with the means of implementation which include finance, capacity development, and sharing of technology,” Singh said. 

The South African delegation, led by Deputy Minister Singh, arrived in Rome with a clear mandate to actively participate and provide leadership in the resolution of outstanding matters that could not be resolved by the Conference of Parties held in Cali, Columbia late last year.  “We look forward to collaborating with all parties in the spirit of the Convention, as we do everything possible to continue protecting biodiversity on this planet we all call home,” Singh said. 

South Africa is confident that with constructive approach, parties are now ready to converge their views in the same direction to achieve common objectives as per COP 16 decisions. It must be noted that BRICS played a pivotal role in providing an alternate text that led to breaking the impasse among parties. 

COP 16 has made history with the establishment of the Cali Fund.  This COP also successfully concluded a decision on the permanent financial mechanism that will function under the authority and guidance of the Conference of the Parties, and be accountable to COP. Landmark achievements, aligned with South African priorities before COP 16, accomplished through compromises, multilateralism and dialogues during negotiations and at Ministerial level, include:

• Digital Sequence Information (Cali Fund)

• The role of Indigenous People and Local Communities

• Implementation of the Global Biodiversity Framework

• Resource mobilisation, monitoring framework and climate change 

Other notable achievements included decisions on synthetic biology; Invasive Alien Species; Ecologically or Biologically Significant Marine Areas; Sustainable Wildlife Management and Plant Conservation and; Health and Risk Assessment amongst others.

However, the hard graft starts now - close the biodiversity finance gap and protect our biodiversity. Everyone must work together in the attainment of the objectives of this Convention. “While this resumed session achieved groundbreaking agreement to mobilise resources for the implementation of the Global Biodiversity Framework which is a global strategy for halting biodiversity loss, the bigger challenge facing all developing countries is to unlock the financial flows at scale enough to move the needle. Nature must be protected to continue to provide its contribution to the welfare of humanity. Without healthy biodiversity, life of earth is compromised and the price to pay is too high to bare,” said Deputy Minister Singh.  

Throughout the resumed COP16, Deputy Minister Singh hosted numerous bilateral meetings pursuing matters of mutual biodiversity interests, with among others, ministerial delegates and Heads of Delegation from the European Union, Canada, India, Norway, Germany, France, Brazil, Democratic Republic of Congo and with the Chairperson of the Africa Group of Negotiators.

Singh together with his delegation made of officials from the Department of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment and the South African National Biodiversity Institute continued to participate and provided leadership throughout the duration of the resumed COP.   Deputy Minister Narend Singh expresses his great appreciation for the support received from the South African Ambassador to Italy, Ms. Nosipho Jezile Ncaba. Her international experience and analyses presented invaluable complementary input to South African positions.

The Department of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment