“Making Peace with Nature” is the title of the 16th United Nations Conference on Biological Diversity hosted by the Colombian government in Cali, from 21 October to 1 November 2024. The Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD), adopted by most nations after the UN Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro in 1992, recognized the crucial role of indigenous peoples and local communities in the conservation of biodiversity. The CBD was essentially created to address the erosion of biodiversity, to preserve it from corporate exploitation and to regulate potentially harmful new technologies.
The fundamental obligations of the CBD are represented by Article 19.3 which represents the basis of the Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety and intends to protect biodiversity from the risks of biotechnology. This article establishes the principle of informed consent for the introduction of GMOs and the related risk management and assessment framework. Article 3 establishes local and national sovereignty over the use, conservation and protection of biodiversity. Finally, Article 8(j) establishes respect for, conservation and maintenance of local/indigenous knowledge and practices for the conservation and use of biodiversity, including Access and Benefit Sharing (ABS).
Unfortunately, the concentration of power and natural resources in the hands of private multinational corporations, along with corporate-influenced global trade rules, directly threaten local and national sovereignty over natural resources. As noted in Navdanya International’s latest report, “Biodiversity is Life – Not an Asset Class: Debunking Biodiversity Credits, the Next Wave of Bio-Imperialism”, through the incorporation of natural ecosystems into financial markets, financialisation commodifies the natural world. The schemes are used to make corporate profit, serve financial interests, fragment ecosystems and reduce biodiversity to marketable goods. They do not address the root causes of the crisis, including the industrial food system. The forced introduction of GMOs, the commodification of biodiversity through financialisation schemes and the predatory possibilities offered by Digital Sequence Information (DSI) technology represent a great threat to the same communities that have long protected the richness of the Earth’s biodiversity.
To truly protect biodiversity, there are real solutions, rooted in care, knowledge and regenerative practices of local communities. Food sovereignty and agroecological systems offer powerful alternatives to the industrial model, demonstrating how biodiverse food cultures and economies of care can regenerate the earth and preserve its biodiversity. Through local, diverse agricultural systems, free from harmful chemicals, artificial fertilizers and GMOs, small-scale farmers not only grow a wide range of plant varieties, but also strengthen ecological resilience and cultural identity.
The path to true regeneration lies in supporting those who work in harmony with nature, not those who engage in financial schemes that commodify life. Biodiversity is a common good, not a commodity or private property to be exploited. And conservation of this biodiversity requires respect and protection of cultural diversity, as well as respect for the inherent rights of species, nature and people across the world.