On 29 October 2024, SIPRI co-hosted a side event to the 16th Meeting of the Conference of the Parties (COP16) to the Convention on Biological Diversity in Cali, Colombia. This conference was dedicated to advancing the implementation of the landmark Kunming–Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework signed in December 2022.
The side event was hosted in partnership with the Friedrich Ebert Foundation (FES) and the Swedish International Agricultural Network Initiative (SIANI). On the theme of ‘Biodiversity, Land Use Change and the Implications for Conflict in Latin America’, it brought together a diverse group of participants from both scientific and policy backgrounds. The event was opened by Karin Metell Cueva, Head of Regional Development Cooperation in Latin America, Swedish International Development Agency.
Discussions focused on the impact of armed conflict on biodiversity, as well as strategies to secure food security in regions affected by land degradation and climate change. Additionally, an interactive panel discussion with representatives from academia and indigenous communities explored the security challenges arising from biodiversity loss and ways to address them.
These discussions are the subject of a forthcoming essay by Dr Caroline Delgado that will be published on SIPRI’s website.
About SIPRI’s work on Latin America
Earlier this year, SIPRI and FES launched a joint report and a series of videos on environmental and climate justice and the dynamics of violence in Latin America. The report, available in English and Spanish, presents the collective perspective of the SIPRI–FES Latin American Regional Working Group, a group of 20 climate and environmental experts from 10 Latin American countries, on issues of climate and environmental justice and food security. The report is accompanied by four video interviews with working group members. A special annex to the report featuring the explicit link between food security and land use change was also launched ahead of the event.
Click here to watch the playlist.
Click here to download the report and annex.