'A Win For Custodians': How COP16 Outcomes Shape India’s Biodiversity Future

COP16 set up 'Cali fund' to support biodiversity conservation in countries providing digital sequence information.

How COP16 Outcomes Shape India’s Biodiversity and Economic Future

(Photo: The Quint)

While global attention is focused on climate talks at COP29 in Baku, Azerbaijan, a quieter but equally significant event, COP16 under the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD), took place from 21 October to 1 November 2024 in Cali, Colombia.

Despite its critical goals, the CBD—one of the earliest environmental agreements alongside the UNFCCC—continues to receive less recognition.

In a first, COP16 delegates have established a global fund to channel economic returns from digital sequence information (DSI)—critical genome data stored digitally and used in sectors like pharmaceuticals, health supplements, cosmetics, and agriculture.

What Does This Mean for India?

This decision could be a step in the right direction for a biodiversity-rich nation like India, where indigenous communities have long fought for their rights over genetic resources (used across sectors for profit) and voiced the need for fair benefit-sharing.

Under this new fund, companies meeting certain financial numbers from the use of genome data—like assets over ₹166 crore, sales of ₹415 crore, or profits of ₹41.5 crore—will contribute a portion of their revenue to the ‘Cali Fund.’

This fund will be directed and distributed towards supporting biodiversity conservation efforts in the countries that provide these invaluable resources.

At least half of this fund has been earmarked to meet the needs of indigenous communities, including women and youth, as an acknowledgement for their key role in protecting these resources.

For India, this could represent a shift toward not only acknowledging but also compensating communities who are the chief custodians of these resources.

Natural beauty brands in India are an example of industries increasingly relying on these shared resources.

Several brands originating from India focus on using locally sourced, natural ingredients to manufacture and market their product. As consumers shift towards artisanal and natural products, the demand for toxin-free, nature-based ingredients continues to grow. Data suggests India's Beauty & Personal Care Market was estimated to be ₹2.16 lakh crore in 2023 and is expected to reach ₹2.92 lakh crore by 2028, growing at a CAGR of 6.286 percent.

As consumers increasingly seek sustainable products, fair compensation for knowledge holders will not only encourage more sustainable business practices, but also strengthen the communities from whom this knowledge originates.

Beyond financial support, India will also gain from non-monetary benefits in the agreement—such as technical training and resources for sustainable development—which aim to empower communities in a holistic way.

But for the ‘Cali Fund’ to be successfully and effectively utilised, there is a need to not only maintain a comprehensive DSI database but also ensure its transparency.

This database would document information such as which countries own particular genetic resources, who is accessing these resources, and what are the benefits of their application.

Only a transparent system will enable fair and equitable benefits for traditional knowledge holders and support their livelihood, the ones who are time and again the chief custodians of biodiversity. One devoid of transparency and accountability will defeat its purpose.

India’s Updated Roadmap for Conservation of Biodiversity

The COP16 was also particularly significant for another reason. It was the first biodiversity COP, post-adoption of the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework (GBF) which was adopted at COP15 in December 2022 in Montreal, Canada.

The GBF sets ambitious goals, including restoring 30 percent of degraded ecosystems by 2030.

India was among the 42 countries that submitted the National Biodiversity Strategies and Action Plans (NBSAPs) to comply with the GBF. The framework calls for countries to adopt legal, policy, and administrative measures to meet the set targets.

India’s updated NBSAP for 2024-2030 includes some new initiatives: the India Business and Biodiversity Initiative (IBBI), a Biodiversity Samrakshan Internship programme, and the National Mission on Biodiversity and Human Wellbeing. Additionally, India has also reiterated that it will strengthen local capacities for inclusive and participatory resource management and launching citizen science projects to increase public awareness and involvement in biodiversity conservation.

However, the conference fell short of securing funds required to meet these goals; with ₹58.1 lakh crore needed annually, only ₹1,352.9 crore in new pledges were made. The impasse between the different countries to arrive at a consensus to secure the fund signals lack of urgency from world leaders.

For the developing countries to implement the plans, the wealthier nations must open their pockets.

Delivering India’s national statement at the COP16, Union Minister of State for Environment, Forest and Climate Change Kirti Vardhan Singh, said, “A lot of ground needs to be covered in providing easily accessible means of implementation, i.e. financial resources, technology and capacity building needs with the requisite speed, scope and scale.”

The Objectives of Biodiversity COP & Its Significance

The CBD from its very inception stage was broadly intended to achieve three goals: conservation of biological diversity, sustainable use of its components, fair and equitable sharing of the benefits arising out of the utilisation of genetic resources.

The consensus on the ‘Cali Fund’ is no doubt a stepping stone in achieving the broader objectives of the CBD.

One has to remain optimistic to see how this multilateral mechanism will be instrumental in bringing some respite for the traditional knowledge holders, who for generations are the torchbearers of preserving such genetic resources of the earth.

These communities and the resources are the keys to address, adopt, and mitigate present time’s climate extremes.

(Kankana Das is the Programme Lead for State Climate Action at Asar Social Impact Advisors. She brings 18 years of experience in the development sector with a focus on policy-based advocacy and governance. The views expressed are the author's own. The Quint neither endorses nor is responsible for them)