The world’s largest and most important global gathering on biodiversity convened in Montreal, Canada, in December 2022. As the speeches, pledges and media coverage of the United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity Conference of the Parties 15 (COP15) fade into memory, we hear from four people who were there.
Large, global gatherings focusing on the environment will always – understandably – be subject to scrutiny: How can it make sense to fly thousands of people around the world to talk about climate change and biodiversity loss? What use are pledges and targets when they routinely fail to translate into action on the ground? While these are very legitimate questions, in this blog we want to show – through the words of our partners and members of the Synchronicity Earth team – that although these global gatherings are far from perfect, they do matter, and they can play a positive role in bringing about lasting change for the environment.
Our focus in Montreal was on centring and supporting voices that are often marginalised in these global forums – Indigenous Peoples, youth, women. We worked hard to help build momentum to support more enlightened and inclusive approaches to funding biodiversity conservation, and to push for key changes and additions to the goals and targets themselves.
Supporting our partners
Julie Gagoe Tchoko – Congo Basin Affiliate, Cameroon
