Delegates establish Indigenous subsidiary body and rules for genetic information at COP16 summit

Associated Press

CALI, Colombia (AP) — After two weeks of negotiations, delegates agreed at the United Nations conference on biodiversity to establish a subsidiary body that will include Indigenous peoples in future decisions on nature conservation and to oblige major corporations to share the benefits of research when using natural genetic resources. The COP16 summit hosted in Cali, Colombia, was a follow-up to the historic 2022 accord in Montreal, which includes 23 measures to save Earth’s plant and animal life. A measure to recognize the importance of the role of people of African descent in the protection of nature was also adopted Saturday. Negotiators struggled to find common ground on some key issues in the final week, but were able to come to a consensus after negotiating into Saturday morning.