The Wyss Academy for Nature at the University of Bern is committed to is supporting the effective implementation of the Global Biodiversity Framework (GBF). To achieve this, it implements projects that break down the silos between science, policy, and action, and that address key challenges related to conservation, human well-being, and sustainable economic development.
In line with these efforts, the Wyss Academy has issued a call to action to integrate biodiversity as a central value in global policies and practices, highlighting the need for an inclusive and justice-based approach to implementing the goals of the GBF.
The Wyss Academy develops and catalyzes conservation and sustainability projects in various regions of the world, including the Peruvian Amazon, where it has demonstrated that protected areas and other forms of management, such as Indigenous territories and non-timber forest product concessions, are key to reducing deforestation and CO2 emissions. In addition, one of its research teams has been evaluating the capacity of different local, regional, and global actors to translate the GBF into sustainable and equitable practices within biodiversity governance networks. All of this is aimed at contributing to crucial decision-making that will enable the GBF goals to be achieved.
In 2024, the Wyss Academy Dialogues brought together representatives from academia, civil society, the local public sector, Indigenous peoples, and international cooperation across four continents (South America, Southeast Asia, Central Europe, and East Africa) to build global and local consensus on the ”true value of forests”. Dialogue participants concluded that strategic actions are urgently needed to achieve the transition to sustainable business models that support local livelihoods, as well as policies that promote economic practices that respect natural cycles, reduce environmental degradation, and empower local communities - by creating opportunities that are economically viable, while also being socially and ecologically responsible.
As part of the COP16 United Nations Biodiversity Conference in Cali, Colombia, the Wyss Academy is organizing four events aimed at showcasing these efforts, creating synergies, and contributing to policy discussions. In collaboration with the Peruvian Ministry of the Environment, the Colombian Ministry of Environment and Sustainable Development, the Inter-American Development Bank, the Amazon Cooperation Treaty Organization, and the Wildlife Conservation Society, the Wyss Academy will hold three events in the Blue Zone, where negotiations between the signatory parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity will take place, and one event in the Green Zone, which will be open to the public. Additionally, the Wyss Academy will participate in a series of forums led by allied organizations such as the Humboldt Institute and the University of Oldenburg.
These are the four events that the Wyss Academy will lead at COP16:
• 22/10 Foro “Creando puentes para implementar la Estrategia Nacional de Biodiversidad”
Location: Peru Pavilion - Blue Zone
Time: 9:00 am – 10:15 am
Language: Spanish
• 22/10 Taller “Meta-repositorio amazónico: conectando saberes para el futuro de la Amazonía”
Co-organized with the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS)
Location: "Amazon Forever" Pavilion of the IDB and ACTO - Blue Zone
Time: 12:45 pm – 1:30 pm
Language: Spanish
• 29/10 Panel “The True Value of Forests”
Location: Banco de Occidente, Room 3 - Green Zone
Time: 9:30 am – 10:30 am
Languages: Spanish and English
• 30/10 High-Level Forum “Building Bridges for the Implementation of the Global Biodiversity Framework”
Location: "Amazon Forever" Pavilion of the IDB and ACTO - Blue Zone
Time: 4:30 pm – 5:30 pm
Languages: Spanish and English
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