Delegates from around the world will come together from Oct. 21 to Nov. 1 for the 16th United Nations Conference on Biological Diversity, or COP16, in Cali, Colombia, to discuss global progress on protecting the natural world and its variety.
COP16 is expected to be the biggest and most well-attended out of all the biodiversity COPs to date. The World Resources Institute, which sent two or three attendees to COP15 in Montreal two years ago, will have around 40 individuals on the ground this year.
“It’s really been a process in the shadows of the climate process for many years,” said Crystal Davis, the global director of the Food, Land and Water Program at the World Resources Institute. “But this year, I wouldn’t be surprised if there are more people at COP 16 than the climate COP 29 in Baku.”