Join us at COP16 from October 21 to November 1, 2024 in Cali, Colombia, where the Rainforest Alliance and partners will host a series of panels and side events highlighting proven solutions to halt deforestation, land degradation, and biodiversity loss.
Discover how the Rainforest Alliance is championing locally led, nature-based solutions in community forestry and regenerative agriculture to preserve and restore biodiversity.
Our Delegation
Our key events
Our events aim to elevate the vital role of forest and farming communities in not only conserving but restoring biodiversity and will showcase our market-based approaches to halting biodiversity loss globally and in the Amazon.
October 21st, 9:15-10:45
Sustainable Forest Management: Impact in Strategic Territories
With the Rainforest Alliance, CATIE, National Council of Protected Areas of Guatemala
Venue: Banco de Occidente – Sala 3
Forest communities are at the heart of biodiversity conservation and sustainable land use and management. This panel will explore models of community-led and integrated sustainable forest management and their relevance globally and across Mesoamerica and the Amazon. Topics will include the policy, economic, governance, business enterprise, and market conditions for success. Experts will expand on the potential of sustainable use of timber and non-timber forest products, to strengthen the Amazonian bioeconomy.
October 23rd, 15:00-20:00
Advancing Finance and Ambition in Sustainable Landscapes: The role of Private and Public Sectors
With CDP, Rainforest Alliance, Climate Bonds Initiative, Agrobancaria, Banco de Bogotá
Venue: Hotel Intercontinental, Av. Colombia #2-72, COMUNA 3, Cali
The event will focus on the importance of reporting and measuring nature-related issues, its significance for the financial sector, and practical insights into implementing nature-positive strategies. Panelists will highlight the benefits of transparent disclosure of nature-related information for investors, stakeholders, and forest conservation efforts, while showcasing the benefits identified by the public and private sectors from engaging in landscape and jurisdictional initiatives. It will also raise awareness of opportunities in collaboration with landscape and jurisdictional initiatives.
October 23rd, 15:30-17:00
The Importance of Agrobiodiversity in Food Security in Latin America and the Caribbean
With CDP, Rainforest Alliance, Climate Bonds Initiative, Agrobancaria, Banco de BogotáIDB, CGIAR, Indigenous Peoples representative, International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), Executive Secretary of the Central American Commission of Environment and Development, Rainforest Alliance
This event will introduce initiatives in agrobiodiversity for improved food security, implemented by IDB and CGIAR. During the event attendees will also hear experiences from Indigenous Peoples representatives, public sector, and civil society. The Rainforest Alliance will discuss our approach to improving agrobiodiversity on farms through regenerative and climate smart agricultural practices.
October 25th, 10:30-11:45
Partnerships for Biodiversity Conservation and Inclusive and Competitive Supply Chains
With the Rainforest Alliance, Ministry of the Environment of Peru, Federación de Cafeteros de Colombia, Federación de Cacaoteros de Colombia, Conservation International, IDB
Venue: Peru Pavilion, Green Zone
Case studies from RA in Peru and Colombia: Sustainable initiatives linked to supply chains led by Indigenous communities, associations, and cooperatives in the forestry, cocoa, and coffee value chains.
October 25th, 11:30-12:30
One Amazon: Connecting Landscapes, Communities, and Bioeconomy Markets
With the Rainforest Alliance, Amazon Investor Coalition, IDB
Venue: IDB Amazon Forever Pavilion, Blue Zone
Conservation and sustainable development in the Amazon can only be achieved by uniting forces in alliance with producer and forest-dependent communities, governments, institutional stakeholders, and the private sector. Panelists in this event will present a model for institutional integration led by the Rainforest Alliance to scale positive impact at a regional level, maximize reach, and channel investment that enables conservation, restoration, and the development of sustainable livelihoods for communities.
October 25th, 15:30-16:30
Bioeconomy as a Strategy to Protect the Amazon
With the Rainforest Alliance, Government of Colombia Office of Green Businesses, Fondo Acción, IDB
Venue: Amazon Forever Pavilion, Blue Zone
Panelists will engage in a dialogue on alignment of public policies, financing, markets, and productive practices that promote bioeconomy value chain development, strengthen local capacities, and ensure an equitable transition towards a more resilient and low-carbon economy, based on the sustainable use and management of biodiversity. The Rainforest Alliance will present progress and results from a market-based analysis under the IDB’s Amazon Bioeconomy Marketplace initiative. The results will highlight learnings on bio-business needs and interests, market development opportunities, and barriers to investment and growth.
October 27th, 16:30-17:30
Market-Based Bioeconomy Approaches in the Amazon
With the Amazon Investor Coalition, Imaflora, Rainforest Alliance, Natura
Venue: Amazon Forever Pavilion, Blue Zone
The World Bioeconomy Forum reported that the bioeconomy generated $4 trillion worldwide in 2022, creating a diversity of new jobs and investments. To promote continued, equitable growth, market development and financial instruments that are responsive to the realities of traditional peoples and local communities who enable the existing models of standing forest economy are fundamental and urgent. This panel aims to discuss progress, challenges, and learnings through the implementation of market and financial mechanisms, private sector engagement, and ethical trade and traceability models that serve to re-value traditional, sustainably produced, and origin products.
October 28th, 9:30-10:15
Unlocking Finance for Biodiversity Conservation
With the Rainforest Alliance, Secretary of Environment and Sustainability of Pará, USAID, Global Canopy, Gobernación de Caquetá, Suzano
Venue: Universidad ECCI – Lobby Teatro
The event will discuss, through theory and practice from the public and private sectors, the landscape and jurisdictional approach as an opportunity to promote local, regional, and international strategies to increase the impact of conservation and sustainable use of biodiversity and reduction of deforestation through the mobilization of diverse financing.
Additional events we recommend
October 25th, 12:00-13:00
Effective Due Diligence – Bringing Together People and the Planet
With World Benchmarking Alliance, United Nations Development Program
Venue: Nature Positive Pavilion
In many ways, action and expectations for businesses on human rights and the environment have evolved separately, and in parallel. In 2022, the United Nations General Assembly agreed that a clean, healthy, and sustainable environment is a human right. Despite this, recent data from the World Benchmarking Alliance shows that less than 2% of the major, influential companies assessed make a commitment to respecting local communities’ environmental rights.
This session will bring together representatives from the human rights and nature spaces to provide practical lessons and suggested next steps to promote progress, showcasing the latest thinking and guidance for companies and sharing ideas to encourage further action.
October 31st, 10:00-11:15
Finance for Holistic Landscape Restoration in Latin America and the Caribbean
With Commonland, EcoAgriculture Partners, 1000L Initiative, 20×20 initiative, Rainforest Alliance, WWF Colombia, SNV
Venue: Partners for Water/Netherlands Pavilion
As countries update their National Biodiversity Strategy and Action Plans (NBSPs) and develop biodiversity finance plans (BFPs) to meet GBF’s Target 2, innovative landscape finance is essential. Through this event, partners will introduce a new publication, ‘Towards Financing Large-scale Restoration in Latin America and the Caribbean’ (available in English and Spanish), offering policy recommendations for scaling holistic restoration efforts through integrated landscape and water management approaches, aligned with the ecosystem approach (CBD COP5 2000).
October 25th, 9:30-11:00
Partnerships for Ambitious Transitions in the Forestry and Land Use Sector: Success Stories from UK PACT in Latin America
Venue: Casa Obeso Av. 4 Oe. #4-59, Normandia Sebastian de Belalcazar
UK PACT aims to reflect on the successes and achievements in recent years in countries such as Colombia, Peru, and Ecuador. Partners will share experiences on strengthening the capacities of governments and communities to protect forests and promote sustainable land use management.
