The ILO at COP16 on Biodiversity

ILO Events at COP16 How to attend?

• OCT 23 / 24 - Just transition in the Amazon - indigenous peoples and the amazon conservation treaty

  Day: Wednesday, October 23 (Blue Zone) / Thursday, October 24 (Green Zone)
  Time: 3:00 p.m. - 4:20 p.m. (Blue Zone) / 2:00 p.m. - 2:45 p.m. (Green Zone)
  Zone: Paramos - NGOs meeting room Plaza One (Blue Zone) / Banco de Occidente – Room 3 Cra. 4 #7-61 San Pedro (Green Zone)

  Registration link (Blue Zone): 🔗 https://forms.gle/zRE66divkSDwgS5G9

  Registration link (Green Zone): 🔗 https://forms.gle/wu1kh4DQ6KbLoa6SA

  During the International Labour Conference in 2023 (ILO), the Conclusions on a just transition toward environmentally sustainable economies and societies for all were adopted. This document highlights the need to pay specific attention to Indigenous and tribal peoples as a guiding principle for a just transition, particularly in the context of promoting gender equality, social inclusion, and equity. In this regard, international labor standards, including the ILO Convention on Indigenous and Tribal Peoples, 1989 (No. 169), provide an important framework for advancing a just transition and serve as a catalyst for enabling Indigenous peoples' participation in climate policy and fostering dialogue, as demonstrated by experiences in Latin America.

  It is important to note that there are regional efforts by governments linked to the Amazon, which have prioritized strengthening dialogue mechanisms with Indigenous peoples. Recently, during the IV Summit of Presidents of Amazonian countries that form the Amazon Cooperation Treaty, the Belém Declaration was adopted in August 2023, highlighting the valuable contributions of Indigenous Peoples to biodiversity conservation and the Amazon ecosystem itself.

  Official Event Page on Blue Zone

• OCT 25 / NOV 1 - The just transition workforce strategy: a tool for promoting green jobs and biodiversity conservation

  Day: Friday, October 25 (Blue Zone) / Friday, November first (Green Zone)
  Time: 1:30 p.m. - 2:15 p.m. (Blue Zone) / 11:30 a.m. - 12:00 p.m. (Green Zone)
  Zone: UN Colombia Pavilion (Blue Zone) / Cultural Center Cali – Main Auditorium Cra. 5 #6-05, San Pedro (Green Zone)
  Partners: Ministry of Labor

  Registration link (Blue Zone): 🔗 https://forms.gle/SbmK97EaCBx272jp6

  Registration link (Green Zone): 🔗 https://forms.gle/PbY4SzPMnnqMgbeh9

  Within the framework of Colombia's Law 2169, which promotes low-carbon development, the Ministry of Labor is implementing the Just Transition Workforce Strategy. This policy aims to foster the creation of green jobs, particularly those related to environmental conservation and biodiversity, with the goal of reducing the impact of climate change. The purpose of this event is to present the Just Transition Workforce policy to attendees, explain its implementation in the country, and highlight its contribution to achieving the Kunming-Montreal targets and fostering peace with nature.

• OCT 25 - Assessing the employment impact of environmental conservation measures

  Day: Friday, October 25
  Time: 4:00 p.m. - 5:00 p.m.
  Zone: Blue Zone, UN Colombia Pavilion

  Registration link: 🔗 https://forms.gle/qXoJegYsdrPVvCRT9

  The event aims to raise awareness about employment impact assessments and showcase examples of their application in measuring the effects of environmental interventions and climate-related variables. It will highlight the use of satellite data to examine events such as droughts and deforestation, and their subsequent impact on employment and livelihoods. Additionally, measuring the effects of green interventions on employment is crucial to promote the creation of more and better jobs, with the goal of reducing the impacts of climate change and preserving biodiversity. The ILO currently employs various methodologies to achieve this, such as Input-Output analysis and General Equilibrium models.

• OCT 25 - Biodiversity blueprints: collaborative strategies for effective NBSAPs

  Day: Friday, October 25
  Time: 10:00 a.m. - 11:30 a.m.
  Zone: Blue Zone, Paramos - NGOs meeting room Plaza One

  Registration link: 🔗 https://forms.gle/s3img8ihJVraqMMv5

  Host Organization: The Issue Based Coalition on Climate Change and Resilience (IBC-CCR). The IBC-CCR aims to enable United Nations agencies to work together to support a coherent and aligned implementation of the Global Agendas, including the 2030 Agenda, the UNFCCC including the Paris Agreement, and the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction 2015-2030.

  The goals and targets set forth in the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework represent the minimum global effort required to halt and reverse the loss of nature by 2030. Given that the KM-GBF will be primarily implemented at the national level, the country needs to ensure that National Biodiversity Action Plans (NBSAPs) are revised to include the highest level of ambition that allows for national circumstances to protect, conserve, and use biodiversity in a sustainable manner while also ensuring a fair and equitable distribution of its benefits.

  The NBSAPs must be comprehensive, context-specific, and adopt a whole-of-society approach. They should integrate key issues to achieve resilience, such as disaster risk reduction (DRR), inclusiveness, gender equality, decent jobs promotion, sustainable production, participation and access to information.

  This side event aims to review the experiences and lessons learnt in incorporating these key approaches, which will inform the process of updating the NBSAPs, based on the expertise of United Nations agencies involved in the United Nations Issue-Based Coalition*. The event will also feature insights from women, local communities and INdigenous Peoples, including perspectives from the Latin American Women’s Network for DRR and showcase the implications of biodiversity preservation on human mobility. Their viewpoints and lessons learned will be crucial for enhancing the strategies and plans.

  Official Event Page