A Roll of the Dice for Nature:

In a brave attempt to safeguard our natural world, global conversations to prevent loss of biodiversity will resume again today at the United Nations-led (UN) Conference of the Parties 16, more colloquially known as Cop16. The Rome meeting was initiated after previous discussions in the Colombian city of Cali resulted in no decisive action. Lack of progress regarding the fundamental issue of funding left global nature targets described as "unfunded words on paper." The Rome gathering will grapple head-on with this contentious issue of finance, determining where it will come from and how much will be required.

Paddling Through Choppy International Waters:

The landscape of international environmental diplomacy has experienced its share of tumult. The recent climate conversations in Azerbaijan's capital ended in unmet expectations and a feeling of betrayal among developing countries, and next came the failure to reach an agreement on curbing plastic pollution last December. This is further exacerbated by setbacks such as countries scaling back their environmental commitments and the United States' decision to withdraw from the Paris agreement for the second time.

A Financial Puzzle:

The elephant in the room during the Rome talks will most certainly be financial aspects. Last year's conference in Cali ended without a consensus on finance matters. This time around, the meeting intends to address crucial questions including who will bear the costs of conservation and how the expenditure will be distributed. As it stands, wealthy nations have fallen short of their pledge to deliver $20bn by 2025 for biodiversity funding, delivering just $10.95bn in 2022, the latest year for which data is available.

Rocking the Boat:

The lack of progress on funding has caused concern amongst delegates and weakened confidence in the process. A last-minute lack of confirmed attendance even threatened to prevent the meeting from reaching the required two-thirds quorum. Colombia's environment minister's Conrad Susana Muhamad's resignation did little to instil confidence, despite his intention to chair the meeting, likened to the captain of a ship surrendering his position.

A Watershed Moment for Our Planet:

Despite the challenges, the Rome meeting is incredibly significant for global biodiversity targets. Even though it is a smaller gathering with fewer delegates and lacks civil society presence, its outcomes may hold the potential to set the stage for the rest of the year - and possibly even the decade. The decisions taken here over these few days in Rome could prove to be historic and represent a crucial turning point for the convention.

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