CALI, Colombia (AP) — Delegates reached an agreement Friday evening at the United Nations Conference on Biodiversity establish a subsidiary body that will include indigenous peoples in future talks and decisions on nature conservation.

The COP16 summit organized in Cali, Colombiafollowed the historic 2022 agreement in Montreal, which includes 23 measures to save the Earth’s plant and animal life, in particular by protecting 30% of the planet and 30% of degraded ecosystems by 2030.

A measure to recognize the important role of people of African descent in protecting nature was also passed Friday.

Negotiators struggled to find common ground on some key issues over the past week, but managed to reach consensus after negotiations late on Friday. Indigenous delegations from around the world burst into joy and tears at this historic decision.

The decision recognizes and protects the traditional knowledge systems of indigenous peoples and local communities for the benefit of global and national biodiversity management, said Sushil Raj, executive director of the Wildlife Conservation Society’s Global Rights and Communities Program.

“This strengthens representation, coordination, inclusive decision-making and creates space for dialogue with parties to the COP,” Raj told the Associated Press. “It promotes support for the management of indigenous and traditional territorial biodiversity and advances international human rights standards referenced in the Global Biodiversity Framework. »

The body will be made up of two co-chairs elected by the COP: one appointed by the UN parties of the regional group and the other appointed by representatives of indigenous peoples and local communities, the AP saw in the document.

At least one of the co-chairs will be selected from a developing country, taking into account gender balance, the document said.

“With this decision, the value of traditional knowledge of indigenous peoples, African descendants and local communities is recognized, and a 26-year-old historic debt to the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) is settled,” Susana Muhamad , representative of Colombia. Minister of the Environment and President of COP16, published on the social media platform X shortly after the announcement.

An agreement to protect human health from Growing biodiversity problems on Earth. Ecosystem degradation and loss of ecological integrity directly threaten human and animal health, environmental groups say.

Pledges made by countries over the two weeks fell well short of the billions needed to combat the decline in global biodiversity, with only around $400 million in funds.

At the Montreal summit, rich countries pledged to raise $20 billion a year to fund conservation for developing countries by 2025, and this figure is expected to reach $30 billion a year by 2030 .

Global wildlife populations have fallen by an average of 73% in 50 years, according to the biennial Living Planet report from the World Wildlife Fund and the Zoological Society of London in October.