Three Messages for Biodiversity That COP 16 Logo Convey

Colombia’s Minister of Environment and Sustainable Development, H.E. Susana Muhamad along with David Cooper, Acting Executive Secretary of the United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD), revealed the logo and slogan crafted by Colombia, the designated host for the sixteenth Meeting of the Conference of Parties (COP 16) to the CBD.

Unveiled during the 6th United Nations Environment Assembly (UNEA-6), the logo draws inspiration from the Inírida flower, an endemic species in Colombia. Additionally, the host country’s chosen slogan for COP 16, “Peace with Nature,” was introduced during the event.

“This is a flower that never dies, its petals never fall apart. We hope that the COP 16 in Colombia can help the world to make peace with nature, so that we can sustain and maintain life on the planet forever,” H.E Susana Muhamad said.

Here are three important messages that the COP 16 logo and slogan convey:

1.    The Biodiversity Plan constitutes an indivisible whole

The petals represent the 23 targets of the Biodiversity Plan and the 13 ecoregions of Colombia, one of the most biodiverse countries in the world. The color palette symbolizes three pathways for action—reduce threats, meet people’s needs, and develop tools and solutions—and the need for synergies.

“The eloquent logo featuring the Inírida flower speaks volumes of the beauty and diversity of Colombia. Under the theme of Peace with Nature, COP 16 will bring the world together to promote and support the implementation of the Biodiversity Plan,” David Cooper said at the logo unveiling event.

2.    It is time to make peace with nature for the sake of planet and people

The creative team that produced the emblem considers Inírida as a symbol of “reconciliation, joy and union of Colombians to advance the most important international environmental event in the history of the country”.

The symbolism of the iconography echoes the United Nations Secretary-General’s call to make peace with nature, as he referred to how our consumption and production systems are destroying the environment.

The Inírida flower grows nowhere else but Colombia, but the message encapsulated in the emblem will reverberate beyond the Host Country’s national borders, highlighting the importance of environmental multilateralism. In an increasingly fractured world, global environmental accords show that it is still possible for the world to work together to help forge a sustainable future through multilateralism.

3.    Biodiversity is a bulwark against the triple environmental crisis afflicting our world

Poetic references to Inírida as the “eternal flower” abound. They emanate from the plant’s remarkable ability to withstand extreme weather and to survive both floods and spells of drought. Thus, the COP 16 emblem tells a story of resilience at a time when the world grapples with the triple planetary crisis of climate change, biodiversity loss and pollution.

Climate change is pushing ecosystems to their adaptation limits and provoking an unprecedented rate of biodiversity loss. This, in turn, threatens food security and undermines adaptation efforts. COP 16 will address biodiversity protection and restoration as an essential dimension of climate action.