News Brief
By Fang Jingyi
Lin’an, Hangzhou, presented visually captivating displays to share with international attendees its stunning natural landscapes, unique biodiversity, and significant achievements in expanding its biosphere reserve at the 16th meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity (COP16) held in Cali, Colombia, from Oct 21 to Nov 1.
Highlights included recent innovations and successes in ecological protection, scientific monitoring, community engagement, and raising public awareness. Among these, the Tianmu Mountain-Qingliang Peak Biosphere Reserve was showcased in UNESCO’s main exhibition area, with photos illustrating its reserve expansion and sustainable development practices to a global audience. Additionally, the China Pavilion highlighted this biosphere reserve in Lin’an through a video presentation.
Since COP15, Lin’an district has been showcased at two consecutive major international biodiversity events, reflecting the UN’s recognition of its efforts and underscoring China’s commitment to biodiversity conservation.
With the theme of “Peace with Nature”, COP16 is the first Conference of the Parties since the release of the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework. The conference reviewed progress on the framework’s implementation, identified challenges, proposed forward-looking solutions, and showcased outstanding global biodiversity conservation efforts in various formats.