• Overview
  • Agenda

This is an official side-event of the Biodiversity COP16 

Date: 25 October 2024

Time: 15:00-16:20 Colombia Time (COT)

Location: Cocuy Room in Plaza 1, CBD COP16, Cali, Colombia 

Ecosystem restoration is crucial for achieving global sustainability goals, enhancing biodiversity, and ensuring the well-being of local communities. This side event will explore the intersection of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), the Global Biodiversity Framework (GBF), and the UN Decade on Ecosystem Restoration, emphasizing local initiatives and their global impact. By showcasing successful local restoration cases from cities participating in the Generation Restoration Project under the UN Decade on Ecosystem Restoration, the event aims to highlight best practices, challenges, and the essential role of cities to halt and reverse the loss of biodiversity by 2030, as well as achieve water security, climate resilience, strengthen livelihoods and increase the wellbeing of urban populations. 

Link to register (coming soon)

Agenda & Moderation 

  • Sharon Gil, Programme Management Officer, and Cities Lead, UNEP

Opening and Session Framing 

  • Dr. Heike Henn, Head of the subdivision Climate and Energy, German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development

Ecosystem Restoration in Practice: Voices from Local Governments 

  • Hon. Juan Jose Yunez Nowak, Mayor, Samborondón, Ecuador 
  • Md. Tofazzal Hossain, City Administrator, Sirajganj, Bangladesh 
  • Hon. Adiam Emery, Deputy Mayor, Seattle, United States of America 
  • Hon. Marie-Andrée Mauger, Deputy Mayor, Ecological Transition, Resilience and Environment, Montréal
  • Moderation: Ingrid Coetzee, Director of Nature, Health, and Biodiversity, ICLEI Cities Biodiversity Center 

High-Level Panel Discussions: Water

  • Hon. Kenneth Onyango, Chair, Committee on Selection, Kisumu County, Kenya 
  • Liezl de Villiers, Divisional Manager: Environmental Management and Conservation, Overstrand, South Africa

High-Level Panel Discussions: Community Engagement

  • Baltazar “Red” Avelino, Head, Parks Department, Quezon City, Philippines 
  • Jorge Liber Saltijeral Giles, Director of International Cooperation, Mexico City, Mexico

High-Level Panel Discussions: Finding Space for Nature

  • Rodrigo Pimentel Pinto Ravena, Secretary of the Environment, São Paulo, Brazil 
  • Sebástián Fermani, Secretary of Environment and Development, Mendoza, Argentina

Closing Remarks

  • Sharon Gil, Programme Management Officer, and Cities Lead, UNEP