Nature and Culture Summit - 11 and 12 december 2022 - COP 15

A Global Dialogue on Strengthening the Links between Nature and Cultures to Achieve a Sustainable and Ecological Civilisation

Social media card introducing the Nature and Culture Forum

The Nature and Culture Summit 2022 is a major parallel event at Part Two of the Fifteenth meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity (COP-15.2), to reflect on the diverse values of nature, articulate the links between biological and cultural diversity, and to share experiences on how to restore and strengthen those links in support of the implementation of the post-2020 global biodiversity framework.

The 2022 Summit is the fourth edition of this global forum on biocultural diversity, building on the previous global conferences: the International Conference on Cultural and Biological Diversity for Development (2010), the Múuch'tambal Summit on Nature and Culture (2016), and the Sharm El-Sheikh Declaration on Nature and Culture (2018), as well as the regional Conferences: European Conference for the Implementation of the UNESCO-SCBD Joint Programme on Biological and Cultural Diversity (2014), Asian Conference on Biocultural Diversity (2016), and North American Dialogue on Biocultural Diversity (2019).

The relationship between nature and culture is vibrant. Culture is deeply intertwined with the natural world. Nature has shaped culture and heritage, identity, creativity and linguistic diversity. Culture in turn shapes how people perceive, use and manage nature, which can enhance biological diversity or at times deplete it. Every society has its own unique customs and beliefs, often shaped by the local environment. In many cases, traditional ways of life are closely linked to the land, plants, and animals. The values, ideas, and practices linked with culture and nature allow humans to interact with one another and make sense of the natural world around them. As such, culture can be seen as both a product of nature and a force that shapes our relationship with the natural world.

1. PURPOSE

The aim of the Nature and Culture Summit is to generate new pathways for intercultural, intergenerational and international cooperation to integrate nature and culture in the implementation of the post-2020 global biodiversity framework, towards the shared vision of living in harmony with nature.

At COP15, the global community will renew its commitment with the next phase of the Joint Programme of Work on the Links between Biological and Cultural Diversity. The Summit is an opportunity to engage in the new elements of the Joint Programme of Work, by providing insight on the role of biocultural diversity in conservation, sustainable use, traditional knowledge, indigenous languages, and others.

2. ADDRESSING CULTURAL AND BIOLOGICAL DIVERSITY THROUGH GLOBAL PARTNERSHIP

At this critical moment in the relationship between humanity and nature, the Nature and Culture Summit provides a platform to set a fresh agenda anchored in humanity’s diverse values, cultures and landscapes. The Summit brings strong commitments, tasks and elements related to the Joint Program of Work on the Links between Biological and Cultural Diversity, to the attention of the international community and decision-makers.

Indigenous peoples and local communities are champions of biodiversity protection through their cultural practices. Their extensive and complex systems of knowledge, values and world views are central to their cultural identity; at the global level, these are important as they position indigenous cultures as leaders in protecting nature.

3. OUTCOMES

Identifying potential priorities and ways of cooperation to support the anticipated new phase of the Joint Programme of Work on the Links between Biological and Cultural Diversity.
The Declaration on Nature and Culture, will be developed and adopted by the participants, on the relationship between nature and culture to enhance the implementation of the post-2020 global biodiversity framework.

4. PROGRAMME

11-12 December 2022
Montreal Convention Centre (Palais des Congrès de Montréal)
Party representatives, indigenous peoples and local communities, women, youth, international organizations, and civil society representatives
secretariat@cbd.int

FULL PROGRAMME

Programme of the Nature and Culture Summit

(PDF - 738 Kb - Last updated on 10 December 2022)

Summit moderator: Mr. Q'Apaj Conde, SCBD

(Biography - PDF - 190 Kb)

Day 1 - 11 DECEMBER 2022

8:00 - 9:00

Registration of participants

Morning Sessions

[ Webcast recording: EN | FR | ES | 中文 ]

OPENING CEREMONY

9:00 - 9:20

Ceremonial welcome by Elder Charlie Patton, Mohawk Elder

9:20 - 10:30

Opening Session (Plenary)

The high-level panel will set the stage for the business forum and will bring together high-level representatives to highlight the role of private sector to the successful implementation of the post 2020 global biodiversity framework, the ambition needed to scale up action and the role of government in creating an enabling environment through the right policies and measures

Ceremonial Welcome
- Elder Charlie Patton, Mohawk Elder
Speakers
- H.E. Huang Runqiu, Chinese Minister of Ecology and Environment, People’s Republic of China
- Mr. Stephen de Boer, Assistant Deputy Minister, International Affairs Branch of Environment and Climate Change Canada
- Mr. Chen Weiping, Deputy Director, Department of Ecology and Environment of Yunnan Province
- Ms. Elizabeth Maruma Mrema, Executive Secretary of the Convention on Biological Diversity
- Mr. Xing Qu, Deputy Director-General of UNESCO (pre-recorded video message)
- Ms. Sonia Peña Moreno, Director of the International Policy Centre, IUCN
- Ms. Lucy Mulenkei, Co-chair of the International Indigenous Forum on Biodiversity (IIFB)
- Ms. Kluane Adamek (Aagé), Yukon Regional Chief, Assembly of First Nations (AFN)
- Mr. Herbert Nakimayak, Vice President International Affairs, Inuit Circumpolar Council (ICC)
- Ms. Cassidy Caron, President, Métis National Council (MNC)

+++ Photos of the session +++

10:30 - 10:35

Introduction of the Rapporteur Team

10:35 - 10:45

Cultural presentation (Yunnan Province)

10:45 - 12:00

HIGH-LEVEL PANEL

Strengthening the Links between Nature and Culture towards the achievement of the post-2020 global biodiversity framework

The High-Level Panel will outline the connections of nature and culture, and how these linkages can support the implementation of the post-2020 global biodiversity framework.

Co-moderators
- Mr. Ramiro Batzin, International Indigenous Forum on Biodiversity
- Ms. Meriem Bouamrane, Chief of Section, MAB Research and Policy: Ecology and Biodiversity, UNESCO
Speakers
- H.E. Ambassador Leonor Zalabata, Permanent Representative of Colombia to the United Nations
- Ms. Kluane Adamek (Aagé), Yukon Regional Chief, Assembly of First Nations (AFN)
- Ms. Cassidy Caron, President, Métis National Council (MNC)
- Mr. Darío Mejia, Chairperson of the United Nations Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues (UNPFII)
- Dr. Anne Larigauderie, Executive Secretary of Intergovernmental Science- Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES)
- Dr. Christophe Rivet, President, Canadian Committee of the International Council on Monuments and Sites (ICOMOS)
- Ms. Joji Cariño, lead author, Local Biodiversity Outlooks 2
- Mr. Joseph King, Senior Director, Office of the Director-General, International Centre for the Study of the Preservation and Restoration of Cultural Property (ICCROM)
- Dr. David Suzuki, Scientist and Co-Founder of the David Suzuki Foundation

+++ Photos of the session +++

12:00 - 12:45

Discussion with the audience

12:45 - 13:50

Lunch Break*

Afternoon Sessions

[ Webcast recording: EN | FR | ES | 中文 ]

13:50 - 14:15

Indigenous cultural presentation (Métis Nation)

14:15 - 15:30

ROUNDTABLE 1

The New Joint Programme of Work on the Links between Biological and Cultural Diversity

COP-15 aims to renew its commitment with the Joint Programme with the aim of supporting the implementation of the post-2020 global biodiversity framework. This roundtable will focus how the new phase of the Joint Programme enhances the linkages between nature and culture in the conservation and sustainable use of landscapes, including by the utilization of traditional knowledge.

Co-moderators
- Mr. Tim Badman, International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN)
- Ms. Florina Lopez, Red de Mujeres Indígenas sobre Biodiversidad para América Latina y El Caribe (RMIB-LAC)
Speakers
- Prof. Shi Junchao, “Hani Terrace Field of the Honghe Prefecture” (pre-recorded video message)
- Mr. Yan Bingkuan, Deputy County Mayor of Taishun People’s Government (pre-recorded video message)
- Ms. Mojca Kunst, laureate of the UNESCO-Greece Melina Mercouri International Prize for the safeguarding and management of cultural landscapes
- Ms. Barbara Ploštajner, Kozjanski Park Public Institution
- Ms. Valérie Courtois, Indigenous Leadership Initiative
- Mr. Joseph Itongwa, ICCA Consortium
- Ms. Hélène Valade, Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton (LVMH)
- Dr. Priscilla Settee, Professor Emeritus University of Saskatchewan
- Dr. Yolanda Terán, International Indigenous Forum on Biodiversity (IIFB)

15:30 - 16:00

Discussion wit the audience

16:00 - 16:30

ROUNDTABLE 2

Respecting and Conserving Linguistic Diversity and Traditional Knowledge Systems in Biodiversity Conservation

This interactive round table will focus on the centrality of conserving linguistic and knowledge diversity as fundamental to nature conservation, gaps in implementation through the lack of consideration of linguistic diversity and connect the new Joint Programme to the International Decade of Indigenous Languages.

Co-moderators
- Ms. Jenny Kelleher, International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN)
Speakers
- Dr. Mohamed Handaine, International Indigenous Forum on Biodiversity (IIFB)
- Ms. Belkis Hererra, International Indigenous Forum on Biodiversity (IIFB)
- Katsi'tsakwas Ellen Gabriel, Documentarian, Visual Artist, Indigenous Human Rights and Environmental Rights Activist, Kanien'kehá:ka Land Defender

16:30 -17:00

Discussion wit the audience, and day 1 closing

Day 2 - 12 DECEMBER 2022

Morning Sessions

[ Webcast recording: EN | FR | ES | 中文 ]

9:00 - 9:30

Indigenous cultural presentation (Mohawk Nation)

+++ Photos of the session +++

ROUNDTABLE 3

9:30 - 10:30

Actions on science and knowledge dialogue, and biocultural indicators

This roundtable showcases the different experiences on equivalence of knowledge system dialogues to promote the transmission and exchange between scientific and traditional knowledge systems, values, experiences, methods and results relevant for the conservation and sustainable use of biological diversity, and facilitates sustained capacity-building and the development and promotion of open frameworks for knowledge dialogues and knowledge co-production at the international, national and regional levels. This discussion includes updated information on the operationalization of the existing indicators and relevant indicators developed in the post-2020 global biodiversity framework.

Co-moderators
- Ms. Pernilla Malmer, Senior Advisor, SwedBio at Stockholm Resilience Centre
- Ms. Jennifer Corpuz, Nia Tero
Speakers
- Prof. Pei Shengji, Kunming Institute of Botany (KIB), Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) (pre-recorded video message)
- Ms. Archana Soreng, UN Secretary-General’s Youth Advisory Group on Climate Change
- Dr. Suneetha Subramanian, author of the IPBES Assessment of the Diverse Values and Valuation of Nature
- Mr. Thijs Biersteker, ecological artist (exposed art piece)
- Ms. Mirna Fernández, Policy Co-Coordinator (GYBN)
- Dr. Maurizio Farhan Ferrari, Forest Peoples Programme (FPP)
- Mr. Ramiro Batzin, International Indigenous Forum on Biodiversity (IIFB)
- Ms. Eva Hershaw, Data and Land Monitoring Lead, International Land Coalition (ILC)
- Mr. Aslak Holmberg, International Indigenous Forum on Biodiversity (IIFB)
- SR. David Boyd, UN Special Rapporteur on Human Rights and the Environment

+++ Photos of the session +++

10:30 - 11:00

Discussion with the audience

11:00 - 12:00

ROUNDTABLE 4

New Approaches to Communication, Education and Public Awareness

This roundtable focuses on inspirational action to raise awareness across all sectors on the interlinkages between biological and cultural diversity.

Co-moderators
- Mr. David Ainsworth, Information Officer, SCBD
- Ms. Milka Chepkorir, ICCA Consortium
Speakers
- Mr. Ma Jun, Founding Director, Institute of Public and Environmental Affairs (pre-recorded video message)
- Mr. Sean Southey, Chair, IUCN Commission on Education and Communication
- Mr. David Hernandez Palmar, International Indigenous Forum on Biodiversity (IIFB)
- Mr. Daniel Schaffer, Chief Executive Officer, Foundation for Environmental Education (FEE
- Ms. Josefa Cariño Taulí, Global Youth Biodiversity Network
- Mr. William Dunbar, Conservation International (CI) and United Nations University Institute for the Advanced Study of Sustainability (UNU-IAS)
- Ms. Alice Mathew, International Indigenous Forum on Biodiversity (IIFB)