Indigenous leaders express optimism amidst the restart of United Nations discussions on biodiversity in Rome.

The Cali Fund, a UN-controlled initiative aimed at protecting biodiversity, was established at COP16 in Rome in 2024. This fund was the result of a two-week session that began in Cali, Colombia, in mid-October of the same year.

The Cali Fund is designed to ensure that companies that profit from nature's genetics contribute to its upkeep. This was a decision approved by COP16 delegates. The contribution from companies is estimated to be 1% of company profits tied to Digital Sequence Information (DSI) usage, or 0.1% of revenue.

COP16 President Susana Muhamad was forced to close the Cali session prematurely due to unfinished international finance targets. However, the final text from Rome includes language regarding "planning, monitoring, reporting, and review," a process by which countries will start tracking progress on specific targets next year.

The Cali Fund is expected to generate US$1 billion annually. Half of the funds raised will be allocated to Indigenous peoples and local communities for projects they identify, while the other half will be used for conservation efforts.

Indigenous leader Figueroa expressed optimism after COP16, stating there is evidence of the contribution of Indigenous peoples to the conservation of biodiversity. Figueroa hopes these agreements will lead to supporting them on the ground.

Marcos Neto, UN assistant general secretary, emphasised the success of the Cali Fund will be critical for providing finance to people on the ground who are the custodians for species and genetic diversity. Eva Zabey, CEO of the NGO Business for Nature, also stated that the Cali Fund is a crucial tool to ensure the benefits the private sector accrues from nature are shared equitably.

Industries such as pharmaceuticals and bio-agriculture that use nature-based genetic information for commercial products will be called on to contribute to the Cali Fund. Moderna, a US pharma giant, used DSI from hundreds of respiratory viruses to develop its Covid-19 vaccine and could have paid US$30 million out of US$30 billion in sales if the Cali Fund rule was applied.

However, there are no publicly available declarations from specific companies confirming their readiness to contribute to the Cali Fund. The Cali Fund could prove self-sustaining provided companies pay their share each year.

Moreover, a new program of work on traditional knowledge and direct participation in negotiations was adopted at COP16 in Cali. Target 22 of the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework also aims to ensure that Indigenous peoples and local communities are fully represented and active participants in all conservation decision-making. Target 22 includes land tenure - returning traditional lands to Indigenous peoples and local communities for their management - as a conservation goal and a means of assessing progress toward biodiversity protection.

The United Nations Conference on Biodiversity (COP16) concluded in Rome on February 28, 2025, after three days of final negotiations. The Cali Fund will receive contributions from companies and will be a significant step towards ensuring the equitable sharing of benefits from the use of genetic resources.