Climate change and biodiversity: two sides of the same coin

Mutis Spirit

A qualitative leap is needed: biodiversity is a key asset for the region's position in global debates on the rules governing the international financial architecture, especially trade and financial flows, and for new technological development policies. We need the perspective of biodiversity, from this side of the world, to permeate and build new synergies to improve citizens' living conditions and ensure the planet's environmental balance. To this end, earlier this month, we held the first edition of the Mutis Biodiversity Dialogues Latin America and the Caribbean-Spain in Madrid, with more than 50 representatives from scientific institutions, Latin American governments, financial institutions, cooperation agencies, non-governmental and philanthropic organizations, and representatives of the private sector, to strengthen the voice of science and promote the role of technology and innovation as tools for the conservation, restoration, and sustainable use of biodiversity.

They were named Mutis Dialogues to revive the figure of José Celestino Mutis and the spirit of the Royal Botanical Expedition of the New Kingdom of Granada, which, in a visionary way, laid the foundations for a global dialogue based on knowledge that continues to be built in the 19th century. The fundamental conclusion of this meeting at the Royal Botanical Garden of Madrid is the importance of having multidisciplinary spaces like this, where people interested in biodiversity, but from different fields—science, technology, and finance—can speak. They can find a place to discuss and understand what is being said in other people's terms, and work in more informative contexts.

Often, the problem we have is that we are unable to raise awareness of the importance of biodiversity and express how biodiversity-based productive development can be key to the economic growth of regions like LAC. It is important to build this path so that all the pieces fit together to benefit biodiversity as a solution to the problems of climate change. These Dialogues are a key element in our journey toward COP30 in Belén. We're coming off COP16 in Cali and a declaration in Bogotá on science, and we're now moving toward a COP on climate change. We want biodiversity and climate change to be two sides of the same coin. There's no better plan for reducing greenhouse gases that doesn't consider biodiversity protection.

Voices of Dialogue in Madrid

• Amir Lebdioui, Director of the Center for Technology and Industrialization for Development, University of Oxford: “What is at stake is the economic and technological future of LAC. Biodiversity is not only a passive asset that must be protected and conserved, it is also a pool of ideas from which to draw inspiration and information for innovation. Most LAC countries have not yet managed to escape the middle-income trap, and a determining factor is technological capacity and natural resources. Nature-inspired innovation represents an alternative path that can help the region close the technological and development gap that exists with the rest of the world. As Leonardo da Vinci said: 'Let us learn from nature, there lies our future.'”
• Dalina Aldana, President of the Mexican Academy of Sciences and researcher at Cinvestav: “Nature is fundamental to human life. In a place like the Royal Botanical Garden of Madrid, we can be isolated from the noise of voracious commerce, which is always encouraging us to buy and throw away. Technological solutions exist and will continue to exist, but we must learn to live differently, with less consumption of everything and, consequently, less waste. CAF has had and continues to have the vision to invest in developments with nature as the main actor, not supermarkets. Where water is born, we must engage in dialogue with biodiversity. I believe this work is very well aligned with the objectives CAF has set for itself.”
• Elizabeth Gray, CEO of the National Audubon Society: “When I crossed the street from the hotel and entered this Botanical Garden, I could immediately feel the high temperature drop by five or almost ten degrees. These urban oases are vitally important for educating about the benefits of nature, for health, for the economy, and so on. We don't talk enough about these issues across sectors. Here in one room, we had scientists, academics, researchers, but also people from banks, nonprofits, governments, and private companies. Everyone was learning from each other, talking, collaborating, and sharing lessons learned. This is how we're going to move this work forward around the world.”
• Mauricio Díazgranados, Scientific Director of the New York Botanical Garden: “Biodiversity faces an unprecedented threat. The dialogue on biodiversity invites us to rethink how we can integrate science, politics, and society to reverse these processes of biodiversity loss and implement effective conservation actions, to discuss how LAC can implement integrated plans that allow for the recovery and conservation of biodiversity throughout the region. Botanical gardens offer the opportunity to create a bridge between citizens and nature. They are not just recreational, educational, or conservation spaces; they are also centers of knowledge and research, and many are absolutely committed to these processes.”