The 8th Summit for Subnational Governments & Cities, held on 26 October 2024 as an official parallel event to the 16th Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD COP 16), marked a historic milestone for multilevel biodiversity governance. Convened in Cali, Colombia, under the overarching COP 16 theme “Peace with Nature,” the Summit mobilized over 1,500 participants from 81 countries—including more than 250 local and subnational government leaders—under the banner of “Taking Action for Biodiversity.” Its three thematic pillars—Partnering, Progress, and Peace—framed a dynamic programme highlighting the crucial role of cities and regions in implementing the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework (GBF).
The Summit was co-hosted by ICLEI – Local Governments for Sustainability, the Secretariat of the Convention on Biological Diversity (SCBD), and Regions4, in partnership with the Government of Colombia and the City of Cali. The main sponsor was CAF – Development Bank of Latin America and the Caribbean, with DAI and Veolia as co-sponsors. Additional partners included the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), Global Platform for Sustainable Cities, United Cities and Local Governments (UCLG), CitiesWithNature and RegionsWithNature.