> ## Content Index > Fetch the complete content index at: https://www.possibilities.news/llms.txt > Use this file to discover other available public pages before exploring further. # Protect Whom? - URL: https://www.possibilities.news/protect-whom/ - Published: 2024-10-24T12:00:07.000Z - Updated: 2024-10-24T12:00:07.000Z - Description: As world leaders gather in Colombia in an effort to save biodiversity, how are they factoring in the people already dying to protect it? - Author: Yessenia Funes **LISTENING:** *to the piano of the above song* **FEELING:** *actually quite sad* **SEEING:** *my cat stare me down for his next meal* It's unseasonably warm here in New York, but my mind is on Colombia, where world leaders are meeting to discuss the future of biodiversity protections. Known as COP16, this year's conference is focused on checking in on how governments are meeting the goals they established two years ago when they signed onto the [Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework](https://www.cbd.int/gbf/vision?ref=possibilities.news). #### º ⋱・♡ Donate! ♡・⋰ º Want to help me pay photographers and writers to contribute to the newsletter? I've created an Artist Fund for anyone who wants to donate outside their regular subscriptions. Once I reach $100, I'll be able to license my first image from a photographer. Donate [here](https://buy.stripe.com/5kAbMJahWdQU3K0dQQ?ref=possibilities.news). If you'd prefer to donate funds to whatever my needs may be (not explicitly the artist fund), you can donate [here](https://buy.stripe.com/aEU2c9ahW5ko2FW4gh?ref=possibilities.news). Think of the framework like the Paris Agreement — but for biodiversity, not climate. The treaty sets forth a vision of where the globe should be by 2030 and 2050\. Goals are ambitious, such as ending human-induced extinction and providing financial resources and support for all countries to take these actions. The text defines its mission as such: > To take urgent action to halt and reverse biodiversity loss to put nature on a path to recovery for the benefit of people and planet by conserving and sustainably using biodiversity and by ensuring the fair and equitable sharing of benefits from the use of genetic resources, while providing the necessary means of implementation. [The U.S. hasn't committed to any of this.](https://www.vox.com/down-to-earth/379295/cop16-biodiversity-why-us-global-treaty-protect-nature?ref=possibilities.news) [Subscribe here](https://www.possibilities.news/#/portal/signup) Welcome to **Possibilities**, a creative climate newsletter on the possibilities that lie where crisis meets community. I’m **Yessenia Funes**, and we can't save wildlife and ecosystems without protecting the people who steward them best. We know already that Indigenous peoples protect [80 percent](https://www.worldbank.org/en/news/feature/2023/08/09/empowering-indigenous-peoples-to-protect-forests?ref=possibilities.news) of today's existing biodiversity areas. If we want their forests and rivers to remain and thrive, the people who are guarding these areas need to be safe, too. The annual environmental defenders report from human rights group Global Witness [found](https://www.globalwitness.org/en/blog/cbd-cop16-events-putting-people-center-biodiversity-protection/?ref=possibilities.news) that 40 percent of all murders of environmental defenders happened in Colombia last year. Some 43 percent of all last year's 196 deaths were Indigenous people, too. These are individuals defending their territories from mines and logging, dams and pipelines. These major development projects often come at the cost of wildlife and ecosystems. ## Tip Jar If you love Possibilities, why not spare a few bucks? [$$$](#/portal/support) If we want to keep more wilderness areas intact, there needs to be stronger laws that protect the people who know these places best. There needs to be accountability for those who harm them — and the governments that fail to prevent their killings. And the U.S. should be standing in solidarity. There's [so much](https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2024/oct/21/cop16-un-issues-defining-biodiversity-finance-biopiracy-progress-negotiations-cali-colombia?ref=possibilities.news) that will be discussed at COP16 until it ends on Nov. 1\. Keep your eyes on the discussions. Humanity is at a pivotal point where we either do what we must to live on a planet that can continue to nurture us — or destroy it beyond repair. This isn't an exaggeration. It's science. 🌀 📘 I'm also giving y'all a first look into my attempt to write my children's book. I [wrote](https://www.possibilities.news/a-year-of-possibilities/) about this a few weeks ago, but here is the [landing pag](https://www.possibilities.news/childrens-book/)e where I'm keeping track of all the editions where you can find what I've shared so far. 👛 In case you weren't aware, you can always adjust your subscription [here](#/portal/account/plans). The newsletter has several tiers, so if you're able to give more or need to give less, please adjust it as you see fit! ## Rest in Power **While we can't say for certain that climate change led to these specific weather events (we need attribution studies for that), we do know that the Earth's rising temperatures are already creating more disasters like these.** Record-breaking rainfall in New Mexico this week [killed](https://www.nbcnews.com/now/video/severe-flooding-in-new-mexico-leads-to-two-deaths-222337605792?ref=possibilities.news) at least two people. In Cuba, where a terrible [power outage](https://www.nytimes.com/2024/10/21/world/americas/cuba-blackout-hurricane-oscar.html?ref=possibilities.news) has been afflicting the country for some days, Hurricane Oscar made landfall as a Category 1 storm Sunday, [killing](https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c3rlr1nyx55o?ref=possibilities.news) at least six people. Tropical Storm Trami has [killed](https://www.reuters.com/world/asia-pacific/philippines-shuts-schools-suspends-forex-trading-due-storm-trami-2024-10-23/?ref=possibilities.news) at least 14 people in the Phillippines. ## Currently Reading Noise pollution includes the horrifying sounds of war. A team from the Guardian has such an [important story](https://www.theguardian.com/world/ng-interactive/2024/oct/17/i-hate-the-night-life-in-gaza-amid-the-incessant-sounds-of-war?CMP=Share%5FiOSApp%5FOther&ref=possibilities.news) on Gaza's ongoing suffering. ## Poetry the breeze on my skin the leaves beneath my toes I breathe you in and let you go \-ylf- ****What are you reading and seeing? Share in a comment.** **I've been losing some subscribers, so please forward this to a friend who you think would appreciate reading about climate justice! Or feel free to hit that** [**donate**](#/portal/support) **button if you're feeling generous. xx** \- Yessenia