The 16th Conference of the Parties (COP16) of the UN Convention on Biological Diversity began on Monday in the city of Cali and will last until November 1. With the theme of "Peace with Nature," it has an urgent task to come up with monitoring and funding mechanisms to achieve the 23 UN conservation goals agreed in Canada two years ago.

COP16 President Susana Muhamad, Colombia's environment minister, said on Friday that there had been "very good progress" in the negotiations, adding that "a lot of work has progressed this week".

Mobilizing resources remains "one of the most difficult issues," she told reporters in Cali, "because of the very different views of the parties."

UN chief António Guterres on Sunday called on the 196 signatories of the biodiversity convention to "turn words into action" and support the Global Framework Fund for Biodiversity created last year to meet the UN's goals. (More on phys.org)