Panel: Nature-Based Solutions

Presentation by François Bédard, Director General of the World Centre of Excellence for Destinations (CED)

Buenas tardes a todos,

Good afternoon, everyone,

First, allow me to thank the organizers of this prestigious event for their invitation to address you as part of this panel on Nature-Based Solutions. This theme is both timely and crucial, as it reminds us that the health of our ecosystems and the well-being of our communities are inseparably linked.

A year ago, I had the pleasure of leading a delegation from the CED—the World Centre of Excellence for Destinations—to COP16 on biological diversity here in Cali. This delegation included representatives from two valued partners: MT Lab, an incubator in tourism, culture, and entertainment, and Tourisme Abitibi-Témiscamingue, the regional tourism association from Québec, Canada.

Motivated by the desire to contribute concretely to the COP16 theme of Peace with Nature, we launched the creation of a Regenerative Innovation Hub on Well-Being, Tourism, and Biodiversity in Abitibi-Témiscamingue, which was proudly announced during COP16.

That same occasion also saw the signing of a framework agreement with the City of Cali, formalizing our collaboration around biodiversity as a factor of excellence for tourist destinations. Among the priority actions that emerged, we highlight collaboration between the Regenerative Innovation Hub in Abitibi-Témiscamingue and the Regenerative Tourism Hub in Farallones National Park.

Building on these foundations, the Secretariat of the Convention on Biological Diversity invited the CED and its partners last spring to organize an official side-event at COP17, which will take place in Yerevan, Armenia, in the fall of 2026. I am pleased to present you with an overview of this event.

The first component will showcase the missions and achievements of the Regenerative Innovation Hubs in Farallones and Abitibi-Témiscamingue.

The second component will present a panorama of nature-based regenerative innovations from around the world. To prepare this panorama, we invited the collaboration of countries that have already hosted a COP. A first meeting was held on September 4 in Montréal, with representatives of the diplomatic corps from Armenia, China, Colombia, Egypt, Mexico, and the Republic of Korea. On that occasion, Ms. Bianca Brasil, Program Manager for Biodiversity Mainstreaming at the SCBD, presented the context of the CED side-event at COP17.

We will also invite the more than fifty members of the CED Global Experts Network to submit examples of nature-based regenerative innovations from their respective countries. Since this network spans every region of the world, the panorama will truly have a universal character—from community-led eco-tourism projects to biodiversity mainstreaming in urban development.

In conclusion, I wish to reaffirm our pride in having participated in COP16 here in Cali in 2024. We are delighted that the framework agreement signed on that occasion is already bearing its first fruits. This Biodiversity Week serves as an ideal bridge for us between COP16 and COP17.

Together, we are already on our way to COP17. I look forward to continuing this journey with you in Yerevan, Armenia, from October 18 to 30, 2026.

Thank you!