[3][4] The UNCBD COP16 was originally set to be held in Turkey;[5] however, on July 31, 2023, the conference's organizing committee notified Parties that the country had decided to give up its right to host and preside the event, due to "a force majeure situation" caused by the impact of the nationwide earthquakes occurred in February of the same year.

[1][9] Petro said that Valle del Cauca was "the most biodiverse region in Colombia", both due its natural ecosystems and its ethnic diversity, while noting that the government had also chosen Cali in the hopes of "healing the open wounds" of the nationwide protests the city had been at the center of in 2021.

Designed by Vanessa María Vergara Domínguez, the logo depicted an Inírida flower, an endemic plant in Colombia, decorated with 36 petals, 23 of which represented the targets set by the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework in 2022, whereas the remaining 13 symbolized the country's strategic ecoregions.

Representatives for Colombia announced that the country would present its own plan during the meeting, while spokespersons for the United Kingdom, Brazil and India stated that the nations would not publish their respective NBSAPs earlier than 2025.

[22] The report also raised concerns about growing repression and censorship of protests led by environmentalist associations in several countries, including the United Kingdom, France, Italy, Germany and the Netherlands.

[19] The Minister of Environment and Sustainable Development of Colombia, Susana Muhamad, served as the president of the COP16 throughout the entirety of its negotiations,[29][30] which were held in the Zona Azul ("Blue Zone") at the Valle del Pacifico convention center in Cali;[12] participants from civil society were admitted to the Zona Verde ("Green Zone") at the Bulevar del Río [es], which would host several concerts, as well as a series of political and academic conferences about conservation and restoration of oceans, environmental justice and sustainable cities, among other themes.

El Colombiano reported that five "key documents" related to the targets set by the Cartagena and Nagoya Protocols were adopted in the ending session of the week, while new preliminary agreements to reform wildlife conservation and sustainable practices within the agricultural, food and financial sectors were also reached.

[18][37] A spokesperson for the CBD committee, David Ainsworth, said that it was "obvious" that a complete agreement on the subject would not be reached by the end of the COP16, with delegates being set to continue negotiations in the following period of time, as part of a new organization or an existent UN body.

The exodus left the summit without a quorum for decision-making,[38][39] Delegates did agree earlier to form a subsidiary body for recognizing Indigenous peoples' role, including traditional environmental knowledge, in future decisions on conservation.