Mohanvilas Das (right) among ISKCON leaders working with global leaders to achieve a nature-positive world.

Govardhan EcoVillage (GEV) has been featured in a Faiths for Biodiversity report released at the 16th annual Conference of the Parties (COP16) meeting going on now in Cali, Colombia. 

Thousands of world leaders are gathered in South America for the biodiversity-themed meetings, the first major biodiversity summit since the 2022 adoption of the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework (GBF). 

The report, entitled “UNITING FOR NATURE: Faiths at the Forefront of Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework (KMGBF) Implementation,” focused on GEV’s  “Seeds for Life” program, led by Govardhan Rural Development, which preserves indigenous seed varieties and promotes sustainable agriculture. “Working with 2,206 marginal farmer families, we’re protecting biodiversity and fostering sustainable livelihoods through heirloom seed conservation and cultivation,” said Mohanvilas Das, representing GEV at the gathering. The report further notes that “The project uses a participatory approach involving surveys, capacity building, on-farm demonstrations, community seed centers, and market linkages. It has impacted over 1,000 beneficiaries with over 2,000 regenerative agriculture plots, cultivating various indigenous crop varieties across 446.92 acres.”

Additionally, on October 23rd, during the first week of COP16, representatives from Faiths for Biodiversity met with CBD Executive Secretary Astrid Schomaker for a dialogue about how the UN CBD and Faiths for Biodiversity can mutually support each other’s work.

To read the full Faiths for Biodiversity report, click here. For more information on the many initiatives at the Govardhan EcoVillage, please visit their website, follow them on Facebook and Instagram, or email them here.