Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD)

The Convention on Biological Diversity was opened for signature at the Rio Earth Summit on 5 June 1992 and entered into force on 29 December 1993. It is one of the three Rio Conventions, alongside the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change and the UN Convention to Combat Desertification, and it has near-universal membership. The Secretariat sits under the United Nations Environment Programme.

Article 1 sets three objectives, and the third is what makes the Convention more than a conservation treaty. They are the conservation of biological diversity, the sustainable use of the components of biological diversity, and the fair and equitable sharing of the benefits arising out of the utilization of genetic resources. That third objective covers appropriate access to genetic resources and appropriate transfer of relevant technologies, takes account of all rights over those resources and technologies, and is to be supported by appropriate funding.

The Convention pairs sovereignty with responsibility. It affirms that states have sovereign rights over their own biological resources, and in the same breath affirms their responsibility to ensure that activities within their control do not damage the environment of other states or of areas beyond national jurisdiction. Its conservation method follows from that: primary emphasis on protecting ecosystems and natural habitats in place, with ex-situ measures such as seed banks, zoos and botanical gardens treated as a complement and not a substitute. Parties commit to identifying the components of biodiversity that matter for conservation and sustainable use, and to monitoring them, so that protection follows knowledge of what is actually there.

On the economics, the Convention asks for more than prohibition. It calls for economically and socially sound measures that act as incentives for conservation and sustainable use, alongside impact assessments that minimise the adverse effects of proposed projects. Access to genetic resources requires the prior informed consent of the providing country, and the benefits of their use, including research results and commercial gains, are to be shared fairly with that country rather than flowing one way.

Traditional knowledge is protected explicitly rather than by implication. Parties are called on to respect, preserve and maintain the knowledge, innovations and practices of indigenous and local communities embodying traditional lifestyles relevant to conservation, with the approval and involvement of the knowledge-holders, and to share the benefits of using that knowledge with them. Article 13 makes public education and awareness a treaty obligation in its own right, committing parties to promote understanding of the importance of biodiversity and to cooperate internationally in developing such programmes.

The record here is a summary of the Convention's own stated objectives and general measures. The full instrument runs to 42 articles and two annexes and covers a great deal of procedural and technical ground beyond its ethical core, including research, technology transfer, financial mechanisms and dispute settlement. The complete text is published by the Convention Secretariat.