Convention on Biological Diversity

Montreal, Canada

Arabic, Chinese, English, French, Russian and Spanish

June 5, 1992, Rio de Janeiro ( signature ); December 29, 1993 ( entry into force )

The Convention on Biological Diversity ( formally the Convention on Biological Diversity; english Convention on Biological Diversity, CBD) is entered into force on December 29, 1993 international environmental agreement. The compiled from November 1988 document was adopted on a specially einberaumten UNEP conference in May 1992 and was signed on June 5 during the 1992 Rio Conference. The Convention has now (December 2013) 193 contractors and has been signed by 168 States and the European Union.

By 2000 adopted the Cartagena Protocol, which entered into force in 2003, and adopted in 2010 and has not yet entered into force Nagoya Protocol are two internationally binding agreement by which the objectives of the Convention are to be implemented. While the Cartagena Protocol regulates the transboundary movement of genetically modified organisms, establishes the Nagoya Protocol a legally binding framework for access to genetic resources and equitable benefit-sharing.

The United Nations decided to declare 2020 the UN Decade of Biodiversity 2011 on 22 December 2010 the years. They were responding to a recommendation by the signatory States at the 10th Conference of the Parties to the Convention in October of the year in Nagoya, Japan.

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Content

The Convention on Biological Diversity has three equally important objectives:

• Protection of biodiversity,
• Sustainable use of its components,
• Access control and equitable sharing of the benefits arising from the utilization of genetic resources ( Access and Benefit Sharing, ABS).

Biological diversity, or biodiversity parties include the

• Biodiversity
• Genetic diversity within species and also
• Diversity of ecosystems

Important elements of the Convention on Biological Diversity are: identification and monitoring of biodiversity; Protection of biodiversity ( in situ, ie in the ecosystem, and ex situ, for example, in appropriate facilities for the storage of seed (gene banks ) ); Research, education and outreach; Regulation of access to genetic resources and equitable benefit-sharing in their use, usually on valorization of genetic resources; Technology transfer, scientific cooperation and exchange of information.

The Convention goes beyond the purely ecological requirements, where they also addresses social, economic, scientific, educational, cultural and aesthetic concerns, as it already comes in the preamble to the expression. Highlighted is the importance of traditional knowledge that is present in particular in the original inhabitants of the last intact wilderness regions, which are often colloquially referred to as " primitive peoples " in this context. Thus, Article 8, paragraph j):

In financing the implementation of the Convention on Biological Diversity developed countries have a special responsibility is attributed.

Organization

The Convention on Biological Diversity has a permanent Secretariat in Montreal. Is staffed by experts in specific aspects of the Convention. An important area of ​​work was the organization of clearinghouse mechanisms at different levels of the contract in recent years.

Every two years, takes the Conference of the Parties (COP; engl conference of the parties, COP. ) Together. This is the supreme body of the Convention. Under protocols such as the Cartagena Protocol have their own meetings, called COP -MOP (English Conference of the Parties, Members of the Protocol), which usually take place right before the hearing segment of the Conference of the Parties.

Between the Conferences of the Parties find work meetings on individual areas of expertise instead. The Convention currently has 4 " Working Groups " to the issues of protected areas, Acces -and- Benefitsharing, Article 8 ( indigenous knowledge ) and a Working Group on the Review of Implementation of the Convention ( WGRI ). A scientific- technical-technological Advisory Board ( SBSTTA ) also prepares the decisions of the Conference of the Parties before, reviewed the status of implementation of the Convention and make recommendations for inclusion of new topics. To finance the Global Environment Facility and other conveyors are used.

The public authorities are responsible for the national implementation of so-called "focal points ". In Germany these are the Federal Environment Ministry and its subordinate authority, the Federal Agency for Nature Conservation (BfN ). The national players design their own strategies and reporting on its implementation into national biodiversity reports. The Biodiversity Strategy of the Federal Government is an attempt to achieve the objectives of the Convention at national level.

Implementation

With 191 Parties, the Convention on Biological Diversity is one of the most successful international instruments, but has to contend with practical difficulties. States Parties are obliged under international law to implement the Convention, but not forced. Accordingly, many States have until now presented no national biodiversity strategy, although the Convention entered into force on 29 December 1993.

The U.S. has drawn the Convention, but it does not ratified it. Therefore, you can negotiate with, but are not obliged to implement.

A basic problem are interpretable and relatively non-binding goal formulations in many parts of the Convention. Exceptions are, among others, the so-called 2010 targets and the 16 specific objectives of the Global Strategy for Plant Conservation dar.

The German Federal Government adopted in 2007 as a signatory to the Convention, a National Biodiversity Strategy, which defines 330 goals and 430 measures in the key areas of action for the conservation of biological diversity. The serious implementation of these measures will be strongly challenged by German conservation organizations, even if the federal program Biodiversity from 2011 first measures were financed.

Parties Conferences ( COP)

COP 1

The first official meeting of the " Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity " was held in Nassau, Bahamas from 28 November to 9 December -1994.

COP 2

The second official meeting of the " Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity " was held in Jakarta, Indonesia from 6 to 17 November 1995.

COP 3

From 4 to November 15, 1996 took place in Buenos Aires ( Argentina), the third Conference of the Parties ( COP 3 ) to the Convention on Biological Diversity held.

COP 4

The fourth meeting of the " Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity " took place in Europe. In Bratislava (Slovakia ), the representatives of the countries met on 4 and 15 May 1998.

ExCOP 1

In January 2000 was the first time an "Extraordinary Meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity " in Cartagena, Colombia, and in Montreal, Canada on 22 and 23 February 1999 and 24 to 28 January 2000, instead.

COP 5

From 15 to 26 May 2000 its in Nairobi, the 5th Conference of the Parties ( COP5 ) to the Convention on Biological Diversity held.

COP 6

From 7 to 19 April 2002 ( COP5 ) to the Convention on Biological Diversity held in The Hague, Netherlands, instead of the 6th Conference of the Parties.

COP 7

From 9 to 27 February 2004 took place in Malaysia (Kuala Lumpur ), the 7th Conference of the Parties ( COP-7 ) instead of the Convention on Biological Diversity.

COP 8

From 20 to 31 March 2006, the 8th Conference of the Parties ( COP8 ) to the Convention on Biological Diversity and the 3rd Meeting of the Member States ( MOP3 ) to the Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety was held in Brazil ( Curitiba ).

COP 9

From 19 to 30 May 2008, the 9th Conference of the Parties ( COP9 ) to the Convention on Biological Diversity and the 4th meeting of the Member States ( MOP 4 ) to the Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety was held in Germany (Bonn). The Federal Environment Ministry, the Federal Agency for Nature Conservation and many non-governmental organizations strongly focus their ( public relations ) work on these conferences.

At this conference, the Business and Biodiversity Initiative was founded. The aim of this initiative is to companies internationally stronger binding to the achievement of objectives of the Biodiversity Convention by signing the so-called " Leadership Declaration " and integrate the sustainable use of biodiversity in their business management systems, "best practices" develop, publish, and to the 10th Conference of the Parties in 2010 to participate actively in Japan.

The UN General Assembly has declared 2010 as the International Year of Biodiversity on 20 December 2006. With the coordination of the Secretariat of the Convention on Biodiversity was commissioned.

COP 10

On October 18, 2010 started in Nagoya, Japan, the 10th Conference of the Parties ( COP10 ) to the Convention on Biological Diversity. Under Japanese presidency was negotiated measures against the ongoing destruction of nature. Among the main topics of the conference in Nagoya included the adoption of a protocol on access to genetic resources and equitable sharing of benefits ( access and benefit sharing protocol, ABS ) and the adoption of a new Strategic Plan of the Convention. It was also negotiating financial issues regarding the implementation of the Convention.

With the ABS Protocol should be achieved, that the access to the genetic resources of a country is securely regulated and that countries of origin of such resources, equitable share in the profits realized by an user. One example is the development of drugs or breeding.

The Strategic Plan of the Convention specific medium-and long-term goals and priorities for international biodiversity conservation have been established. The strategic plan was to reduce the target by 2010, the current rate of biodiversity loss significantly. The global 2010 biodiversity target was not achieved despite overall success in some areas at regional, national and local levels. What objectives should pursue global biodiversity policy from 2011 to 2020, was discussed at the conference.

In addition to the key issues above, the delegates made ​​decisions on many other topics such as:

• Biodiversity and current climate change Business and Biodiversity
• Biofuels
• Marine biodiversity
• Forest Biodiversity

The so-called Nagoya package was adopted on 29 October 2010 by the 193 States Parties. The package consists of a Conservation Strategy for 2020, an agreement on a binding treaty against biopiracy ( ABS Protocol ) and a plan for the provision of finance for developing countries.

Positions at COP 10

Before the conference, the Federal Agency for Nature Conservation pointed out that the lack of funding for protection of the main reasons was for the continuing loss of biodiversity. This was particularly true for the poorer countries of the South, which house the majority of the world's biodiversity, but do not have sufficient funds for their conservation and sustainable use. The big challenge for Nagoya whether to bring in the current tight budgetary situation of the Member States a credible willingness of donor countries for an improved global funding for biodiversity conservation in the negotiations. German Chancellor Angela Merkel had promised on the previous conference in 2008 (CBD COP9 ) in Bonn that Germany would also provide 500 million euros, 500 million euros in 2013, in particular for the protection of tropical forests available until 2012.

Germany had with the use of proceeds from the European emissions trading for climate-relevant biodiversity conservation developed an instrument which introduced the Federal Environment Ministry in the negotiations as a model for generating additional funding for biodiversity protection in other countries and regions.

Conservation organizations have criticized the fact that the own goals were achieved by 2010 is not nearly. NABU appealed for example, to the federal government to engage in a significant increase in environmental aid to poor countries.

COP 11

The 11th Conference of the Parties took place in 2012 in Hyderabad. Until recently, the issue of financing for the planned measures, especially in developing countries was unclear: While these countries until then an average of four billion euros ( reference period 2006-2010 ) expenditure for their conservation efforts, this sum should be increased by a NABU requirement to eleven billion. The African states had already promised at the beginning of the conference to increase their own work. It was decided that from industrialized countries by 2015 eight billion euros worldwide support will come for biodiversity protection.

In Hyderabad to over 190 countries in the world known to take further steps to protect the deep sea. They pledged to provide up to 2020 ten percent of oceans under protection and to identify the most valuable areas beyond national borders. Precisely this is not protected. Depending on the region, the participants expected five to ten years, to the network of protected areas is actually implemented on the high seas.

Brazil failed in his attempt to keep out the concerns of biodiversity from climate policy. Also in the future need to be heard conservation aspects at least, when it comes to biofuels or of forests as greenhouse gas storage.

The next UN Biodiversity Conference 2014 is expected to be held in South Korea.

Assessment

The Federal Agency for Nature Conservation refers to the Convention on Biological Diversity " as a key international instrument for the conservation, sustainable use, and to ensure adequate access to and benefit sharing from the use of biological resources of the earth."