INTRODUCTION

Biodiversity, cons tute the vital life support for survival of human race.
Biological diversity represent the sum total of various life forms such as unicellular
fungi, protozoa, bacteria, and mul cellular organisms such as plants, fishes, and
mammals at various biological levels including gens, habitats, and ecosystem
Biodiversity means the variability among living organisms from all sources
and the ecosystem of which they are part.

• About 13 to 40 million species are found and 1.75 million species

iden fied.

• Biological recourses are the mainstay of our economical development.

• Several interna
onal conven ons and trea es related to biodiversity are
under enforcement.

• Conven on on Biological Diversity (CBD), 1992 is the most important

interna onal conven on related to biodiversity,which brought new era in the
field of biodiversity
A World View Without Biological Diversity

Current state of Biological Diversity

Over half of the 14 biomes studied in the Millennium Assessment have
experienced a 20-
50% human conversion. (Millennium Assessment, 2005)
Kareiva et al. 2007. Domes cated Nature: Shaping Landscapes and Ecosystems for Human Welfare.

Human Impact on Biological Diversity: A Global View

THREATS TO BIODIVERSITY
Natural causes:
⮚ Narrow geographical area

⮚ Low popula on ⮚ Low breeding rate

⮚ Natural disasters

Anthropogenic causes:
⮚ Habitat modifica on

⮚ Overexploita on of selected species ⮚

Innova on by exo c species

RECENT ISSUES ON
BIODIVERSITY

⮚ Some 75 per cent of the gene c diversity

of crop plants been lost in the past century.

⮚ Some scien sts es mate that as many as 3

species per hour are going ex nct and
20,000 ex nc ons occur each year.

⮚ Roughly one-third of the world’s coral reef systems have been destroyed or
highly degraded.

⮚ About 24 per cent of mammals and 12 per cent of bird species are currently
considered to be globally threatened.

⮚ More than 50 per cent of the world’s wetlands have been drained, and
popula ons of inland water and wetland species have declined by 50per cent
between 1970 and 1999.
Chronology of the Events on the Global Environment and
Development Leading to the Conven on on Biological Diversity

• 1962 Rachel Carson’s SILENT SPRING

• 1972 UN Conference on the Human Environment organized in

Stockholm, Sweden (The Stockholm Conference)

• 1981 IUCN began dra ing the “Conven on on Biological Diversity”

• 1987 UN World Commission on Environment and Development (The

concept of
Sustainable Development ini ated)

• December 1989 UN General Assembly (UNGA) called for a mee ng of

all the na ons on earth to deal with the problems and resolu ons on
ma ers related to the environment and development (“An Earth
Summit”)

History of CBD Contd

• The Execu ve Director of UNEP was authorized and requested
to prepare interna onal legal instruments ready for adop on.

• The new Ad Hoc Working Group of Legal and Technical Experts

organized two nego a on sessions

• Based on the recommenda on of this Ad Hoc Group, UNEP

Governing Council renamed it as Interna onal Nego a ng Commi ee
(INC) for the CBD in May 1991, which organized five nego a ng
sessions
CBD Nego a ng Groups:
• European Community (EU)

• JUSCANZ (Japan, US, Canada, Australia, New Zealand)

• Central and Eastern Europe (CEE)

• GRULAC (La n American and Caribbean Group)

• African Group • Asia and Pacific Group

• Others:

- Arab Group

- G-77/China

- Pacific Small Island Developing States (SIDS)

- Like-Minded Megadiverse Countries

CBD Nego a on
• Northern countries demanded Conserva on and Narrow
agenda

• During the nego a ons, developing countries envisaged the

proposed conven on as an opportunity to gain access to technology,
financial resources and markets and to promote sustainable economic
development

• They proposed the establishment of a special system of

intellectual property rights, a mechanism for compensa ng them for
access to and the u liza on of gene c resources provided by their
countries, and mechanisms that would facilitate their access to
biotechnology developed through the u liza on of these gene c
resource
 • Northern Countries was strongly opposed to many of these
proposals. They argued that loosening intellectual property rights
would threaten and constrain the development of biotechnology and
undermine the protec on of innova ons.

• Issues that could not be agreed upon included the

precau onary principle, which is now only referred to in the
Preamble, a consolidated intellectual property rights regime, liability
and redress for damage to biodiversity and a compila on of global
lists of protected areas and species

The Conven on on Biological Diversity

• The first global treaty to explicitly take comprehensive

ecosystem based approach

• Allows each party to implement its own provisions according to

guidelines

• Mandates that financing and administra on are shared

according to ability • Conserva on of Biological Diversity (BD) is a
common concern of humankind.

• States have sovereign right over their biological resources.

• States are responsible for conserva on and sustainable use of

biological resources.

• Need to establish the mechanism for fair and equitable sharing

of benefits arise from biodiversity and their related tradi onal knowl
There are three types of biodiversity

⮚ Diversity of Species

⮚ Diversity of Ecosystem

⮚ Diversity of
Genes

CBD
Principles
• Conserve and sustainably use biological diversity for the
benefit of present and future genera ons.

• Conserva on of biological diversity is a “common concern

of humankind.”

• Equity within and between genera ons in the use of

biological resources
CONSERVATION OF BIODIVERSITY
• Ar cles 8 and 9 set out the main Conserva on

• commitments under the Conven on.

• Biodiversity inventories

⮚ Conserving Biodiversity in protected Habitats-

Land Grabbing Sugges on

• local people’s rights to common land, including adhering

to standards for free, prior and informed consent,
 • Conserva on projects and ‘green’ industries (including
carbon offset markets and REDD ini a ves) must ensure they are
not party to ‘green grabs’

• Securing local collec ve land tenure (FAO Voluntary

Guidelines on the Responsible Governance of Tenure )

• be er and stronger collabora on between environmental

and development organisa ons, and a stronger strategic focus
on community land rights

Clearing-House Mechanism (CHM

• This mission is ar culated around three major goals:

• The central clearing-house mechanism provides effec ve global

informa on services to facilitate the implementa on of the Strategic
Plan for Biodiversity 2011-2020.

• Na onal clearing-house mechanisms provide effec ve informa on

services to facilitate the implementa on of the na onal biodiversity
strategies and ac on plans.

• Partners significantly expand the clearing-house mechanism network

and services.

• components: The CBD website, ac ng as the central node.

• The network of na onal Clearing-House Mechanisms.

• Various partner ins tu ons.

CBD Financial Mechanism: The Global
Environment Facility (GEF)
• GEF receives guidance from the COP on policy, strategy, programme
priori es, and eligibility criteria related to the use of resources for
purposes of the Conven on

• Projects of the GEF are undertaken by Par es to the Conven on and

the Implemen ng Agencies of the GEF: UNEP, UNDP and World Bank

• Execu ng Agencies contribute to the management and execu on of

GEF Projects

• More than 150 GEF-financed projects are executed or co-executed by,

or contain contracts or sub-contracts to, NGOs.

• Projects generally deal with one or more of four cri cal ecosystem
types and the human communi es found there: 1) arid and semi-arid
ecosystems; 2) coastal, marine, and freshwater ecosystems; 3) forest
ecosystems; and 4) mountain ecosystems. The GEF also has a fi h
opera onal programme: Conserva on and Sustainable Use of Biological
Diversity Important to Agriculture
Financial Mechanism

• The Japan Biodiversity Fund has been established by the

Presidency of the tenth Conference of the Par es (COP 10) in
support of the implementa on of the Nagoya Biodiversity
Outcomes.

• One of its key objec ves is to support, at regional and

sub-regional levels, Par es for the transla on of the new
Strategic Plan for Biodiversity 2011- 2020 into na onal
priori es as soon as possible
Ins tu onal arrangements of the CBD:

Par e s (COP )

• The governing body of theConven on is theConference of

the Par es (193 Par es) o
Its key func on is to keep under review the implementa on of the
Conven on and to steer its development o Other important func ons of the COP
include:

• adop on of the budget,

• the considera on of na onal reports,

• the adop on of protocols or annexes

• and the development of guidance to the financial

mechanism

• Mee ngs of the COP are held every two years and they
are open to all Par es to the Conven on as well as to
observers from non- Par es, intergovernmental organiza ons
and non-governmental organiza ons.

COP Achievements
• Adop on of protocol( Cartegena ,Nagoya)

• Gender Main streaming

• Publica on of Global Bio diversity Outlook

• Thema c expansion and AICHI targtes

Development of eco system approach
• Ecosystem" means a dynamic complex of plant, animal
and micro-organism communi es and their non-living
environment interac ng as a func onal unit". (Ar cle 2 of the
conven on)

• As described by the conference of Par es the ecosystem

approach is the primary framework for ac on under the
Conven on.

Programmes Thema c
• The Later COP to CBD has ini ated work on seven
thema c work programmes:

– marine and coastal biodiversity;

– agricultural biodiversity; – forest biodiversity;

– inland waters biodiversity;

– Island biodiversity;

– Mountain biodiversity;

– dry and sub-humid lands biodiversity.

• Each thema c programme establishes:

– a vision for, and basic principles to guide, future

work;

– sets out key issues for considera on;

– iden fies poten al outputs;

 – a metable and means for achieving these outputs.
Cross-Cu ng Issues

• There are a number of other items on the COP’s agenda

addressing key cross- cu ng issues of relevance to all thema c
areas:

– Access to gene c resources and benefit-sharing

– Alien species

– Tradi onal knowledge, innova ons and prac ces

– Biological diversity and tourism

– Climate change and biological diversity

– Indicators

– Public educa on and awareness

– Economics, trade and incen ve measures

– Ecosystem approach

– Global strategy for plant conserva on

– Global taxonomy ini a ve

– Impact assessment

– Liability and redress

– Protected areas

– Sustainable use of biodiversity

– 2010 Biodiversity Target – Technology transfer and

coopera on
Jus ce in CBD

Aichi Biodiversity Targets

• The Biodiversity Indicators Partnership (BIP) brings

together a host of interna onal organiza ons working on
indicator development, to provide the best available informa on
on biodiversity trends to the global community. The Partnership
was ini ally established to help monitor progress towards the
Conven on on Biological Diversity (CBD) 2010 Biodiversity target.

• Strategic Goal A: Address the underlying causes of

biodiversity loss by mainstreaming biodiversity across
government and
society Strategic Goal B: Reduce the direct pressures on biodiversity and promote
sustainable use

• Strategic Goal C: To improve the status of biodiversity by

safeguarding ecosystems, species and gene c diversity

• Strategic Goal D: Enhance the benefits to all from

biodiversity and ecosystem services
CBD and Flaws
• Broad Agenda

• So commitments

• Ignored / compromised Sustainable Development

• Neglected forests

• Slow in moving from policy to implementa on

• Emphasis on bio safety and protocol

Intellectual Property Rights and Biological Diversity

• The linkage between the TRIPS Agreement and the

interna onal biodiversity regime is mainly at four dis nct levels:

• the protec on of the knowledge,

• innova ons and prac ces of local and indigenous

communi es; • the sharing of the benefits arising from the
u liza on of gene c resources;

• The patentability of the forms; and the transfer of

technologies.
Forest and Bio diversity
• Interna onal tropical mber agreement 1983

• Earth Summit adopted the Non-legally Binding

Authorita ve Statement of Principles for a Global Consensus on
the Management, Conserva on and
Sustainable Development of All Types of Forests) together with agenda 21 , which
included a chapter (Chapter 11) on “Comba ng Deforesta on”.

• UN established the Intergovernmental Panel on Forests

(IPF) and its successor, the Intergovernmental Forum on Forests
(IFF), to implement the Rio outcome

• From 1995 to 2000, the IPF/IFF processes dealt with such

issues as underlying causes of deforesta on tradi onal forest-
related knowledge; interna onal coopera on in financial
assistance etc . The IPF/IFF processes resulted in a set of 270
proposals for ac on for the promo on of the management,
conserva on of all types of forests.

• In 2000, the (ECOSOC) established the United Na ons

Forum on Forests (UNFF) with the main objec ve to promote “…
the management, conserva on and sustainable development of
all types of forests

Cri que of CBD and Tradi onal knowledge

• Lack of compliance and mechanism

• Bio piracy and paten ng

• Indigenous and Local Par cipa on in CBD Processes

• Na onal Focus
• Green Grabbing

• Focus on Commercial Use and Property Rights

• Repor ng system not followed