CBD - Overview

• The Convention was made available for signature during the Rio de Janeiro Earth
Summit on June 5, 1992, and it became effective on December 29, 1993.
• The only UN member state that has not ratified the Convention is the United States.
• The Convention on Biological Diversity addresses biodiversity on all levels, including
ecosystems, species, and genetic resources.
• It also includes biotechnology, such as the Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety. Indeed, it
encompasses all possible domains that are directly or indirectly related to biodiversity
and its role in development, ranging from science, politics, and education to agriculture,
business, and culture, among other things.
• The Conference of the Parties is the CBD's governing body (COP).
• Every two years, the ultimate authority of all governments (or Parties) that have ratified
the treaty meets to review progress, set priorities, and commit to work plans.
• The Nagoya Protocol and the Cartagena Protocol are two add-on accords.

CBD - Objectives & Goals

Objectives
The objectives of the Convention on Biological Diversity are
• To preserve biological diversity;
• To make responsible use of its elements;
• Equitable distribution of the benefits resulting from the use of genetic resources;
• Appropriate access to genetic resources;
• Appropriate transfer of relevant technologies, and
• Appropriate funding, while taking into account all rights to those resources and
technologies.
Goals
The three main goals are as follows:
• Biodiversity conservation;
• Sustainable use of biodiversity components; and
• Sharing the benefits derived from commercial and other exploitation Parties

Cartagena Protocol
• An international agreement called the Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety to the Convention
on Biological Diversity regulates the transfer of living modified organisms (LMOs)
brought about by contemporary biotechnology from one nation to another.
• As an addition to the CBD, it was enacted on January 29th, 2000, and went into effect on
September 11th, 2003.
Nagoya Protocol
• Another additional agreement to the CBD is the Nagoya Protocol on Access to Genetic
Resources and the Fair and Equitable Sharing of Benefits arising from their Utilization
(ABS).
• It offers a clear legal framework for the efficient realization of one of the three goals of
the CBD: the equitable and fair distribution of gains attributable to the use of genetic
resources.
• The Nagoya Protocol was adopted in Nagoya, Japan, on October 29, 2010, and it came
into effect on October 12, 2014.
• The Nagoya Protocol covers the CBD-covered genetic resources and the advantages
resulting from their use.
• The protocol also discusses conventional knowledge related to genetic resources
covered by CBD and the advantages of using them.
• The fair and equal distribution of benefits resulting from the use of genetic resources,
which supports the protection and sustainable use of biodiversity, is one of the three goals
of the CBD.