Convention on Biological Diversity

About: Convention on Biological Diversity is a research topic. Over the lifetime, 2232 publications have been published within this topic receiving 65599 citations. The topic is also known as: CBD & United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity.

Lack of recognition of genetic biodiversity: International policy and its implementation in Baltic Sea marine protected areas.

Abstract: Genetic diversity is needed for species' adaptation to changing selective pressures and is particularly important in regions with rapid environmental change such as the Baltic Sea. Conservation measures should consider maintaining large gene pools to maximize species' adaptive potential for long-term survival. In this study, we explored concerns regarding genetic variation in international and national policies that governs biodiversity and evaluated if and how such policy is put into practice in management plans governing Baltic Sea Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) in Sweden, Finland, Estonia, and Germany. We performed qualitative and quantitative textual analysis of 240 documents and found that agreed international and national policies on genetic biodiversity are not reflected in management plans for Baltic Sea MPAs. Management plans in all countries are largely void of goals and strategies for genetic biodiversity, which can partly be explained by a general lack of conservation genetics in policies directed toward aquatic environments.

Philosophy and Biodiversity: Making the Biodiversity Crisis Tractable

Abstract: INTRODUCTION In current conservation parlance, “biodiversity” has become a generic term for everything that is good and worth preserving in living nature. It was originally used as a rallying cry of conservation biologists/ecologists/conservationists in the 1980s; Takacs (1996) describes the process, starting from the arrangement of the Forum on BioDiversity in Washington, D.C. in 1986. After the UN Conference on Environment and Development in Rio de Janeiro in 1992, biodiversity became a staple theme in international politics. Parallel to this institutional solidification of biodiversity on the political scene, the term itself has acquired more and more scientific credibility. E. O. Wilson's widely acclaimed monograph (Wilson 1992) was important for making the literary public familiar with the term. The most ambitious scientific project to date is headed by the Princeton ecologist Simon A. Levin, aiming at an Encyclopedia of Biodiversity ; a five-volume printed version was published in 2001 (Academic Press), and a much larger electronic version is under preparation. The preceding paragraph summarizes briefly the history of biodiversity as an environmental issue. The term broke through into scientific, political, and public consciousness remarkably quickly. It was invented in the early 1980s by a group of ecologists and evolutionary biologists, basically as a political slogan (see Takacs 1996). In other words, biodiversity rose to the position of an important environmental issue through deliberate social construction (Hannigan 1995; Haila 1999a).

Biodiversity and intellectual property rights: Can the two co‐exist?

Abstract: The last few years have seen a range of significant developments related to intellectual property rights(IPRs) and biodiversity. At least two major international agreements, both legally binding, deal with thisissue: the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) and the Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects ofIntellectual Property Rights (TRIPs) of the World Trade Organisation (WTO). In addition, the WorldIntellectual Property Organisation (WIPO) and other international institutions are increasingly becomingactive on the subject.At national levels, too, there is considerable activity. Several countries (Costa Rica, Eritrea, Fiji, India,Mexico, Peru, Philippines) are coming up with legislation, or other measures, which respond to theabove treaties or in other ways deal with the relationship between IPRs and biodiversity (Glowka1998). Of particular interest to many countries, especially in the 'developing' world, are the following:Protecting indigenous knowledge (traditional and modern) from being "pirated" and usedin IPR claims by industrial/commercial interests;Regulating access to biological resources so that historical "theft" of these resources bythe more powerful sections of the global society can be stopped, andcommunities/countries are able to gain control and benefits from their use.These issues relate not just to IPR regimes but also to the new provisions of Access and Benefit-sharing which the CBD contains, and which are being followed up by several countries withappropriate domestic legislation.Propelling the spurt in activity on this front are the IPR-related scandals that periodically shock theworld, such as:The patenting of ancient herbal remedies, e.g. the US Patent (No. 5,401,504) given tothe healing properties of turmeric, known for centuries to Indians; or the US plant patent(No. 5,751) on the 'ayahuasca' plant, considered sacred and used for medicinalpurposes by Amazon's indigenous peoples;The patenting of crop varieties which are similar to those grown for centuries in certaingeographical areas, e.g. for varieties of Basmati rice by Rice-Tec Corporation in the US(Patent No. 5,663,484); Rice-Tec even uses the term Basmati, long used to refer toaromatic rice grown in northern India and Pakistan, to describe its rice varieties;The patenting of human genetic material, e.g. on the human cell line of a Hagahaitribesman from Papua New Guinea (US Patent No. 5,397,696)Plant breeders' rights or patents on entire taxa rather than specific varieties or breeds,e.g. on all transgenic cotton or soybean granted to the company Agracetus; andPatents on technologies that threaten farming systems worldwide, such as US PatentNo. 5,723,765 granted to Delta and Pine Land Co., nick-named the Terminator

Conservation of biodiversity in private lands: are Chilean landowners willing to keep threatened species in their lands?

Abstract: Background: The biological conservation in private lands largely depends upon landowners’ willingness to keep populations of wild species on them, an issue highlighted by the Convention on Biological Diversity. In this study, we aim (i) to understand small landowners’ behavioural intentions, or relative intensity to adopt a given behaviour, towards threatened wildlife and (ii) to assess the role of local ecological knowledge, awareness of protected area, and forest ownership on landowners’ behavioural intentions towards threatened biodiversity. We interviewed peasants living around Los Queules National Reserve in Central Chile. Results: Interview results showed that behavioural intentions towards threatened species were species-dependant. Results also showed that higher ecological knowledge and awareness of a protected area were associated with positive behavioural intentions towards wildlife. Peasants who owned land with larger forest cover reported positive behavioural intentions towards wildlife more frequently than peasants with less forest cover on their lands, although associations were not consistent across species. Conclusions: We conclude that (i) opportunities for getting peasants to support species conservation depend on the particular species and vary across peasants and (ii) there is a relevant social heterogeneity among peasants in terms of behavioural intentions towards species. As both factors likely influence conservation outcomes, they should be considered in the design of biodiversity conservation efforts.

The identification of sites of biodiversity conservation significance: progress with the application of a global standard

Abstract: As a global community, we have a responsibility to ensure the long-term future of our natural heritage. As part of this, it is incumbent upon us to do all that we can to reverse the current trend of biodiversity loss, using all available tools at our disposal. One effective mean is safeguarding of those sites that are highest global priority for the conservation of biodiversity, whether through formal protected areas, community managed reserves, multiple-use areas, or other means. This special issue of the Journal of Threatened Taxa examines the application of the Key Biodiversity Area (KBA) approach to identifying such sites. Given the global mandate expressed through policy instruments such as the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD), the KBA approach can help countries meet obligations in an efficient and transparent manner. KBA methodology follows the well-established general principles of vulnerability and irreplaceability, and while it aims to be a globally standardized approach, it recognizes the fundamental need for the process to be led at local and national levels. In this series of papers the application of the KBA approach is explored in seven countries or regions: the Caribbean, Indo-Burma, Japan, Macedonia, Mediterranean Algeria, the Philippines and the Upper Guinea region of West Africa. This introductory article synthesizes some of the common main findings and provides a comparison of key summary statistics.