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.

Updated list of Collembola species currently recorded from South Africa.

Abstract: Understanding the abundance and richness of species is one of the most fundamental steps in effecting their conservation. Despite global recognition of the significance of the below-ground component of diversity for ecosystem functioning, the soil remains a poorly studied terrestrial ecosystem. In South Africa, knowledge is increasing for a variety of soil faunal groups, but many still remain poorly understood. We have started to address this gap in the knowledge of South African soil biodiversity by focusing on the Collembola in an integrated project that encompasses systematics, barcoding and ecological assessments. Here we provide an updated list of the Collembola species from South Africa. A total of 124 species from 61 genera and 17 families has been recorded, of which 75 are considered endemic, 24 widespread, and 25 introduced. This total number of species excludes the 36 species we consider to be dubious. From the published data, Collembola species richness is high compared to other African countries, but low compared to European countries. This is largely a consequence of poor sampling in the African region, as our discovery of many new species in South Africa demonstrates. Our analyses also show that much ongoing work will be required before a reasonably comprehensive and spatially explicit picture of South Africa’s springtail fauna can be provided, which may well exceed 1000 species. Such work will be necessary to help South Africa meet its commitments to biodiversity conservation, especially in the context of the 2020 Aichi targets of the Convention on Biological Diversity.

Bioprospecting in Antarctica: the search for a policy regime

Abstract: This paper aims to elucidate the important economic and political aspects of an extremely complex policy issue involving biological prospecting (bioprospecting) in Antarctica. In addressing this rapidly growing global industry, which searches for commercially valuable biological and genetic resources in a world of biological diversity, it becomes obvious that a critical interface exists between Antarctica and the intertwined bioprospecting policies brought forth during recent decades by two treaties, the Convention on Biological Diversity and the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea. The analytical framework of the paper builds upon the economic concept of public goods within a political framework of international treaties and law. The concept of a national public good, associated with the sovereignty of a state (nation) over its biological and genetic resources, is the basis of such policy under the Biological Diversity Treaty. In practice, this jurisdiction applies both to the land area of a state and to the exclusive economic zone of a coastal state. The Law of the Sea Treaty, on the other hand, provides both a national public good connotation to exclusive economic zones while creating a global public good connotation for deep seabed mineral resources, with a related potential application to bioprospecting in the deep seabed. While the Antarctic Treaty System possesses several institutions that could be adapted to a bioprospecting policy regime, no such regime has been established up to the present. The paper concludes with a consideration of the critical question: is bioprospecting in Antarctica a national or global public good? While logic would appear to lead one toward the ‘global’ answer, multinational economic and political realities in today's world suggest that either a national public good approach, or a largely unregulated open access approach, is more likely to prevail.

Assessing Global Marine Biodiversity Status within a Coupled Socio-Ecological Perspective

Abstract: People value the existence of a variety of marine species and habitats, many of which are negatively impacted by human activities. The Convention on Biological Diversity and other international and national policy agreements have set broad goals for reducing the rate of biodiversity loss. However, efforts to conserve biodiversity cannot be effective without comprehensive metrics both to assess progress towards meeting conservation goals and to account for measures that reduce pressures so that positive actions are encouraged. We developed an index based on a global assessment of the condition of marine biodiversity using publically available data to estimate the condition of species and habitats within 151 coastal countries. Our assessment also included data on social and ecological pressures on biodiversity as well as variables that indicate whether good governance is in place to reduce them. Thus, our index is a social as well as ecological measure of the current and likely future status of biodiversity. As part of our analyses, we set explicit reference points or targets that provide benchmarks for success and allow for comparative assessment of current conditions. Overall country-level scores ranged from 43 to 95 on a scale of 1 to 100, but countries that scored high for species did not necessarily score high for habitats. Although most current status scores were relatively high, likely future status scores for biodiversity were much lower in most countries due to negative trends for both species and habitats. We also found a strong positive relationship between the Human Development Index and resilience measures that could promote greater sustainability by reducing pressures. This relationship suggests that many developing countries lack effective governance, further jeopardizing their ability to maintain species and habitats in the future.

Biodiversity management and local livelihoods: rio plus 10

Abstract: Despite the 1992 Rio Convention on Biological Diversity, the world’s biological resources continue to be lost at an alarming rate, and particularly so in developing countries where many of the remaining resources are concentrated. Both inside and outside protected areas, biological resources, their management, and people’s livelihood systems are complex and intricately inter-connected. While conventions are signed globally the implementation of provisions has to be local, and prospects for success depend on assessment of likely costs and benefits among stakeholders at various levels, and the resolution of conflict of interest among them.

The Environmental Consequences of War: War and biodiversity: an assessment of impacts

Abstract: Introduction The “peace dividend” expected by many to result from the end of the Cold War has not paid off in terms of reduced violent conflict. Indeed, the recent nuclear weapons tests by India and Pakistan demonstrate the continuing potential for highly destructive war. Some countries are facing generalized lawlessness and banditry, by marauding ex-soldiers in several African nations, drug cartels in some parts of Latin America, and organized crime in various parts of the former Soviet Union. Tensions in the Middle East, parts of Africa, Central America, Ireland, Southeastern Europe, and Indonesia are further indications that war is a continuing fact of modern life. Despite these widespread threats to national sovereignty, governments are obliged under Article 1 of the 1992 Convention on Biological Diversity to conserve their own biodiversity, and under Article 3 to ensure that activities within their jurisdiction or control do not cause damage to the biodiversity of other states. Any negative impacts of war on biodiversity are clearly contrary to this international agreement, though this constraint cannot be expected to carry much weight with belligerent powers; NATO apparently did not consider biodiversity in their bombing plans over Kosovo, judging from the results. But what, specifically, are the impacts of war on biodiversity? This chapter attempts to identify some of the key issues in preparing a balanced assessment of this question.