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.

Using decision science to evaluate global biodiversity indices.

Abstract: Global biodiversity indices are used to measure environmental change and progress towards conservation goals, yet their fitness for purpose is poorly understood. Few indices have been evaluated comprehensively for their capacity to detect trends of interest, such as declines in threatened species or ecosystem function. Using a structured approach based on decision science, we evaluated nine indices commonly used to track biodiversity at global and/or regional scales against five criteria relating to objectives, design, behaviour, incorporation of uncertainty, and constraints (e.g. costs and data availability). We identified four key gaps in indices assessed: i) pathways to achieving goals (means objectives) are not always clear or relevant to outcomes decision makers wish to achieve (fundamental objectives); ii) index testing and understanding of expected behaviour is often lacking; iii) uncertainty is seldom acknowledged or accounted for; and iv) costs of implementation seldom considered. These gaps may render indices inadequate in certain decision-making contexts and are problematic for indices linked with biodiversity targets and sustainability goals. Ensuring index objectives are clear and their design is underpinned by a model of relevant processes are crucial in addressing the gaps identified by our assessment. Uptake and productive use of indices will be improved if index performance is rigorously tested, and assumptions and uncertainties are clearly communicated to end-users. This will increase the value of indices in accurately tracking biodiversity change and supporting national and global policy decisions, such as the post-2020 global biodiversity framework of the Convention on Biological Diversity. Article impact statement: Evaluating biodiversity indices against criteria testing fitness for use means more effective and robust application in decision-making. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.

The interface between TRIPS and CBD: efforts towards harmonisation

Abstract: Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to analyse the interface between the Trade Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights Agreement (TRIPS) and the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD), to determine measures available to the global community to resolve the conflict between them, in order to prevent the rapid loss of biodiversity despite the diverse interests of nations.Design/methodology/approach – Within the framework of sustainability, this paper adopts a socio‐legal approach by undertaking a content analysis of the relevant treaties and juristic writings that sheds light on the existing matrix of interaction between the two legal instruments.Findings – The findings reveal that there is an urgent need to review all the instruments, particularly in the area of trade, intellectual property and conservation of biodiversity that causally influence the people's freedoms and capabilities in the said areas. To overcome the range of these surmountable barriers, a comprehensive approach to developmen...

Funding nature conservation: who pays?

Abstract: [Extract] At the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) meeting in Nagoya in October 2010, the world's governments signed up to an encouragingly ambitious set of conservation targets. These included protecting 17% of the world's land surface and 10% of the oceans by 2020. The meeting also achieved its three inter- linked goals: the adoption of a new 10-year Strategic Plan (CBD, 2011); a Resource Mobilization Strategy to increase development assistance in support of biodiversity; and a new international protocol on access to and sharing of the benefits from the use of the planet's genetic resources. To achieve these goals, governments must substantially increase their contributions towards biodiversity conservation. With the current global financial crisis, this will be a huge challenge. Many poorer countries have already indicated a lack of resources to implement the CBD targets (see below). In addition, many governments are already committed to raising $100 billion (USD) per year for climate change by 2020, and may not be able to afford additional investment that supports biodiversity conservation. In response to the existing financial challenges, budgetary decisions on how to pay via the Resource Mobilization Strategy were deferred until 2012. Efforts are currently under way by the CBD Secretariat to document current expenditures on biodiversity conservation worldwide, and to cost out what it would take to implement the Strategic Plan.

People, Plants, Place, and Rules: The Nagoya Protocol in Pacific Island Countries

Abstract: This paper considers the rules informing the use of plants and associated knowledges in the Pacific, particularly Vanuatu, in the context of the introduction into the Pacific region of the Nagoya Protocol on Access to Genetic Resources and the Fair and Equitable Sharing of Benefits Arising from their Utilization to the Convention on Biological Diversity. The Nagoya Protocol, which entered into force in October 2014, brings both new international regulatory dimensions and new recognition and re-framing of local and customary levels of regulation over genetic resources and traditional knowledge. Whilst generally seen as a positive step to protect genetic resources and traditional knowledge from misappropriation, at an implementation level the Nagoya Protocol gives rise to a range of issues. These issues go to the heart of questions about power, agency, and resource allocation, the bounded nature of communities and their relationship with land or sea; the fluidity and dynamism of customary law; challenges stemming from multiples sites of agency and the potentials of pluralism in many respects. We explore these issues with specific reference to some examples in Vanuatu, the Cook Islands and Samoa.

The Tragedy of the Global Commons

Abstract: Global commons. Say it out loud a few times. It has a nice ring, doesn't it? Admittedly, it paints an appealing scene. Picture forests of happy little trees1 surrounded by a multicultural ring-around-the-rosey.2 People of all nations join hands in a collaborative appreciation of the beauty of nature. One can almost imagine a shared space, equivalent to the kindergarten sandbox, where everyone plays nicely with their neighbor. Unfortunately, reality is not as picturesque. Global commons are not, as their name would logically imply, equally shared resources. Moreover, areas labeled as global commons are not any more protected than areas subject to sovereign utilization. Their inherent value is not natural, but financial. Consequently, these global commons are labeled as such not in the hopes of maintaining pristine treasures, but for extracting the most profit over the longest period. Ultimately, as long as treaties concerning these areas focus on exploitation instead of preservation, there will be no more rosey to ring around. This note will address the impending degradation of the global commons and how treaties incorporating these areas offer ineffective protection. I will define the theories of sustainable development and the common heritage of mankind (CUM) and outline their incorporation into international environmental agreements. Specifically, I will focus on the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) and the Convention on Biological Diversity (Convention). In analyzing these international agreements, I will discuss how their development and text portray global commons as resources to be exploited