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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.


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Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: An incident that involved withholding avian influenza virus samples illustrates the importance and limitations of international law in global health diplomacy.
Abstract: Indonesia’s decision to withhold samples of avian influenza virus A (H5N1) from the World Health Organization for much of 2007 caused a crisis in global health. The World Health Assembly produced a resolution to try to address the crisis at its May 2007 meeting. I examine how the parties to this controversy used international law in framing and negotiating the dispute. Specifically, I analyze Indonesia’s use of the international legal principle of sovereignty and its appeal to rules on the protection of biological and genetic resources found in the Convention on Biological Diversity. In addition, I consider how the International Health Regulations 2005 applied to the controversy. The incident involving Indonesia’s actions with virus samples illustrates both the importance and the limitations of international law in global health diplomacy.

117 citations

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors propose a biodiversity monitoring framework to unify conservation theory and practice, which is built on the interconnection among different types of indicators, and on the systematic articulation of their relationships into seven indicator approaches.

116 citations

Posted ContentDOI
01 Jan 2001
TL;DR: Decision-makers need to invest more in assessing the potential impacts before allowing introductions and to incorporate more biosecurity measures once the species has been introduced, to justify increased budgets to control and limit such accidental introductions.
Abstract: Species introduced from outside their natural range can be an economic boon, because they often seem to do better in their new home than in their place of origin. For example, various species of eucalyptus from Australia are widespread in Southeast Asia, China, India, California, and various parts of Africa, and South Africa’s colourful proteas bless many of the world’s gardens. Further, ‘natural’ is becoming an increasingly obsolete concept, as virtually all ecosystems have a strong and increasing anthropogenic component. People are designing the kinds of ecosystems they find congenial. The great increase in the introduction of aliens that people are importing primarily for aesthetic reasons — ornamentals to make their gardens more attractive — often leads to a net increase in species richness in their destination. It is quite likely, for example, that many parts of the world have far more species now than ever before, though this great increase of species numbers is usually at least partly at the expense of indigenous species (and thus reduces global species diversity). But a species introduced for noble economic or aesthetic objectives may escape into the wild, invading native ecosystems with disastrous results: they become alien invasive species (AIS). Greatly improved transport that enables traders to move goods around the world quickly is providing ideal opportunities for the accidental introduction of AIS, ranging from zebra mussels to disease-carrying mosquitoes to bacteria and viruses. It appears that few purposeful introductions have been accompanied by a careful consideration of the full costs involved. When the costs have become apparent, they can be astronomical; one study in the United States estimates that costs associated with alien species amount to some US$136 billion per year, and the recent disastrous fires in South Africa appear to be at least partly due to the spread of AIS. These costs usually must be paid by someone other than those who sponsored or promoted the introduction — often the general public. Decision-makers need to invest more in assessing the potential impacts before allowing introductions and to incorporate more biosecurity measures once the species has been introduced. Accidental introductions by definition are not exposed to a prior cost-benefit assessment, but assessments of the costs of such introductions can justify increased budgets to control and limit such accidental introductions. AIS issues also link to other issues of major policy concern, such as biotechnology, global trade, water, human health, and climate change. The Convention on Biological Diversity offers an important opportunity for addressing the complex global problems of introduced species through improved international cooperation.

116 citations

Journal ArticleDOI
18 Jul 2012-PLOS ONE
TL;DR: A framework for using biodiversity indicators predictively to inform policy choices at a global level is presented and it is found that the indicator can aid in decision-making because it is able to differentiate between the impacts of the different policies.
Abstract: In order to influence global policy effectively, conservation scientists need to be able to provide robust predictions of the impact of alternative policies on biodiversity and measure progress towards goals using reliable indicators. We present a framework for using biodiversity indicators predictively to inform policy choices at a global level. The approach is illustrated with two case studies in which we project forwards the impacts of feasible policies on trends in biodiversity and in relevant indicators. The policies are based on targets agreed at the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) meeting in Nagoya in October 2010. The first case study compares protected area policies for African mammals, assessed using the Red List Index; the second example uses the Living Planet Index to assess the impact of a complete halt, versus a reduction, in bottom trawling. In the protected areas example, we find that the indicator can aid in decision-making because it is able to differentiate between the impacts of the different policies. In the bottom trawling example, the indicator exhibits some counter-intuitive behaviour, due to over-representation of some taxonomic and functional groups in the indicator, and contrasting impacts of the policies on different groups caused by trophic interactions. Our results support the need for further research on how to use predictive models and indicators to credibly track trends and inform policy. To be useful and relevant, scientists must make testable predictions about the impact of global policy on biodiversity to ensure that targets such as those set at Nagoya catalyse effective and measurable change.

114 citations

Journal ArticleDOI
01 Apr 2003-Oryx
TL;DR: The concept of international "Peace Parks" is being promoted in many parts of the world as a way of linking biodiversity conservation with national security as mentioned in this paper, and the Convention on Biological Diversity offers a useful framework for such cooperation.
Abstract: Forests are often frontiers, and like all frontiers, they are sites of dynamic social, ecological, political and economic changes. Such dynamism involves constantly changing advantages and disadvantages to different groups of people, which not surprisingly can lead to armed conflict, and all too frequently to war. Many governments have contributed to conflict, however inadvertently, by nationalizing their forests, so that traditional forest inhabitants have been disenfranchised while national governments sell the rights to trees in order to earn foreign exchange. Biodiversity-rich tropical forests in Papua New Guinea, Indonesia, Indochina, Myanmar, Sri Lanka, Central and West Africa, the Amazon, Colombia, Central America and New Caledonia have all been the sites of armed conflict in recent years, sometimes involving international forces. Forests have sometimes been part of the cause of conflict (as in Myanmar and Sierra Leone) but more often victims of it. Violent conflicts in temperate areas also typically involve forests as shelters for both civilians and combatants, as in the Balkans. While these conflicts have frequently, even invariably, caused negative impacts on biodiversity, peace can be even worse, as it enables forest exploitation to operate with impunity. Because many of the remaining forests are along international borders, international cooperation is required for their conservation. As one response, the concept of international “Peace Parks” is being promoted in many parts of the world as a way of linking biodiversity conservation with national security. The Convention on Biological Diversity, which entered into force at the end of 1993 and now has 187 State Parties, offers a useful framework for such cooperation.

113 citations


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Performance
Metrics
No. of papers in the topic in previous years
YearPapers
2023112
2022219
2021107
2020116
201995
2018104