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.

How to pay for saving biodiversity

Abstract: The 1992 Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) was one of the first international environmental agreements negotiated. In the same year, the Global Environment Facility (GEF) for funding biodiversity conservation in developing countries was launched. Yet 25 years later, biological populations and diversity continue to decline both on land ( 1 ) and in the oceans ( 2 ). The main reasons are chronic underfunding of global biodiversity conservation; the lack of incentives for global cooperation; and the failure to control habitat conversion, resource overexploitation, species invasions, and other drivers of biodiversity loss. Dinerstein et al. recently called for a global deal, complementing the 2015 Paris Climate Change Agreement, for conserving half of the terrestrial realm for biodiversity by 2050 ( 3 ). Here, we explore how such a deal might be implemented to overcome the funding problem in biodiversity protection.

Databases, scaling practices, and the globalization of biodiversity

Abstract: Since the Convention on Biological Diversity in 1992, biodiversity has become an important topic for scientific research. Much of this research is focused on measuring and mapping the current state of biodiversity, in terms of which species are present at which places and in which abundance, and making extrapolations and future projections, that is, determining the trends. Biodiversity databases are crucial components of these activities because they store information about biodiversity and make it digitally available. Useful biodiversity databases require data that are reliable, standardized, and fit for up-scaling. This paper uses material from the EBONE-project (European Biodiversity Observation Network) to illustrate how biodiversity databases are constructed, how data are negotiated and scaled, and how biodiversity is globalized. The findings show a continuous interplay between scientific ideals related to objectivity and pragmatic considerations related to feasibility and data availability. Statistics was a crucial feature of the discussions. It also proved to be the main device in up-scaling the data. The material presented shows that biodiversity is approached in an abstract, quantitative, and technical way, disconnected from the species and habitats that make up biodiversity and the people involved in collecting the data. Globalizing biodiversity involves decontextualization and standardization. This paper argues that while this is important if the results of projects like EBONE are to be usable in different contexts, there is a risk involved as it may lead to the alienation from the organizations and volunteers who collect the data upon which these projects rely.

Do non-native species contribute to biodiversity?

Abstract: The Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) emphasises the role of biodiversity in delivering benefits essential for all people and, as a result, seeks to safeguard all life-forms. The indices that are used to measure progress towards international conservation and sustainability goals, however, focus solely on the 'native' component of biodiversity. A subset of non-native species can cause undesirable economic, social, or biological effects. But non-native species also contribute to regional biodiversity (species richness and biotic interactions) and ecosystem services. In some regions and cities, non-native species make up more than half of all species. Currently, the contributions of these species to biodiversity and ecosystem services are overlooked. Here, I argue that biodiversity and sustainability indices should include all species. This is not only consistent with definitions of biodiversity but also will promote the idea that long-term, sustainable, human well-being is intricately tied to benefits derived from nature.

The Challenge of Measuring Global Change in Wild Nature: Are Things Getting Better or Worse?

Abstract: The Ministerial Declaration made at the World Summit on Sustainable Development in Johannesburg agreed to protection and restoration of the integrity of our planet's ecological systems and identified as a major priority a significant reduction in the rate of current biodiversity loss at national and global levels. This goal is essentially a reformulation of that of the Convention on Biological Diversity agreed to in Rio de Janeiro 10 years ago. For us to have any idea of where we are in relation to this goal, we need information on current global trends in the status of natural systems. By 2005 it is envisaged that the Millennium Ecosystem Assessment (MA) will have provided a comprehensive account of global biodiversity from a compilation of existing data, but that is a long time to wait. What can we say now about trends in the state of wild nature since the United Nations' 1992 Conference on Environment and Development in Rio de Janeiro? Here, we briefly review recent global trends in habitat area in as many broadly defined natural habitats as possible and in indices of animal populations characteristic of those habitats. The information available indicates continuing declines in habitat area and species, but that data are extremely sparse.

Harmonizing national forest inventories

Abstract: International agreements increasingly require that countries report estimates of national forest resources The United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change requires that countries submit annual reports of greenhouse gas emissions and removals by sources and sinks The Convention on Biological Diversity requires that countries identify and monitor components of biological diversity for purposes of conservation and sustainable use