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.

The Ecological Consequences of Managing Forests for Non-Timber Products

Abstract: HUMANS WERE HUNTERS and gatherers long before they became farmers and loggers. The fruits of hunting and gathering non-timber forest products continue to this day to make an important contribution to subsistence and market economies alike. Worldwide, it is estimated that several thousands of species are collected from the wild for a variety of purposes (Myers 1988); in the high-diversity forests of Amazonia, for example, more than two-thirds of all tree species are used by indigenous peoples (Secretariat of the Convention on Biological Diversity 2001). At the local community level, non-timber forest products (hereafter, NTFP) can account for 35 per cent (for example, Zimbabwe; Cavendish 1997) to as much as 60 per cent (for example, India; Hegde et al. 1996) of household incomes. And even at a global level, the estimated value of the market in herbal medicines alone (a large proportion of which is collected from the wild) is about US$ 14 billion (Secretariat of the Convention on Biological Diversity 2001).

Securing Economic Benefits and Promoting Conservation through Bioprospecting

Abstract: Bioprospecting has frequently been cited as a sustainable use of biodiversity. Nevertheless, the level of bioprospecting in biodiversity-rich tropical regions falls below its potential, with the result that bioprospecting has produced only limited economic benefits. We present a bioprospecting program that, in addition to promoting drug discovery, provides economic benefits to and promotes conservation in Panama through the sustainable use of biodiversity. The program was initiated using insights from 20 years of nonapplied ecological research to enhance the likelihood of finding treatments for human disease. Samples are not sent abroad; rather, most of the research is carried out in Panamanian laboratories. Panama has received immediate benefits for the use of its biodiversity in the form of research funding derived from sources outside Panama, training for young Panamanian scientists, and enhanced laboratory infrastructure. Over the long term, discoveries derived from bioprospecting may help to establish research-based industries in Panama.

Mainstreaming Biodiversity: Conservation for the Twenty-First Century

Abstract: Insufficient focused attention has been paid by the conservation community to conservation of biodiversity outside of protected areas. Biodiversity mainstreaming addresses this gap in global conservation practice by “embedding biodiversity considerations into policies, strategies and practices of key public and private actors that impact or rely on biodiversity, so that it is conserved, and sustainably used, both locally and globally” (Huntley and Redford 2014). Biodiversity mainstreaming is designed to change those policies and practices that influence land uses outside of protected areas as well as to change economic and development decision-making by demonstrating the importance of conserving biodiversity for achieving development outcomes. The practice of mainstreaming is tied to implementation of the Convention on Biological Diversity and is practiced with billions of dollars of investment by development agencies, national government agencies, and the Global Environment Facility (GEF) and its implementing organizations as well as other donors. It is essential for the long-term survival of biodiversity inside and outside protected areas. However, it is virtually unheard of in the main conservation science field. This must change so as to bring careful documentation, analysis, monitoring, publishing and improvement of practices – all things that conservation science should provide as partners to practitioners of biodiversity mainstreaming. The situation is ripe for informed coordination and consolidation and creation of a science-driven field of biodiversity mainstreaming.

Environmental NGOs and the Biosafety Protocol: a case study on political influence

Abstract: It is not only governments which play an important role in securing international agreements, but environmental non-governmental organizations (ENGOs) as well. This is reflected in the ever-growing body of literature concerning this topic. This article deals with the political influence of ENGOs on the Biosafety Protocol, a protocol linked to the UNEP Convention on Biological Diversity. It concludes that these organizations did have an impact on the final agreement that was made, with one example being the inclusion of the precautionary principle in the final protocol (although not exclusively determined by ENGOs). They were particularly able to influence policy outcomes by lobbying government delegates, by co-operating with developing countries and by mobilizing public pressure. With regard to the time frame of the biosafety negotiations, ENGOs succeeded in exercising most of their influence in the so-called ‘pre-negotiation’ phase. Copyright © 2003 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. and ERP Environment.

On the EU's performance and leadership in global environmental governance: the case of the Nagoya Protocol

Abstract: Analysing the European Union's (EU) role in the negotiations of the 2010 Nagoya Protocol on access and benefit sharing regarding genetic resources, this article argues for the integration of (1) the EU's policy objectives and (2) their achievement in the analysis of the EU's performance and leadership in international (environmental) negotiations. We first develop a conceptual and explanatory framework that highlights the inter-relationship between both aspects. We then establish that the EU pursued conservative policy objectives in the Nagoya process (becoming more moderate in 2006/2007) but was highly successful in achieving its goals. The explanatory analysis provides illustrative evidence of how the degree of ambition of the EU's policy objectives directly affects and indirectly frames goal achievement: while conservative objectives are easier to realize than ambitious ones, factors such as domestic legislation, internal interest homogeneity, universal norms and external policy making procedur...