Background on the Convention for Biological Diversity (CBD)

The Convention on Biological Diversity is a international treaty adopted by the United Nations in 1992 at the Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro. The convention aims to promote the conservation of biological diversity, the sustainable use of its components, and the fair and equitable sharing of the benefits arising from the use of genetic resources.

At the Earth Summit, the parties to the convention adopted a set of goals known as the "Rio Declaration on Environment and Development" which included the "Principles of the Convention on Biological Diversity" and a "Programme of Action for Sustainable Development."

The Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety is a supplementary agreement to the CBD that was adopted in 2000. It aims to ensure the safe handling, transport, and use of living modified organisms (LMOs) that may have adverse effects on biodiversity, especially in relation to the conservation and sustainable use of biological diversity, taking also into account risks to human health.

The Nagoya Protocol on Access to Genetic Resources and the Fair and Equitable Sharing of Benefits Arising from their Utilization is another supplementary agreement to the CBD that was adopted in 2010. It provides a framework for the fair and equitable sharing of benefits arising from the utilization of genetic resources, in a manner that recognizes the rights of the providers of such resources, including indigenous and local communities.

The Aichi Targets are a set of goals agreed upon by the parties to the convention in 2010 at the Conference of the Parties in Nagoya, Japan. These targets aim to address the loss of biodiversity and the decline of ecosystem services by the year 2020. The targets cover a wide range of issues, including the conservation of threatened species, the sustainable use of natural resources, and the fair and equitable sharing of the benefits arising from the use of genetic resources.

IN Dec 2022 in COP15 at Montreal parties are discussing a post-2020 Global Biodiversity Framework (GBF) and endorsed it. These included new indicators that would warn countries of potential genetic diversity loss.

Connected to our lab's work, we