Convention on Biological Diversity 

• • Signed by 150 government leaders at the 1992 Rio Earth Summit, the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) is dedicated to promoting sustainable development. 
  • Conceived as a practical tool for translating the principles of Agenda 21 into reality, the Convention recognizes that biological diversity is about more than plants, animals and micro organisms and their ecosystems – it is about people and our need for food security, medicines, fresh air and water, shelter, and a clean and healthy environment in which to live. 

• Agenda 21 is a non-binding action plan of the United Nations for sustainable development, covering a wide range of specific natural resources and the role of different groups, as well as issues of social and economic development and implementation.

• It is a product of the 1992 Rio Earth Summit.

• • India is a party to CBD and enacted the Biological Diversity Act, 2002 to meet the obligations under Convention on Biological Diversity.
  • The CBD Secretariat is based in Montreal, Canada and it operates under the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP). 

• The UNEP is the leading environmental authority in the United Nations system. It was founded as a result of the UN Conference on the Human Environment (also known as the Stockholm Conference) in 1972.

• The Parties under CBD meet at regular intervals and these meetings are called Conference of Parties (COP). 

Objectives

• The CBD entered into force in 1993. It has 3 main objectives:

1. The conservation of biological diversity
2. The sustainable use of the components of biological diversity
3. The fair and equitable sharing of the benefits arising out of the utilization of genetic resources.

Aichi Targets

• The ‘Aichi Targets’ were adopted by the Convention on Biological Diversity at the tenth meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the CBD (COP10) which took place in Nagoya, Japan in 2010.
• The short-term plan provides a set of 20 time-bound, measurable targets to be met by the year 2020, collectively known as the Aichi Biodiversity Targets, grouped under five Strategic Goals.

Protocols to CBD

Cartagena Protocol 

• The Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety to the Convention on Biological Diversity is an international agreement which aims to ensure the safe handling, transport and use of living modified organisms (LMOs) resulting from modern biotechnology that may have adverse effects on biological diversity, taking also into account risks to human health. 
• It entered into force in 2003.  Number of Parties: more than 170 countries (including India).

Nagoya Protocol 

• 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 is an international agreement which aims at sharing the benefits arising from the utilization of genetic resources in a fair and equitable way. 
• It entered into force in 2014. Number of Parties: more than 130 countries (including India).

Nagoya – Kuala Lumpur Supplementary Protocol 

• Adopted as a supplementary agreement to the Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety, the Nagoya – Kuala Lumpur Supplementary Protocol on Liability and Redress to the Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety aims to contribute to the conservation and sustainable use of biodiversity by providing international rules and procedures in the field of liability and redress relating to living modified organisms. 
• It entered into force in 2018. Number of Parties: more than 50 countries (including India).

Reports Published

• The Global Biodiversity Outlook (GBO) Report is the flagship publication of the CBD and summarises progress made towards achieving the objectives of the Convention, such as the Aichi Targets and identifies key actions to achieve these.

Why in News?

• The Sixteenth meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD COP 16) was recently held in Cali, Colombia.

Highlights of Previous COP

• COP 16 follows meetings in 2022 at Montreal, Canada. At that meet, countries agreed to protect 30% of land and water by 2030, known as the ‘30-by-30 agreement’, at a time when less than 17% of land and 10% of marine areas were protected. 
• In 2022, the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework (KMGBF), as it is formally known, set 23 action-oriented global targets for urgent action in the decade to 2030. 
• The actions listed in each target needed to be initiated immediately and completed by 2030. 
• Other than the 30-by-30 goals, targets include reducing the introduction of invasive alien species by 50% and minimising their impact by 2030. 
• It also aimed to reduce pollution risks and the negative impact of pollution from all sources to tolerable levels by 2030; set up a mechanism for benefit-sharing from the use of digital sequence information on genetic sources and traditional knowledge, and integrating biodiversity into policies, regulations, planning and development processes. 
• A key aim of the COP-16 was to agree on mechanisms to implement these targets as well as discuss ways to organise funding. 

What are some decisions taken at COP-16?

• • Governments have agreed to establish a new global fund (the ‘Cali Fund’) dedicated to sharing the benefits derived from using Digital Sequence Information (DSI) from genetic resources.

• DSI is a term used to describe genetic information that has been sequenced from the natural world and made available online for research.

• Companies using DSI from genetic biodiversity resources in their products should pay a portion of their profits or revenues into the ‘Cali Fund’, a portion of which will be allocated to Indigenous Peoples and local communities, either directly or through governments.
• Negotiators have decided on setting up a subsidiary body that will include indigenous groups and peoples in discussions around conservation and biodiversity.
• Other key decisions:
  • Establishing a network of regional Centers for Scientific and Technical Cooperation; 
  • Integrating UN-level climate action and biodiversity efforts; 
  • Procedures to identify Ecologically or Biologically Significant Marine Areas (EBSAs), essential for protecting 30% of ocean areas by 2030; 
  • Guidance on invasive Alien Species.