Since the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED) in Rio de Janeiro in 1992, conservation of biological diversity has been enshrined in an agreement that is binding under international law, the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD). To date, 191 countries have become parties to the Convention.

Whereas earlier agreements addressed only single issues of nature conservation, the three objectives of the CBD are broader in scope:

• conservation of biological diversity,
• sustainable use of its components, and
• fair and equitable sharing of the benefits arising from the utilisation of genetic resources (“benefit-sharing”).

To meet these objectives, the Parties must, for example, develop National Strategies and Action Plans for biodiversity conservation. Industrialised countries are committed to support developing countries in their efforts to implement the Convention. This is because the latter are especially dependent on biological diversity but lack the financial resources to ensure its conservation. A funding mechanism, the Global Environment Facility (GEF), has been set up to support this process. As the third largest donor, Germany is involved in projects that contribute to the implementation of the Rio Conventions on Biodiversity, Climate Change and Combating Desertification.

Germany will host the 9th Conference of the Parties (COP 9) in Bonn in 2008. Issues to be addressed at COP 9 include:

• Protecting forests, establishing and financing protected areas
• Conserving genetic diversity of plants and animals in agriculture
• Developing regulations on fair and equitable benefit-sharing
• Achieving the 2010 target: the aim is to achieve a significant reduction in biodiversity loss worldwide by 2010.

Further information

• Secretariat of the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD)
  Information on the CBD and its objectives, strategies, action plans and measures, and on the sessions of the Conference of the Parties
  www.cbd.int
• Countdown 2010 - Save Biodiversity
  Information on the joint exhibition on the 2010 target 
  www.countdown2010.net/preciousweb/exhibition.html