The United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) is a treaty signed by 196 countries to preserve the biological diversity on our planet, as well as finding sustainable options and using the genetic resources in a fair and equitable way. This treaty was founded in 1992 at the Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro, with meetings taking place every 1 to 3 years. It’s important to constantly and consistently update the treaty as new developments are occurring. These meetings also set up goals and targets in order to solve the overall issue. These targets are based on political, agricultural, educational, cultural aspects of our lives. This treaty is important as biological diversity impacts the ecosystem, resources, and what all life relies on.
Notably, the United States is the only United Nations member who has not signed the treaty. Though the US was part of the later additions, specifically the Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety and the Nagoya Protocol on Access to Genetic Resources and the Fair and Equitable Sharing of benefits Arising from their Utilization.
The latest meeting had to be postponed due to covid, however the first part took place in October 2021. 100 countries signed the new Kunming declaration, the theme of which being “Ecological Civilization: Building a Shared Future for All Life on Earth”. The second part of this meeting will take place in April 2022 where specific targets will be created and finalized.
This new addition will focus on recovery of biodiversity, and pushing for a political shift towards the original desire of the convention. Now, we all wait in anticipation for how the second part of this meeting will go, and if it changes how countries act towards the biodiversity crisis we have created.
Wikimedia Foundation. (2021, December 21). Convention on biological diversity. Wikipedia. Retrieved February 26, 2022, from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Convention_on_Biological_Diversity
Convention on Biological Diversity. (n.d.). Retrieved February 26, 2022, from https://www.cbd.int/
Applied Plant Ecology Winter 2020 