UN-CBD

About CBD:

• It is an international legally binding convention which entered into force in 1993 and recognized for the first time, the need for conservation of biological diversity for the welfare of humankind.
• The agreement covers all ecosystems, species as well as genetic resources.
• The CBD was opened for signature at the Earth Summit(Rio conference/UNCED),1992.
• Secretariat is based in Montreal, Canada.
• It operates under the UNEP.

Members-All UN member states—with the exception of the United States—have ratified the treaty.

It has 3 main objectives:

• The conservation of biological diversity
• The sustainable use of the components of biological diversity
• The fair and equitable sharing of the benefits arising out of the utilization of genetic resources

Supplementary agreement to the Convention:

• The Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety 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 was adopted in 2000 and entered into force in 2003.
• The Nagoya Protocol- On Access to Genetic Resources and the Fair and Equitable Sharing of Benefits Arising from their Utilization.
  • It was adopted in 2010 in Nagoya, Japan, and entered into force in 2014.
  • The Access and Benefit-sharing Clearing-House (ABS Clearing-House) is a platform for exchanging information on access and benefit-sharing.
    • ABS Clearing-House will offer opportunities for connecting users and providers of genetic resources and associated traditional knowledge.
    • It enhances legal certainty and transparency on procedures for access and benefit-sharing, and for monitoring the utilization of genetic resources along the value chain.
• The Nagoya – Kuala Lumpur Supplementary Protocol on Liability and Redress to the Cartagena Protocol.
  • It entered into force on 5 March 2018.
  • It provides international rules and procedures in the field of liability and redress relating to living modified organisms.