Summary:

The Convention on Biological Diversity was negotiated under the auspices of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP). It was opened for signature at the June 1992 UN Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED) and entered into force on 29 December 1993, ninety days after the 30th ratification. As of October 1998, more than 170 countries had become Parties (pdf file). The three goals of the CBD are to promote the conservation of biodiversity, the sustainable use of its components, and the fair and equitable sharing of benefits arising out of the utilization of genetic resources. The CBD Secretariat is located in Montr�al, Canada. The Subsidiary Body on Scientific, Technical and Technological Advice (SBSTTA), which advises the Conference of the Parties (COP), meets several months prior to each COP. Negotiations on the first protocol to the Convention, conducted by the Ad Hoc Working Group on Biosafety (BSWG), concluded in January 2000.

The Earth Negotiations Bulletin has covered each COP, SBSTTA and BSWG session plus two sessions prior to the CBD''s entry into force and an intersessional workshop. ENB coverage of biodiversity issues also includes several sessions of the Commission on Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture, which meets under FAO auspices (see the ENB CBD Archives for all biodiversity coverage; see also the Linkages Homepage on Genetic Resources). The following discussion focuses on decisions taken by the CBD COP, SBSTTA and the BSWG.

Read more: http://www.iisd.ca/biodiv/cbdintro.html