Convention On Biological Diversity Research Articles

Implementation of Biological Diversity Conservation Treaties in China

Biological Diversity, among its very diverse advantages, has been pointed out as key for achieving environmental sustainability. It has however been noted that biological diversity across the globe is being depleted. The international community responded by developing several international treaties for biological diversity conservation, including the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) and the Ramsar Convention. China is very rich in biological diversity and is party to the Conventions. In addition, China has in place several laws as well as protected areas to ensure the conservation of biological diversity. This notwithstanding, China still faces biological diversity depletion. This has been attributed to among other factors, overpopulation and industrialization. This article therefore seeks to critically analyze the efficacy of the CBD and Ramsar Conventions is ensuring Biological Diversity Conservation. The paper further analyses the extent to which China has achieved its obligations under the conventions. The paper concludes that the treaties, whereas a very good development, have some weakness. In addition, whereas China has done well in meeting its obligations under the treaties, it still faces some challenges. The article among others recommends that China should embrace public participation in ensuring biological diversity conservation. In achieving its objectives, the article adopts the doctrinal method of research.

Protection & Promotion of Traditional Knowledge of Marginalised Communities: A Legal Perspective

Marginalised rural communities, particularly in tropical countries such as those within Southeast Asia, are often aware of the use of indigenous herbs and agricultural products but concomitantly oblivious as to the means of protection and promotion of using their traditional knowledge. It is estimated that around 1,500 plant species have been widely used for traditional medicines in Southeast Asia. The paper will commence with a discussion of the meaning of “traditional knowledge”, adopting a utilitarian perspective. The paper focuses on the countries of Southeast Asia and provides a legal analysis of the protection of traditional knowledge provided under international treaties, namely: Agreement on Trade-related Aspects of International Property Rights (TRIPS); International Convention for the Protection of New Varieties of Plants (UPOV), International Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture (ITPGRFA); and the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD). To date, the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) has been unable to agree on the contents of an international legal instrument relating to intellectual property rights over genetic resources, traditional knowledge, and traditional culture. The legislative responses of the 11 nations of Southeast Asia are analysed. Much of the focus of international treaties is on protecting plant breeders’ rights over farmers’ rights, and this imbalance should be addressed. Governments should be proactive and amend their patent legislation to require patent applicants to declare their use of indigenous resources and knowledge. Examples of the development and promotion of traditional knowledge are briefly described.

Research on the implementation of the convention on biological diversity among the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) countries

The Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) is the most extensive and populous comprehensive regional cooperation organization in the world, covering about half of the world's population, with not only a huge consumer market, but also rich natural resources and strong productivity. As one of the important platforms for the implementation of the Green Belt and Road Initiative, it is an important opportunity for the SCO to actively participate in global governance and contribute to building a community of global life. To investigate the status of biodiversity conservation in the SCO countries, we used literature analysis approach. We surveyed the performance and international cooperation status of the SCO countries in the implementation of the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD), listed facing problems and threats to biodiversity conservation, including not optimistic biodiversity conservation project implementation status, contradiction between ecological protection and economic development, impacts of human activities, lack of funds and talents, etc., and analyzed the biodiversity protection needs of the SCO countries from the perspectives of project and policy implementation status and international cooperation. According to the cooperation between China and the other SCO countries on biodiversity conservation and the post-2020 global biodiversity framework goals, we gave some recommendations: (1) promoting access to genetic resources and benefit-sharing; (2) integrating multiple funds and innovating the implementation of funding mechanism; (3) developing talent training and exchange programs and deepening multilateral cooperation; (4) strengthening cross-border cooperation and improving cooperation network; and (5) establishing a coordination mechanism for biodiversity conservation within the framework of the SCO.

Priorities for protected area expansion so nations can meet their Kunming‐Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework commitments

AbstractAs part of the Kunming‐Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework (K‐M GBF), signatory nations of the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) aim to protect at least 30% of the planet by 2030 (Target 3). This bold ambition has been widely celebrated and its implementation seen as pivotal for the overall success of K‐M GBF. However, given that many CBD signatory nations prioritised quantity (e.g., area) over quality (e.g., important areas for biodiversity) when attempting to meet their 2010 CBD Aichi protected area commitments, it is critical that nations focus on protecting those terrestrial, inland waters and marine areas that have the best chance of halting and reversing biodiversity loss and thus contribute to Goal A of the K‐M GBF. Here we provide a review on the type of areas that nations need to prioritise when implementing Target 3 that relates to area ‘quality’: areas of particular importance for biodiversity and ecosystem functions and services, are effectively conserved and managed through ecologically representative, well‐connected and equitably governed systems. We show that data is available for 12 distinct biodiversity conservation and ecosystem service elements that can be mapped and, if conserved, will (with appropriate management) help meet the broad intention of Target 3. We highlight examples of the planning methods available that can be utilized so these areas can be targeted for protection. We discuss issues related to trade‐offs regarding how to prioritise amongst them as well as to operationalise some of the vaguer concepts like ‘representation’ and ‘ecosystem functions and services’ so that they achieve the best outcomes for biodiversity.

Critical Review of the Increasing Complexity of Access and Benefit-Sharing Policies of Genetic Resources for Genebank Curators and Plant Breeders-A Public and Private Sector Perspective.

Plant breeders develop competitive, high-yielding, resistant crop varieties that can cope with the challenges of biotic stresses and tolerate abiotic stresses, resulting in nutritious food for consumers worldwide. To achieve this, plant breeders need continuous and easy access to plant genetic resources (PGR) for trait screening, to generate new diversity that can be built into newly improved varieties. International agreements such as the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD), the International Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture (ITPGRFA) and the Nagoya Protocol recognised the sovereign rights of countries over their genetic resources. Under the CBD/Nagoya Protocol, countries are free to establish specific national legislations regulating germplasm access and benefit-sharing to be negotiated bilaterally. Consequently, access to PGR became increasingly restricted and cumbersome, resulting in a decrease in germplasm exchange. The ITPGRFA attempted to ease this situation by establishing a globally harmonised multilateral system (MLS). Unfortunately, the MLS is (still) restricted to a limited number of food and forage crops, with very few vegetable crops. Easy and continuous access to genetic diversity combined with equitable and fair sharing of derived benefits is a prerequisite to breeding new varieties. Facilitated access contributes to sustainable crop production and food and nutrition security; therefore, access to and, consequently, use of PGRFA needs to be improved. Thus, the authors recommend, among others, expanding the scope of the ITPGRFA to include all PGRFA and making them and all related information accessible under a Standard Material Transfer Agreement (SMTA) combined, if necessary, with a subscription system or a seed sales tax. Such a transparent, functional and efficient system would erase legal uncertainties and minimise transaction costs for conservers, curators and users of genetic resources, thus aiding plant breeders to fulfil their mission.

Joint Biodiversity Management Committees: A Mechanism to Manage and Conserve Eco-Regions

Sasthamkotta Lake eco-region is a freshwater Ramsar site in Kerala, India. Eco-regions are ecologically and geographically defined larger land or water mass areas with a characteristic assemblage of the ecosystem and significant biodiversity. A decentralized and locally self-sustaining mechanism has been achieved in managing this eco-region by a participatory model through a joint Biodiversity Management Committee (jBMC) constitution. BMCs are custodians of the environment, and biodiversity, confined to a village/Panchayat, as per Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) guidelines and the Indian Biodiversity Act. This jBMC constitutes a network of statutory biodiversity experts from the BMCs of three Local Self Governments (LSGs) or Panchayath administrations, where the Sasthamkotta Lake is located. It has been formed to develop strategies to manage and conserve the freshwater lake and its biodiversity. The management action plan proposed by the jBMC for the Sasthamkotta Ramsar site includes systematic and continuous assessment of the current biodiversity status, identifying and mitigating threats, appropriate use of its resources for eco-restoration and better administrative programs for biodiversity enhancement. Our case study shows that the conservation model of a Ramsar site Eco-region is successful and could be replicated in other damaged natural ecosystems which need attention, for a sustainable future.

What are the Forms and Obstacles of Community Participation in Environmental Damage Prevention?

This research examines the national and international legal frameworks governing community involvement in environmental damage prevention and the challenges and various forms of community participation in environmental damage prevention efforts globally. This study uses a qualitative method to conduct normative legal research, which involves a literature review of various international legal instruments and field cases related to community participation in the prevention of environmental damage and uses Seherly Arnenstein's theory of community participation to examine community participation in environmental conservation. The results show that community participation in preventing environmental damage has a legal position at the national and international levels. At the international level, several agreements, such as the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD), and the Basel Convention, have established a legal framework for preventing environmental damage, including community participation. Meanwhile, at the national level, Law No. 32/2009 on Environmental Protection and Management (UU PPLH) has regulated the rights and obligations of the community in protecting the environment. Furthermore, this study found that community participation in preventing environmental damage can be done through various means, such as decision-making processes, access to environmental information, and participation in implementing environmental policies. However, there are still challenges and obstacles in its implementation, such as limited access to information, lack of public awareness, and lack of government and private sector support. Based on this, more significant efforts are needed to strengthen community participation in preventing environmental damage, including increasing access to environmental education and information and establishing more active and effective forums for community participation. The active involvement of the government, civil society organizations, and private institutions is needed to ensure that community participation in preventing environmental damage can be achieved.

Assessing the potential of Other Effective area-based Conservation Measures (OECMs) for contributing to conservation targets: A global scoping review protocol.

This scoping review (ScR) protocol aims to establish the methodological approach for identifying and mapping the evidence regarding the actual contribution of Other Effective area-based Conservation Measures (OECMs) to spatial conservation targets. Emphasis will be placed on examining the research conducted, including the methodologies applied. OECMs, introduced by the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) in 2010, refer to areas outside of protected areas, such as fisheries restricted areas, archaeological sites, and military areas, that effectively conserve biodiversity in-situ over the long term. OECMs are recognized rather than designated. Many countries currently endeavor to identify, recognize and report OECMs to the CBD for formal acceptance to support the implementation of spatial conservation targets. Studies that assess the contribution of OECMs to spatial conservation targets will be considered. Potential OECMs with primary, secondary or ancillary conservation objectives established by all sectors in the terrestrial, freshwater and marine realm worldwide will be considered. Peer-reviewed and grey literature will be considered without imposing limitations based on publication year, stage, subject area and source type. Both experimental and observational studies in English, French, German, Greek, Italian, and Spanish will be reviewed. The ScR will follow the Joanna Briggs Institute (JBI) methodology. The protocol will be guided by the PRISMA-ScR (Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses) extension for scoping reviews. The search will encompass bibliographic databases such as Scopus, Web of Science and Google Scholar. Grey literature sources will include databases, pre-print archives and organizational websites. The Covidence platform will be utilized for data management and extraction.

Scientists’ warning on loss of insect biodiversity and implications for sustainable agriculture

Climate change is a long-term shift in global or regional climate patterns. Climate change is among the biggest environmental challenges, humans face in the 21st century. The most imminent climatic change in recent times is the increase in atmospheric temperatures due to increased levels of greenhouse gases such as carbon dioxide (CO2), methane (CH4), ozone (O3), nitrous oxide (N2O) and chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs), largely because of industrialization and burning of fossil fuels, etc. The term biodiversity is the short form of ‘biological diversity. As per the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD), biodiversity means the variability among all living organisms from all sources including inter alia terrestrial, marine and other aquatic ecosystems and the ecological complexes of which they are a part. Climate change is among the major environmental challenges for humans with catastrophic effects on faunal (especially insect) biodiversity and agricultural production. Insect biodiversity provides an array of indispensable services in agricultural production including pollination, nutrient recycling and natural control of pests. Special efforts are required for conserving and identifying insects and elucidating their role in ecosystem functioning. Intensive research, constant surveillance, early detection and rapid response are essential to face the emerging pest and disease threats to crop production. Insect Conservation, landscape heterogeneity, biological control and IPM are the keys to environmentally benign and climate-resilient crop protection for sustainable agricultural production in the future.

Planning for Implementation: Shifting the Focus of National Biodiversity Strategies to Local Narratives, Existing Institutional Settings and Social Capital

The Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) has repeatedly failed to meet its global targets in 2010 and 2020, pointing to persistent obstacles to implementation. National Biodiversity Strategies and Action Plans (NBSAPs) are the central instrument for translating global targets into actions across sectors and levels of government, also referred to as mainstreaming. This paper focuses on Peru as a case study to analyse to what extent NBSAPs are capable of addressing context-specific implementation challenges. It develops an analytical framework based on the literature on conservation governance in Peru to analyse to what extent the NBSAP from 2014 and the action plan from 2019 (1) reflect national biodiversity narratives; (2) address dominant causes of biodiversity loss; (3) link targets to sector-specific institutions and processes; and (4) to what extent the Peruvian National Commission for Biological Diversity builds social capital for implementation. The results indicate that the NBSAP (1) is dominated by a capitalist narrative focussing on economic values of biodiversity while giving less importance to other, particularly local narratives; (2) addresses most direct causes, but fails to operationalise its targets into conservation action; (3) has not been designed to connect and guide relevant sector policies, such as environmental impact assessments or agricultural policies; and (4) the strong participation in the commission for biodiversity is not used to foster implementation, but mostly on CBD reporting and planning. Thus, addressing these challenges provides powerful levers for how to harness the NBSAPs’ potential to mainstream biodiversity and increase their relevance for mobilising and guiding implementation and stimulate institutional learning.

Decolonizing ocean spaces: Saltwater co-belonging and responsibilities

Oceans in the colonial Anthropocene are haunted by the brutal racial logics of slavery, indenture, plunder, violence, death, and multispecies extinction. This brutality manifested through uneven burdens of climate extremes, global warming, ocean acidification, sea level rise, pollution, and threats from offshore energy extraction, chokes the “life force” of oceans that sustain planetary belongings and futures. Global agreements on climate change, biodiversity conventions, sustainable goals, and laws of the sea increasingly attempt to transform dystopic planetary futures through openness to Indigenous and local knowledges. But these overlooked Indigenous, Black, Brown, and southern intellectual traditions of belonging and responsibility in settler colonial, postcolonial, and post-apartheid societies have always existed alongside white, western Euro-American ontologies of the ocean. As subaltern southern and Indigenous scholars, our privileging of ontologies of the ocean amid the racial, colonial, and capitalist logics that continues to suffocate people and the planet, seeks to do more than enrich white, western, English-speaking Euro-American institutions. We, therefore, face ethical dilemmas as we assemble and prioritize strands of literature in our decolonial, polyphonic place-based ocean storytelling that seeks to advance new directions in Environmental Geography.

Four challenges to an effective national nature assessment.

Comprehensive biodiversity assessments play an essential role in strengthening global and national conservation strategies. The recently announced first U.S. National Nature Assessment (NNA) provides an unparalleled opportunity to comprehensively review status and trends of biodiversity at all levels. This broad context can help in the coordination of actions to conserve individual species and ecosystems. The scientific assessments that informed the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework adopted at the 2022 Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) conference of parties provide models for synthesizing information on trends at multiple levels of biodiversity, including decline in abundance and distribution of species, loss of populations and genetic diversity, and degradation and loss of ecosystems and their services. The assessments then relate these trends to data on drivers of biodiversity loss and pathways to their mitigation. The U.S. NNA can augment such global analyses and avoid the pitfalls encountered by previous U.S. efforts by ensuring policy-relevant design, data accessibility, and inclusivity in process and product and by incorporating spatial data relevant to national and subnational audiences. Although the United States is not formally a CBD party, an effective NNA should take full advantage of the global context by including indicators adopted at the 2022 meeting and incorporating an independent review mechanism that supports periodic stocktaking and ratcheting up of ambition in response to identified shortfalls in stemming biodiversity loss. The challenges to design of an effective U.S. assessment are relevant globally as nations develop assessments and reporting to support the new global biodiversity framework's targets. By considering and incorporating the diverse ways in which society values and benefits from nature, such assessments can help bridge the gap between research and conservation practice and communicate the extent of the biodiversity crisis to the public, fostering broad-based support for transformative change in humanity's relationship to the natural world.

Assessing the effectiveness of potential protected areas and OECMs in conserving biodiversity against subsurface resource extraction impacts

The direct and indirect impacts of resource extraction activities are an increasingly important planning and management challenge for organizations responsible for protected areas and other effective area-based conservation measures (OECMs). The development of subsurface resources in protected areas or OECMs can have significant implications for the ways in which such areas are established and their overall effectiveness in conserving biodiversity. In this article, we introduce a decision-support tool, developed through expert consensus and real-world application, that can be used to assist organizations to evaluate the effectiveness of conservation mechanisms (laws, regulations, and associated policies) and other management tools from potential subsurface resource extraction activities. The tool provides a novel and comprehensive method to determine whether a potential protected area or OECM is effective in managing all subsurface activities that may have an impact on biodiversity. While developed in Canada, the tool has universal applicability for conservation managers globally working to achieve standards of protection for biodiversity. We conclude by discussing the ways in which Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) can consider resource extraction rights and impacts in national efforts to effectively achieve the goals and targets of the recently adopted Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework (GBF).

Langbiangia, a new genus of Gesneriaceae endemic to Langbiang Plateau, southern Vietnam and a taxonomic endeavor to achieve key targets of the post-2020 global biodiversity framework.

Situated in the southern end of the Annamite Mountain Range, Langbiang Plateau is a major biodiversity hotspot of southern Vietnam known for high species diversity and endemicity. To achieve effective conservation, parts of the plateau were designated as the Langbiang Biosphere Reserve, an UNESCO World Network aiming to improve relationships between inhabitants and their environments. Amongst the rich endemic flora of the plateau are three gesneriads ascribed to Primulina, a calciphilous genus with high species diversity in the vast limestone karsts stretching from southern China to northern Vietnam. However, a recent phylogenetic study questioned the generic placement of the Langbiang Primulina, corroborating with observations on the geographical distribution, habitat preference, and phyllotaxy of the three species. Based on phylogenetic analyses of nuclear ITS and plastid trnL-F DNA sequences of a comprehensive sampling covering nearly all genera of the Old World Gesneriaceae, we demonstrate that the three Langbiang Primulina species form a fully supported clade distantly related to other Primulina. As this clade is biogeographically, ecologically, morphologically, and phylogenetically distinct worthy of generic recognition, we propose to name it Langbiangia gen. nov. to highlight the rich and unique biodiversity of the Langbiang Plateau. By means of this taxonomic endeavor, we are hoping to raise the conservation awareness of this biodiversity heritage of southern Vietnam and promote the importance of Langbiang Biosphere Reserve that is crucial for achieving action-oriented global targets of the post-2020 global biodiversity framework (GBF) of the UN Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD)-effective conservation and management of at least 30% of biodiverse terrestrial, inland water, and costal and marine areas by 2030-that has been agreed at the COP15 in Montréal in December 2022.

Projected landscape-scale repercussions of global action for climate and biodiversity protection

Land conservation and increased carbon uptake on land are fundamental to achieving the ambitious targets of the climate and biodiversity conventions. Yet, it remains largely unknown how such ambitions, along with an increasing demand for agricultural products, could drive landscape-scale changes and affect other key regulating nature’s contributions to people (NCP) that sustain land productivity outside conservation priority areas. By using an integrated, globally consistent modelling approach, we show that ambitious carbon-focused land restoration action and the enlargement of protected areas alone may be insufficient to reverse negative trends in landscape heterogeneity, pollination supply, and soil loss. However, we also find that these actions could be combined with dedicated interventions that support critical NCP and biodiversity conservation outside of protected areas. In particular, our models indicate that conserving at least 20% semi-natural habitat within farmed landscapes could primarily be achieved by spatially relocating cropland outside conservation priority areas, without additional carbon losses from land-use change, primary land conversion or reductions in agricultural productivity.

The Coastal Future We Want: Implications of Coastal People’s Perceptions on Satoumi Actions and Sustainable Development in Northeastern Taiwan

Satoumi is advocated for coastal sustainability under the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) and the International Partnership for the Satoyama Initiative (IPSI), and has provided a basis for countries around the world to formulate national biodiversity strategies and action plans. Given the significant impact of environmental changes and socio-economic decline, relevant policy directions and practices are urgently required to promote the sustainable development of fishing communities in Taiwan. However, local residents and communities are not sufficiently aware of or involved in this concept to facilitate the development of a holistic Satoumi implementation strategy. Therefore, this study integrates the concepts of Satoumi actions and Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and has adopted a questionnaire survey to investigate the perceptions of 202 fishing community residents in the Gongliao District of New Taipei City and Yilan County towards these concepts. The standpoint and perception of the fishing community residents regarding Satoumi actions and SDGs provided a valuable reference. The results of the perception of Satoumi actions revealed that all of the respondents recognized Satoumi actions. However, the ranking demonstrated the urgency for some actions (e.g., clear marine litter), and measures that have been implemented in Taiwan but still need improvement (e.g., fish stocking practices). Satoumi actions were associated with two key factors that affect the perception of residents at Satoumi: “Empowerment through community-based industry and environmental education”, and “Conservation of crucial biological resources and habitats”. For the SDGs perceptions, the two factors were “Marine socio-economic sustainability” and “The sustainable use of marine ecological resources”. This study also adopted cluster analysis and identified three characteristically different groups of residents: The Conservation Priority Group, Industry–Society Priority Group, and Balanced Development Group. According to the major research findings, policies implemented in coastal areas of Taiwan have aligned with global sustainability trends. However, the attitude of the Industry–Society Priority Group, which has the largest sample size, should be changed to that held by the Balanced Development Group, in order to formulate a strategy for a balanced development that secures existing livelihoods and aligns with expectations on environmental sustainability. This study suggests that methodologies that encourage stakeholder interactions, dialogues, and consensus-building should be utilized to develop strategies for future work. Furthermore, policy tools related to coastal management should be analyzed to establish a comprehensive toolkit for coastal governance. Finally, Satoumi requires public–private collaboration to achieve both biodiversity conservation and transformative change towards more sustainably and equitably social, environmental, and economic coastal development.

The Kunming–Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework

The Kunming–Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework (the Framework) was adopted at the Fifteenth Meeting of the Conference of the Parties (COP15) to the 1992 Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) on December 19, 2022. Despite the efforts made under the CBD, biodiversity loss has continued at an alarming rate, and the targets set under the Convention's Strategic Plan for Biodiversity 2011–2020 were not fully achieved. In 2018, the CBD Parties therefore adopted a decision to develop a post-2020 global biodiversity framework to guide international efforts towards the conservation and sustainable use of biodiversity over the next decade. The Framework, the adoption of which was delayed by two years by the COVID-19 pandemic, succeeds and replaces the 2011–2020 Strategic Plan for Biodiversity and its accompanying Aichi Targets. The Framework includes four overarching goals and twenty-three accompanying targets to be achieved by 2030, together with four long-term goals to achieve the 2050 Vision for Biodiversity.

Access and benefit-sharing in China: exploring the extent to which China fulfils the obligations of the Nagoya Protocol

This article critically examines the implementation of the Nagoya Protocol on Access and Benefit Sharing under the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) through China’s Draft Regulation (2017). The Draft Regulation is still in draft form, but it definitely breaks new ground by establishing the most comprehensive piece of legislation for access and benefit-sharing (ABS) in China. Nevertheless, what is surprising is the absence of rigorous analysis of this ground-breaking legislation. In an attempt to fill the literature gap, while referring to the major provisions of the Nagoya Protocol, this article seeks to investigate how far the Draft Regulation (2017) in China is meeting the requirements of the Nagoya Protocol, identify its normative gaps and figure out what needs to be done in giving full effect to the obligations of the Nagoya Protocol.

The Impact of International Conservation Agreements on Protected Areas: Empirical Findings from the Convention on Biological Diversity Using Causal Inference.

Although 30 years have passed since the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) was adopted in 1992, few attempts have been made to evaluate its impact on protected areas. This study investigates the relationship between participation in the CBD and conservation effort in member countries, using an original dataset of 169 countries from 1992 to 2015. Our measure of conservation effort is the percentage of a country's terrestrial area under protection, which is the primary mechanism for achieving the CBD's conservation as distinct from its sustainable use or access and benefit-sharing objectives. We consider how protected area expansion relates to membership of the CBD, and a set of socio-economic and political variables that measure both the opportunity cost of conservation and national responsiveness to the demand for public goods. We find a positive and significant relationship between the area under protection, membership of the CBD, and a dummy for the Aichi biodiversity targets-Nagoya protocol. We also find that the area under protection is negatively related to measures of economic development and education (proxies for the opportunity cost of conservation), and positively associated with forest area (a proxy for species richness and endemism). We conclude that, at least for this measure of conservation effort, the CBD has had a significant impact, albeit moderated in predictable ways by the opportunity cost of conservation.

Biodiversity COP15 - A stepping stone towards effective access and benefit sharing

Biodiversity COP15 - A stepping stone towards effective access and benefit sharing Here, Dominic Muyldermans and Markus Wyss explore the opportunities and challenges on the journey towards effective access and benefit sharing across the globe. The objectives of the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) of 1992 are the conservation and sustainable use of biodiversity, as well as the fair and equitable sharing of benefits arising out of the utilization of genetic resources. The CBD recognizes that countries have sovereign rights over their genetic resources and already included the principles of Access and Benefit Sharing (ABS). These ABS principles have been further operationalized in the Nagoya Protocol, which entered into force in 2014.