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TABLE OF CONTENTSSTAGE SET FOR ACTION ON CLIMATE CHANGE, MARCHI, WIRTH TELL CGCP SYMPOSIUM THE CONVENTION ON BIOLOGICAL DIVERSITY LAND-USE AND LAND-COVER CHANGES: AN OPPORTUNITY FOR CANADA SCIENTIFIC COMMITTEE ON PROBLEMS OF THE ENVIRONMENT: A RENEWED CANADIAN PRESENCE GLOBAL ENVIRONMENTAL CHANGE AND HUMAN SECURITY PROJECT STARTS UP MONTREAL — GREENHOUSE GAS MANAGEMENT STRATEGIES UNDER DEVELOPMENT
IMAGES OF A TIGER*: HELP FOR THE ACRONYMICALLY- CCP INFO
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The Convention on Biological DiversityInternational processes towards conservation and sustainable use of biological resources
Yarrow McConnell The Convention on Biological Diversity was first opened for signing at the Earth Summit in June 1992, and more than 150 nations have since become parties. Based on an ecosystem approach, the Convention asks nations to develop strategies for the conservation of biodiversity and to report on the status of biodiversity within their jurisdiction. It also asks them to contribute to the conservation and sustainable use of global resources. The Convention requires increased cooperation between developed and developing nations and recognizes the value of traditional knowledge about, and conservation of, biodiversity. This article summarizes the development and implementation of the Convention to date. The Convention on Biological Diversity grew out of recommendations made by various international organizations in the 1980s, which were formalized by a series of meetings convened by the United Nations Environment Program (UNEP) between 1988 and 1992. After the Earth Summit, UNEP moved to ensure smooth implementation of the Convention by establishing the Intergovernmental Committee on the Convention on Biological Diversity (ICCBD) to prepare for the first Conference of Parties (COP) of the Convention. Mongolia became the thirtieth country to ratify the Convention in September 1993, thus triggering the process that saw the first COP held in Nassau, the Bahamas in late 1994. COP-1 dealt mainly with administrative issues; establishing the Secretariat, the information clearing-house mechanism, the Subsidiary Body on Scientific, Technical and Technological Advice (SBSTTA) as required by Article 25 of the Convention, and designating the Global Environmental Facility (GEF) as the interim financial mechanism as requested under Article 39. Comprised of government representatives, the SBSTTA is intended to provide scientific advice to the COP. COP-2 was held in Jakarta, Indonesia in November 1995. It resulted in decisions to establish the permanent Secretariat in Montreal, Canada, and to consider marine and coastal biodiversity, and forest biodiversity, as its first substantive issues. COP-3 is scheduled for 4-15 November, 1996 in Buenos Aires, Argentina. The COPs and other meetings surrounding implementation of the Convention involve non-governmental stakeholders as observers. The Global Biodiversity Forum (GBF) process was initiated by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN), the World Resources Institute (WRI), and UNEP in 1993 to provide independent analysis and dialogue, complementing and providing recommendations to the formal intergovernmental process. GBF meetings are held immediately before international fora such as ICCBD, SBSTTA, and COP meetings. The fourth GBF was held in Montreal on the weekend of August 31, 1996, just prior to the second meeting of SBSTTA. Convened by IUCN, WRI, UNEP, the Canadian Global Change Program, Canadian Coalition for Biodiversity, Québec Biodiversity Network (FOSEM), Union for Sustainable Development, African Centre for Technological Studies, and the World Wide Fund for Nature – International (WWF-I), the forum attracted 180 delegates from over 40 countries. It was structured around four parallel workshops: marine and coastal biodiversity, forest biodiversity, people and protected areas, and economic incentives for biodiversity, each of which contributed to the meeting's recommendations to SBSTTA. The fifth GBF will be held in Buenos Aires on 2-3 November, 1996 and suggestions for workshop titles include: agricultural biodiversity, climate change and biodiversity, and indigenous knowledge and biodiversity. For copies of reports and recommendations from past GBF's, and for information about GBF-5, contact Jeff McNeely, Caroline Martinet, or Laurence Christen at IUCN-World Conservation Union, 28 rue Mauverney, CH-1196 Gland, Switzerland. Tel: +41 22 999-0001; fax: +41 22 999-0025; e- mail: m@hq.iucn.org |