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Precautionary
~

It il;!tify discretionaey ~jsions

when scientific investiga~

in ~s

Principle
:

has found ~sible

~
~~

when extensive scienlifil:;1snowledge 00 the mattee is lacking, implying

a social responsibility to protect the public from exposure to harm,

short, where there is a threat of significant reductioo or loss of

biological diversity, lack of full scientjfic certainty should not be used as
a reason (or postponing measures to avoid. minimise or mitigate such a
threat.
10

Convention
aka Biodiversity
3 main goals:
conservation
sustainable

Convention.

of biological

It is a key document regarding

Diversity
sustamabte development.

diversity (or biodiversity):

use of its components:

fair and equitable

Objective
biological

on Biological
(CBO)

and

sharing of benefits arising from genetic resources

is to develop nalional strategies for the conservation

diverSity.

and sustainable

20 10 was the International Year of Biodiversity, 2011 to 2020 as the UN-Decade

BiodiverSity.

use of

on

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@BC}covers
resources

biodiversity at all levels: Ecosystem. species and genetic

The Convention was opened for signature at the Earth Summit in Rio
de Janeiro on 5 June 1992 and entered into force on 29 December
1993.
Till date there are 193 parties
Secretariat of the Convention on Biological Diversity (SCBQ) located at
Montreal. Canada. Main function of secretariat is to assist governments
in the implementation of the CBD. and its programmes of work, to
organise meetings. draft documents, and co-ordinate with other.

---_ .. _ .._-_.
Convention is legally binding; countries that join it (Parties')
obliged to implement its provisions.

are

Convention reiterates the point that natural resources are not infinite
and sets out a philosophy of sustainable use
Substantial investment are required to conserve biodiversity, but
conservation will bring significant envitpnmental, economic and
social benefits in return.

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.._--,

COPs
2006: COP 8 in Brazil
2012: COP 11 - Hyderabad
Biodiversity)

(development

2014 COP 12 - Biodiversity for Sustainable

Pyeongchang. Republic of Korea
2016 COP 13: Mexico

of World Wide Views on

Development

in

Important

mel!ures

L.Y'

Und!tl-CODventiOD, includes:

Measures and mcenuvas lor the conservation

and sustainable use of biological

diversity.

Regulated access to genetic resources and lJ:aQitjooaIIsOQ~dadQ.e.jocluojoo Prjol

Infolmeo Consent (PIC) of the party providing resources
Sharing jn a lair and equitable way. the results 01 research and development and the
benefits arising from the commercial and other utilization of genetic resources with the
Contracting Party providing such resources (governments and/or local communities
that provided the traditional knowledge or biodiversity resources utilized).

ACCIlAA tA .ana I~ansfflt AI tllcboolgOli. including blotecnnoloqy, to the governments and/

or local communities

that provided traditional knowledge

and/or biodiversity

resources.

Technjcal aod scjenlifjc cooperatjoo: Coordination of a global directory of taxonomic

expertise (alAbal Taxonomy loitjativa); Impact assessment; Education and publiC
awareness, Provision 01 financial resources; National reporting on efforts to implement
treaty commitments

" Ag.enda 21 is a noD-binding. yoluntarily implemented action plan of

the United Nations with regard to sustainable

development.

" By-product of UN Conference on Environment and Development

(UNCED) or Earth summit held in Rio de Janeiro. Brazil, in 1992. It is
an action agenda lor the UN, other multilateral organisations, and
individual governments around the world that can be executed at
local, national, and global levels. The "21" in Agenda 21 refers to tbe
21 st Century, Till date there are 193 parties
At the 2010 10th Conference of Parties (COP) to the Convention on
Biological Diversity in October in Nagoya, Japan. the Nagoya
Protocol was adopted.

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It has various

sub-programs and agreeme~

Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety, covering the rapidly expanding

field of biotechnology, addressing technology development and
transfer, benefit-sharing and biosafety issue
Global Strategy for Plant Conservation
Nagoya Protocol on Access to Genetio Resources and the Fair
and Equitable Sharing of Benefits Arising from their Utilization

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Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety

a supplement to the Convention on Biological Diversity.
seeks to protect biological diversity from the potential risks posed
by Living modified organisms (LMOs) resulting from modern
biotechnology.
The Biosafety Protocol makes clear that products from new
technologies must be based on the precautionary principle and
allow developing nations to balance public health against economic
benefits.

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' Iving modified organism': any living organism that possesses a
nove
n 0 genetic material obtained through the use of
modern biotechnology, and 'living organism' means any biological
entity capable of transferring or replicating genetic material,
including sterile organisms, viruses and viroids
It might let countries ban imports of a LMOs, if the scientific
evidence does not support (or is lacking) that the product is safe and
requires exporters to label shipments containing genetically altered
commodities
Parties to the Protocol must ensure that LMOs are handled,
packaged and transported under conditions of safety,

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It features a set of procedures including one for LMOs that are to be
intentionally introduced into the environment called the advance
informed agreement (AlA) procedure.
These procedures and requirements are
countries have both the opportunity and
and have necessary information needed
decisions about whether or not to accept
handling them in a safe manner.

designed so that importing

the capacity to assess risks
for making informed
LMO imports and for

The Protocol established a Biosafety Clearing-House (BCH), in order to

facilitate the exchange of scientific, technical, environmental and legal
information on LMOs; and to assist countries to implement the Protocol

e-_ ..._

Year 2010: International

Biodiversity

.._

....

Year of

, It was meant to help raise awareness of the importance of biodiversity through

activities and events in many countries and to influence decision makers
, Raise awareness of the accomplishments to save biodiversity that have
already been realized by communities and governments
, Promote innovative solutions to reduce the threats to biodiversity; Encourage
individuals, organizations and governments to lake immediate steps to halt
biodiversity loss: Start diafogue between stakeholders for the steps to be
taken in the post-2010 period,
'To elevate biological diversity nearer to the top of the political agenda'

 a programme under CSD

Aims to slow tbe pace ot plant extinctioo around the world.
It has 5 major objectives:

Plant diversity is:

well understood. documented and recognised: urgently and

effectively conserved; used in a sustainable and equitable
manner; Education and awareness about plant diversity; the
capacities and public engagement necessary to implement the
strategy needs to be developed

Year 201 : International

F~V"-'

Year of

to raise awareness and strengthen the sustainable management,

conservation and sustainable development of all types of forests for
the benefit of current and future generations
About 23% of world's population i.e. 1.6 billion people depend on
forests for their livelihoods with some 300 million living in them
World's forests and forest soil store more than one trillion tons of
carbon - twice the amount found in the atmosphere
Forests provide habitats to about two-thirds of all species on earth

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Deforestation of closed tropical rainforests could account for
biodiversity loss of as many as 100 species a day
The forest product industry is a source of economic growth and
employment, with global forest products traded internationally is
estimated at $327 billion
The UN's Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) estimates that
every year 130,000 km2 of the world's forests are lost due to
deforestation, contributing up to 200/0 of global greenhouse gas
errussions

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Deforestation

Deforestation has 2 aspects: clearing of forest and change of land use

pattern
Causes of deforestation include:
Conversion to agricultural land.
Unsustainable harvesting of timber.
Unsound land management practices.
Creation of human settlements

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Nagoya Protocol

....--_.

is an international agreement (supplementary agreement to the CBO) for

Access to Genetic Resources and the Fair and Equitable Sharing of Benefits
Arising Irom their Utilization (one of the three objectives of CBO)
The Protocol was adopted on 29 October 2010 in Nagoya, Aichi Province,
Japan. Since 50 states have ratified, it entered into force on 12 October 2014.
Will contribute to the conservation and sustainable use of biodiversity,
provide appropriate access to genetic resources, transfer of relevant
technologies, taking into account all ri~hts over those resources and to
technologies,

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Strateg ic Plan for Biod iversity

2011-2020, including Aichi targets

The United Nations General Assembly declared 2011-2020 the

United Nations Decade on Biodiversity, to support and promote
implementation of the objectives of the Strategic Plan for
Biodiversity and the Aichi Biodiversity Targets, with the goal of
significantly reducing biodiversity loss in COP-10 at Nagoya, Aichi
prefecture, Japan
These targets. which are to be achieved by 2020. are classified
under five broad strategic goals. with 20 targets

C)3?tegic
Goal A: Address the underlying causes of biodiversity
:/fuai~eaminQ
biodiversity across Qovernment and society.

loss by

Sirategic Goal B: Reduce the direct pressures on biodiversity and promote

sustainable use
Strategic Goal C: To impCQvetbe status 01 bioojyersilY by safeguarding
ecosystems, species and genetic diversity
Strategic Goal 0: Enhance the benefits to all from biodiversity
ecosystem services

and

Strategic Goal E: Enhance implementation through participatory

knowledge management and capacity building

planning,

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For example: Targets under goal A
People are aware of the values of biodiversity; it has been
integrated into national and local development and poverty
reduction strategies;
Incentives. including subsidies. harmful to biodiversity are
phased out to minimise negative impacts. and positive incentives
for the conservation are promoted and applied;

Governments. business and stakeholders have taken steps to

achieve sustainable production

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Precautionary

Principle
-

If lntroouctton of a new product or process whose ultimate effects are

disputed and are not certain. should be resisted. It has mainly been used
to prohibit the importation of genetically modified organisms (GMOs) and
their introduction into food crops
Entire premise of conservation of biodiversity, countering global warming
and climate change is based on this
If an action/policy has a suspected risk of causing harm to environment
and living organisms, in the absence of scientific consensus that the action
or policy is not harmful, the burden of proof that it is not harmful falls on
those taking an action.