THE CONVENTION ON BIODIVERSITY

BIODIVERSITY refers to the variety of species on earth at all trophic levels, from genes to ecosystems, and includes the ecological, evolutionary, and cultural processes that continue to support life. It includes the animals, plants and microorganisms that work together in a complex web to maintain balance within ecosystems to ensure the continuation of life on earth.

Ecosystems are responsible for cleaning air and water, providing medicine and food. As such, healthy communities rely on well-functioning ecosystems and well-functioning ecosystems are dependent on maintaining their biological diversity. However, in recent years, global biodiversity loss has been occurring at an anomalous rate.

This crisis is occurring under the radar and has the potential to endanger our food and water supply as well as our air quality and the existence of invaluable genetically diverse species and their contribution to medicine and other fields of science. For instance, we can turn our attention to the Amazon Rainforest which is home to over a quarter of the world’s terrestrial species and is directly responsible for the control of the climate in the southern hemisphere.

Biodiversity loss in the Amazon will affect the water cycle, resulting in a calamitous “die-back” of the forest that might convert large portions of the rainforest into savannahs, resulting in even more biodiversity loss. In addition, we risk the discovery of new species and the loss of the potential benefits that species could provide to our continued survival on earth. Recognising this, several environmental conventions have been negotiated with the intention of protecting species diversity and their habitats.

What is Convention on Biological Diversity?

Multilateral Environmental Agreements, popularly known as MEAs, are legally binding treaties by governments to address or mitigate environmental issues experienced globally, in this case, the loss of biodiversity. These agreements are no easy feat since they take considerable efforts and extended negotiations for sovereign nations with variegated interests to commit to environmental actions that can potentially alter their economic and social development. It is recognised, however, that countries dependent on the same ecosystems cannot make unilateral decisions regarding environmental management as the earth’s biological resources are finite, complexly connected and crucial for economic and social development. As such, environmental conventions are important because they support worldwide co-operation to address environmental challenges by bringing them to public attention. They offer a framework for nations to co-operate in promoting sustainable development and environmental protection. These conventions frequently set benchmarks and rules that nations must adhere to, assisting in ensuring that everyone is striving toward the same objectives.

The Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) is a global agreement that aims to conserve and sustainably use the world’s biodiversity.

Adopted at the Rio Earth Summit in 1992, the CBD