Convention on Biological Diversity

Also called: CBD · Topic: Biodiversity and its Conservation · NCERT: Class 11, Ch 14 "Biodiversity and Conservation"

Meaning

The Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) is a legally binding international treaty, which means its member countries must follow it. It has three aims: to protect the variety of life (genes, species and ecosystems), to use it sustainably, and to share fairly the benefits that come from using genetic resources (plants, animals and microbes whose genes have value, for example for medicines or crops). It is the main global treaty on biodiversity. Its two protocols, its meetings and the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework set the global targets that India's own laws and plans now follow.

Explanation

How it came about and how it works

• Why it was needed: all life forms are linked through food chains and nutrient cycles.
• If one life form is harmed, the others lose their balance.

• That damage comes back to people through their food, water, medicine and climate.

• Earlier step: the World Conservation Strategy (1980), written by IUCN, UNEP and WWF, was one of the first plans to link conservation with development. The CBD turned this idea into a treaty that countries must follow.

• Birth of the CBD:
• It was opened for signature at the Earth Summit (UN Conference on Environment and Development) in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, in June 1992.
• India signed it along with 155 other nations.

• It came into force on 29 December 1993.

• Three objectives: 1. Conservation of biological diversity. 2. Sustainable use of its parts, meaning use that does not run it down for future generations. 3. Fair and equitable sharing of benefits from the use of genetic resources.

• How it runs:

• COP (Conference of the Parties): the meeting of all member countries. It is the CBD's top decision-making body.
• Secretariat: Montreal, Canada.

• International Day for Biological Diversity: 22 May.

• Membership: almost every country has joined. The USA signed it but did not ratify it (did not formally approve it at home), so the USA is not a Party.

• A "Rio convention": it is one of three treaties linked to the 1992 Earth Summit. The other two are the UNFCCC (climate change) and the UNCCD (desertification).

Its two protocols

• A protocol is an extra agreement added to a parent treaty. Each one covers a single narrow issue in detail.

Protocol	Adopted / In force	Subject	Core rule
Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety	2000 / 2003	Movement of LMOs (living modified organisms, i.e. GMOs) across borders	Advance Informed Agreement (AIA): the importing country must be told first and must agree before the first shipment of an LMO meant for release into the environment
Nagoya Protocol	2010 / 2014	Access and Benefit-Sharing (ABS)	Anyone who uses genetic resources or traditional knowledge must get permission first and share the benefits with the country and communities that provided them

• Biopiracy means using a country's biological resources or traditional knowledge for profit, often through patents, without permission or fair payment.
• Neem: a patent granted in Europe for neem's antifungal use was challenged by India and later cancelled.
• Turmeric: a US patent on using turmeric to heal wounds was cancelled after India showed this was already old knowledge.
• Lesson: traditional knowledge has to be written down so that such patents can be blocked. Nagoya gives rules to stop biopiracy in future.

Targets: from Aichi to Kunming-Montreal

• The Aichi Targets (2011–2020) were the CBD's first set of targets. Most of them were missed.
• The Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework (KMGBF) replaced them. It was adopted at COP15, Montreal, in December 2022, with China as president.
• It has 4 goals for 2050 and 23 targets for 2030.
• Its 2050 vision is "living in harmony with nature".

Target	What it says
Target 2	Restore at least 30% of degraded ecosystems
Target 3: "30 by 30"	Effectively conserve at least 30% of land, inland waters, coastal areas and oceans by 2030
Target 6	Halve the rate at which invasive alien species (species brought from outside that spread and harm local life) are introduced and settle in
Target 18	Cut harmful subsidies by at least US$ 500 billion a year
Target 19	Raise at least US$ 200 billion a year for biodiversity

• "30 by 30" can be met in two ways:
• Through protected areas.
• Through OECMs (other effective area-based conservation measures). These are areas outside formal parks that still protect nature, such as sacred groves, community forests and some defence lands.

Recent COPs

• COP16, Cali, Colombia (October–November 2024):
• It created the Cali Fund. Industries that profit from digital sequence information (DSI) must pay into it. DSI means genetic codes from samples of living things that are stored and shared digitally. The main industries are pharmaceuticals, biotechnology and agriculture [4].
• At least half of the Cali Fund is meant for Indigenous peoples and local communities, including the women and youth in them [4].
• It agreed to set up a permanent subsidiary body for Indigenous peoples and local communities under Article 8(j). It also recognised people of African descent as key actors in conservation [4].

• The meeting was suspended in Cali. It resumed in Rome, 25–27 February 2025, mainly to agree on how to raise money [5].

• COP17: due in Armenia in 2026.

Where it occurs

• World:
• It was born at Rio de Janeiro, Brazil (Earth Summit, June 1992).
• Its Secretariat is in Montreal, Canada.
• Its protocols are named after Cartagena (Colombia) and Nagoya (Japan).

• COP15 was held in Montreal (2022). COP16 was held in Cali, Colombia (2024) and resumed in Rome (2025) [5]. COP17 is due in Armenia (2026).

• India: putting the CBD into practice at home. The Biological Diversity Act sets up a three-level system:

• National Biodiversity Authority at the national level.
• State Biodiversity Boards in the states.

• Biodiversity Management Committees at the local level.

• India's NBSAP (National Biodiversity Strategy and Action Plan):

• It was updated and submitted on 31 October 2024 at COP16, Cali [2].
• It covers 2024–2030. It aims to halt and reverse biodiversity loss by 2030 [2].
• It has 23 national targets, matched to the KMGBF's 4 goals and 23 targets [2].

• 23 ministries helped prepare it. Its focus is ecosystem restoration, species recovery, protecting wetlands and coasts, and better governance [2][3].

• Indian tools that help meet CBD targets:

• In situ (protection in the natural home): national parks such as Jim Corbett NP, the Nilgiri Biosphere Reserve, and sacred groves such as the devrais (Maharashtra), kavus (Kerala) and sarnas (Jharkhand).
• Ex situ (protection outside the natural home): the National Gene Bank at NBPGR, New Delhi, and the Indian Botanic Garden, Howrah.

Don't confuse with

• CITES: controls international trade in wild animals and plants, through three appendices. It was signed in Washington, D.C. in 1973. The CBD covers conservation, sustainable use and benefit-sharing, not wildlife trade.
• CMS (Bonn Convention, 1979): protects migratory animals and their routes across borders. It is a separate treaty under UNEP and not a CBD protocol.
• Cartagena vs Nagoya: Cartagena deals with biosafety and LMOs, using Advance Informed Agreement. Nagoya deals with ABS and biopiracy. Neither of them deals with wildlife trade.
• World Conservation Strategy (1980): a plan written by IUCN, UNEP and WWF that countries did not have to follow. The CBD (1992) is a legally binding treaty between countries.

Prelims Hooks

• CBD: opened for signature at Rio, June 1992. In force from 29 December 1993. Secretariat in Montreal. The USA has signed but is not a Party.
• The three Rio conventions are the CBD, UNFCCC and UNCCD. Trap: CITES (1973) and CMS (1979) are older and are not Rio conventions.
• Cartagena (2000 / 2003) covers biosafety and LMOs. Nagoya (2010 / 2014) covers access and benefit-sharing.
• KMGBF (COP15, Montreal, 2022) has 4 goals and 23 targets. Target 2 is to restore 30% of degraded ecosystems. Target 3 is "30 by 30". Target 6 is to halve invasive species introductions.
• The Cali Fund (COP16, 2024) collects money from users of digital sequence information. At least half goes to Indigenous peoples and local communities [4].
• India's NBSAP 2024–2030 was submitted on 31 October 2024 at Cali. It has 23 national targets [2]. International Day for Biological Diversity is 22 May.

Mains Points

• Fair sharing of benefits matters a lot to India (GS-III).
• The neem and turmeric patent fights showed how biopiracy takes value away from source countries.
• The Nagoya Protocol, and now the Cali Fund for digital sequence information, send benefits back to the countries and communities that provide genetic resources [4].

• India is megadiverse (very rich in species) and has a lot of documented traditional knowledge, so it gains from this.

• "30 by 30" needs people, not just fences.

• India can reach the target through OECMs such as sacred groves, community reserves and Joint Forest Management areas.
• This matches NCERT's point that local people must take part and that conservation must be kept going over time.

• India's NBSAP 2024–2030 turns the 23 global targets into national actions across 23 ministries [2][3].

• The global system still has gaps.

• The USA is outside the CBD.
• Most Aichi Targets were missed.
• The KMGBF's US$ 200 billion a year depends on money from rich countries. Disagreement over money delayed COP16 until it resumed in Rome in 2025 [5].
• About two-thirds of the ocean is high seas, outside any country's control, so 30% protection at sea depends on the High Seas Treaty.

Related concepts

• Biodiversity conservation
• In situ conservation
• Ex situ conservation
• World Conservation Strategy
• Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety
• Nagoya Protocol
• Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework
• 30 by 30 target
• CITES
• Convention on Migratory Species

Read more

• Conservation strategies and the global regime: in situ, ex situ, CBD and its offspring