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

Detail

1. Why conservation is needed, and what it needs

• Biodiversity conservation means protecting the variety of life (genes, species and ecosystems) so that it lasts, and using it in ways that do not use it up.
• Why it matters: all life forms are linked in food chains and nutrient cycles.
• If one life form is disturbed, the others lose their balance.

• That imbalance comes back to harm humans: through food, water, medicine and climate.

• Three things conservation needs:

• Educating people, so they understand why species matter.
• Changing activities towards sustainable development, meaning development that meets today's needs without harming the ability of future generations to meet theirs.

• Taking part locally: local communities and local institutions (such as panchayats and village forest committees) must be involved.

• NCERT says the "critical problem" is not starting conservation but keeping the process going.

• Indian roots of this idea:
• Sacred groves are patches of forest left untouched because they are dedicated to a deity. Examples are the devrais of Maharashtra, the kavus of Kerala and the sarnas of Jharkhand.
• The Bishnois of Rajasthan protect khejri trees and blackbuck.
• The Chipko movement in the Himalaya protected trees by hugging them.
• Joint Forest Management is a programme in which villages and the forest department manage degraded forests together.
• Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972: India's main law for protecting animals and their habitats. It gave the base for protected areas and for Project Tiger (1973).

2. In situ and ex situ conservation

• In situ conservation ("in situ" means "on site") protects species in their natural habitat.
• It protects the whole ecosystem: the species, its food, its predators and its partners.
• It lets evolution carry on, because wild populations keep adapting to real conditions.

• Tools: national parks, wildlife sanctuaries, biosphere reserves, community reserves and sacred groves. A biosphere reserve is a large protected landscape with a strictly protected core, a buffer zone around it and an outer transition zone where people live.

• Ex situ conservation ("ex situ" means "off site") protects species outside their natural habitat.

• Zoos, regulated in India by the Central Zoo Authority.
• Botanical gardens, for example the Indian Botanic Garden at Howrah (West Bengal).
• Seed and gene banks, for example the National Gene Bank at NBPGR (National Bureau of Plant Genetic Resources), New Delhi.
• Cryopreservation: seeds, pollen, sperm or tissue are stored at very low temperatures (in liquid nitrogen, about −196 °C) so they stay alive for a long time.
• Captive breeding: animals are bred in centres and later released into the wild. In India this is done for vultures, the Great Indian Bustard and the red panda.
• Svalbard Global Seed Vault: a "doomsday" seed store dug into a mountain on Spitsbergen island, Svalbard (Norway), in the Arctic at about 78° N. It opened in 2008.

Feature	In situ	Ex situ
Where	Natural habitat	Outside the habitat (zoo, garden, gene bank)
What it saves	Whole ecosystem, many species together	Selected species, or their genes
Does evolution continue?	Yes	Mostly frozen
Cost per species	Lower	Higher
Best for	Large and wide-ranging species, whole landscapes	Species with very few left, crop varieties, backup copies
Indian examples	Jim Corbett NP, Nilgiri Biosphere Reserve, sacred groves	Howrah garden, NBPGR gene bank, GIB breeding centre

• Key point: the two methods work together. Ex situ is the insurance copy. In situ is the real solution. Animals bred in captivity need safe wild habitat to go back to.

3. World Conservation Strategy (1980)

• World Conservation Strategy: a global plan published in 1980 by IUCN (International Union for Conservation of Nature), UNEP (United Nations Environment Programme) and WWF. It was one of the first plans to link conservation with development.

• Its six steps: 1. Save species that are endangered, meaning at high risk of dying out. 2. Plan to prevent extinction, meaning plan so that no species dies out completely. 3. Preserve the varieties of crops, forage plants, timber trees and livestock, and also their wild relatives. 4. Protect the habitats of these wild relatives. 5. Protect the places where species feed, breed, rest and nurse their young. 6. Regulate the international trade in wild plants and animals.

• Why wild relatives matter: they carry genes for resistance to disease, drought and pests. Plant breeders use these genes to improve crops.

4. Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD), 1992

• Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD): a legally binding international treaty on protecting biodiversity. It is one of the three "Rio conventions". The other two are the UNFCCC (climate change) and the UNCCD (desertification).
• Timeline:
• It was opened for signature at the Earth Summit, the UN Conference on Environment and Development, held 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. 3. Fair and equitable sharing of the benefits that come from using genetic resources.

• Membership: almost every country has joined. The USA has signed but not ratified it, so it is not a Party.

• Secretariat: Montreal, Canada.
• International Day for Biological Diversity: 22 May.
• COP (Conference of the Parties): the meeting of all member countries. It is the top decision-making body of the CBD.
• India's laws under the CBD: India's Biological Diversity Act sets up a three-level system to carry out the CBD at home: the National Biodiversity Authority, State Biodiversity Boards, and local Biodiversity Management Committees.

5. The CBD's two protocols

• Protocol: an extra agreement attached to a parent treaty. It deals with one 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 and share the benefits with the country and communities that provided them

• Biopiracy means using a country's biological resources or traditional knowledge commercially, often through patents, without permission or fair payment.
• Indian examples:
• 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 that this use was already old knowledge.
• Lesson: India's traditional knowledge needed documenting so that such patents could be blocked. The Nagoya Protocol gives rules to prevent biopiracy in future.

6. Recent CBD 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 organism samples that are stored and shared digitally. The main industries are pharmaceuticals, biotechnology and agriculture [4].
• At least half of the Cali Fund is meant to support the needs of Indigenous peoples and local communities, including the women and youth in those communities [4].
• It agreed to create a permanent subsidiary body for Indigenous peoples and local communities under Article 8(j) of the CBD. It also recognised people of African descent as key actors in conservation [4].
• The session was suspended in Cali and resumed in Rome, 25–27 February 2025, mainly to agree on how to raise money for biodiversity [5].

• India submitted its updated NBSAP during this COP (see section 7) [2].

• COP17: due in Armenia in 2026.

7. Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework (KMGBF), 2022

• Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework: the global plan adopted at CBD COP15 (Montreal, December 2022, with China as president). It replaces the older Aichi Targets (2011–2020), most of which were missed.
• Structure: 4 goals for 2050 and 23 targets for 2030.
• 2050 vision: "living in harmony with nature".
• Important targets:

Target	What it says
Target 2	Restore at least 30% of degraded ecosystems (land, inland water, coastal and marine)
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 are introduced and become established
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 from all sources

• 30 by 30 target, explained:
• The 30% can be protected areas, or OECMs (other effective area-based conservation measures). OECMs are areas outside formal protected areas that still conserve nature, such as sacred groves, community forests and some defence lands.
• The rights of Indigenous peoples and their traditional territories must be respected.

• At sea: about two-thirds of the ocean is high seas, beyond any country's jurisdiction. So 30% at sea can only be reached through the High Seas Treaty, which allows marine protected areas to be set up there.

• India's response:

• India updated its National Biodiversity Strategy and Action Plan (NBSAP) and submitted it on 31 October 2024 at COP16, Cali [2].
• It covers 2024–2030. Its aim is to halt and reverse biodiversity loss by 2030, with a 2050 vision of living in harmony with nature [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 biodiversity governance [2][3].

8. Trade and migration treaties

• CITES (Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora): a treaty that controls international trade in wild animals and plants. It does not control trade inside a country.
• It was signed in Washington, D.C. on 3 March 1973. That date is now World Wildlife Day.
• It came into force in 1975. India joined in 1976.
• Three appendices (lists of species):

Appendix	Level of threat	Trade rule	Example
I	Threatened with extinction	Commercial trade banned. Trade allowed only in exceptional cases, such as research, with both export and import permits	Tiger, Asian elephant
II	Not yet threatened, but could be if trade is not controlled	Trade allowed with an export permit	Many orchids, some sharks
III	Protected in at least one country, which asks others for help	Trade controlled for that country's populations	Species listed by one Party

• CoP20 was held in Samarkand, Uzbekistan, in 2025.

• Convention on Migratory Species (CMS), also called the Bonn Convention: a treaty signed in Bonn, Germany, in 1979 under UNEP. It protects migratory animals, meaning animals that regularly cross national borders, along with their habitats and migration routes.

• Appendix I: endangered migratory species, which get the strictest protection.
• Appendix II: species that need international agreements to protect them.
• India hosted CMS COP13 at Gandhinagar, Gujarat, in February 2020.
• At COP13, India's proposal to put the Great Indian Bustard, Asian Elephant and Bengal Florican in Appendix I was accepted by all Parties [7].
• Seven species were added to Appendix I at COP13: the Asian elephant, jaguar, Great Indian Bustard, Bengal florican, little bustard, Antipodean albatross and oceanic white-tip shark [6].
• Why Appendix I helps these birds:
  • The Great Indian Bustard moves across the India–Pakistan border, where it is hunted. In India it also dies by flying into power lines [7].
  • The Bengal Florican moves across the India–Nepal border and is threatened by changes in land use and by power-line collisions [7].
  • Appendix I listing helps countries protect these birds together across borders [7].
• The Gandhinagar Declaration asked that migratory species be included in the new global biodiversity framework, which later became the KMGBF [6].
• India lies on the Central Asian Flyway. A flyway is a route that migratory birds use every year. This one runs from the Arctic (Siberia) across Central Asia to the Indian subcontinent and the Indian Ocean.

Prelims Hooks

• CBD: opened for signature at Rio, June 1992. In force 29 December 1993. Secretariat in Montreal. The USA is not a Party.
• Protocol–subject pairs: Cartagena (2000 / 2003) is about biosafety and LMOs under Advance Informed Agreement. Nagoya (2010 / 2014) is about ABS and biopiracy. Trap: neither deals with wildlife trade, which is CITES.
• KMGBF targets: Target 2 = restore 30% of degraded ecosystems. Target 3 = 30 by 30 conservation. Target 6 = halve invasive species introductions. 4 goals and 23 targets.
• 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: submitted on 31 October 2024 at Cali. It has 23 national targets [2].
• Dates: CITES was signed on 3 March 1973, which is now World Wildlife Day. International Day for Biological Diversity is 22 May.
• CMS COP13, Gandhinagar (2020): the GIB, Bengal Florican and Asian Elephant were added to Appendix I [7].
• Ex situ matches: National Gene Bank is at NBPGR, New Delhi. Indian Botanic Garden is at Howrah. Svalbard Seed Vault is in Norway (2008).
• World Conservation Strategy (1980): prepared by IUCN + UNEP + WWF. Trap: it was not UNESCO or UNDP.
• Sacred groves are a form of in situ conservation. Cryopreservation is a form of ex situ conservation.

Mains Points

• In situ and ex situ must work together. For species with very few individuals left, such as the Great Indian Bustard, captive breeding (ex situ) only saves time. Survival depends on fixing the threats in the wild, such as power lines in Rajasthan and Gujarat, and on cooperation across borders under CMS Appendix I [7].
• Sharing benefits fairly is now a key issue (GS-III). The patent fights over neem and turmeric showed the need for ABS. The Nagoya Protocol, and then the Cali Fund for digital sequence information (2024), push benefits back to the countries and communities that provide genetic resources. This matters because India is a megadiverse country with a lot of documented traditional knowledge [4].
• The 30 by 30 target and people. Reaching 30% needs OECMs such as sacred groves, community reserves and Joint Forest Management areas, not just more fenced-off parks. This matches NCERT's point that local communities must take part and that conservation must keep going. India's NBSAP 2024–2030 turns the 23 global targets into national actions across 23 ministries [2][3].
• The global regime 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, which delayed COP16 until it resumed in Rome in 2025 [5]. And 30% protection at sea depends on the High Seas Treaty.