It will never rain roses: when we want to have more roses we must plant more trees” – George Eliot

On a political level, there has been some attempt at acknowledging the importance of biodiversity for human and planetary well-being. International frameworks have been created to help countries develop policies, which meet biodiversity goals. However, there is still a need for much greater political effort to act on biodiversity threats. The following outlines the two main international commitments made towards biological diversity: CITES and the Convention on Biological Diversity.

CITES, The Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora was established in 1975 with over 180 countries or Parties having signed the agreement. By doing so, Parties commit to protect over 35,000 animal and plant species from illegal trade. The convention’s provisions are integrated into national legislation by Parties and the convention provides a legal framework to regulate trade in species that are exploited commercially for international trade. Also, a national legislation of a Party may be stricter than the provisions under CITES. For example, some Parties prohibit all exports of their native wild plants. CITES cover certain species in its three appendices. Each appendix offers varying levels of protection and trade through regulation of a permitting system. Through this, species can be added, amended or deleted from Appendix 1 and 2 by Parties every three years at the Conference of Parties (CoP) and from Appendix 3 at any time. Under CITES, a Party must establish a Management Authority to implement the convention and to ensure that the specimen has been legally acquired and to issue the permit. Also, a Party must have at least one Scientific Authority to ensure that trade in species is not a threat to its survival in the wild.

In 1992, a key international framework was developed during the United Nations Earth Summit held in Rio de Janeiro, where 150 global leaders signed the United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity, marking a historical global landmark in moving towards protecting biodiversity. (16)

Since then, in 2015, 196 Parties have ratified the convention. (17) Importantly, because the Convention is legally binding, countries that join it are obligated to implement its provisions. This convention was a leap forward at the time to acknowledge biodiversity’s importance towards planetary and human well-being. Specifically, it was the first time that conserving biological diversity was agreed upon as “a common concern to humankind” and that biodiversity is an integral part of the development process with biodiversity’s conservation bringing significant environmental, economic and social benefits. During this event, world leaders built on the concept of “sustainable development” – meeting our needs of while ensuring that we leave a healthy and viable world for future generations”, which was originally devised in 1987 from the World Commission on Environment and Development (the Bruntland Commission) in its report. While the Convention recognizes that ecosystems, species and genes are used to benefit humans, this should not be done in a manner and at a rate that leads to long-term decline of biodiversity. Moreover, the Convention uses the precautionary principle – that where there is a threat of losing significant biodiversity, lack of full scientific certainty should not be used as a reason to postpone actions to avoid or minimize threat(s) to biodiversity. The Convention establishes three main goals: “1) the conservation of biological diversity; 2) the sustainable use of its components; and 3) the fair and equitable sharing of the benefits from the use of genetic resources”. (18) The Convention addresses these through key issues including: measures and incentives for the conservation and sustainable use of biological diversity; regulated access to genetic resources; access to and transfer of technology, including biotechnology; technical and scientific cooperation; impact assessment; education and public awareness; provision of financial resources; and national reporting on effort to implement treaty commitments.

In 2002, the Convention on Biological Diversity promised “a significant reduction of the current rate of biodiversity loss” by 2010. Unfortunately, within those eight years, most countries failed to meet their targets. (19) The Strategic Plan for Biodiversity 2011-2020 was then adopted with 20 new targets developed, known as the Aichi Biodiversity Targets. Following this in early 2011, an intergovernmental panel agreed to develop the Intergovernmental Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES) with the goal of ensuring 2020 biodiversity targets are attainable. (20) The Convention’s success depends on the combined efforts of the world’s nations. The responsibility to implement the Convention lies with the individual countries and, to a large extent, compliance will depend on informed self-interest and peer pressure from other countries and from public opinion.

References

15. Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species. https://www.bgci.org/our-work/policy-and-advocacy/cites/

16. Convention on Biological Diversity. “How the Convention on Biological Diversity Promotes Nature and Human Well-being – Call for Action”.

17. Ibid.

18. Ibid.

19. WorldWatch Institute. “Unparalleled Biodiversity Loss Continues without Political Action and Ecosystem Valuation”. 5-22-2012 http://www.worldwatch.org/system/files/EcoWatch%20052212.pdf

20. Ibid.