Why was the Convention established?

Key milestones of the Convention

• Jun. 1987: The Governing Council of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) established an Ad Hoc Working Group of Experts on Biological Diversity to prepare a Convention.
• Nov. 1988 – Jul. 1990: The Ad Hoc Working Group held three sessions.
• Nov. 1990 – May 1992: The Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee held seven sessions to finalize the Convention’s text.
• May 1992: The final text of the Convention was adopted at the Conference for the Adoption of the Agreed Text of the Convention on Biological Diversity in Nairobi, Kenya.
• Jun. 1992: The Convention was opened for signature at the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED) in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil and signed by 158 countries, including the Republic of Korea.
• Dec. 1992: A panel of experts was created to discuss follow-up measures to the Convention.
• Jan. 1993: The International Conference on the Convention on Biological Diversity was held.
• Dec. 1993: The Convention entered into force.
• Oct. 1994: The Republic of Korea signed the Convention.
• Nov. 1994: The first meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the Convention was held in Nassau, Bahamas.
• Nov. 1995: The second meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the Convention was held in Jakarta, Indonesia.
• Nov. 1996: The third meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the Convention was held in Buenos Aires, Argentina.
• May 1998: The fourth meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the Convention was held in Bratislava, Slovakia.
• May 2000: The fifth meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the Convention was held in Nairobi, Kenya.
• Apr. 2002: The sixth meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the Convention was held in the Hague, Netherlands.
• Feb. 2004: The seventh meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the Convention was held in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
• Mar. 2005: As of May 2005, the Convention had 188 Parties, including the majority of developed nations, with the exception of the U.S.
• Mar. 2006: The eighth meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the Convention was held in Curitiba, Brazil.
• May. 2008: The ninth meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the Convention was held in Bonn, Germany.
• Oct. 2010: The tenth meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the Convention was held in Nagoya, Japan.
• Oct. 2012: The eleventh meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the Convention was held in Hyderabad, India.
• Oct. 2014: The twelfth meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the Convention was held in Pyeongchang, Republic of Korea.
• Dec. 2016: The thirteenth meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the Convention was held in Cancun, Mexico.
• Nov. 2018: The fourteenth meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the Convention was held in Sharm El-Sheikh, Egypt.
• Oct. 2021: The Part 1 of the fifteenth meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the Convention was held in Kunming, China.
• Nov. 2022: The Part 2 of the fifteenth meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the Convention was held in Montreal, Canada. At this meeting, the COP adopted the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework.

Text of the Convention

Summary of the Articles

Summary of the Articles table

Articles	Description
Articles 1 - 5	The objectives and need for the Convention
Articles 6 - 14	Conservation and sustainable use of biodiversity and environmental impact management
Articles 15 - 21	Access to and transfer of technologies relevant to the conservation of biodiversity; handling of biotechnology and distribution of its benefits; and financial resources and financial mechanism
Articles 22 - 42	Common features of international agreements; establishment of the Secretariat; establishment of the Subsidiary Body on Scientific, Technical and Technological Advice (SBSTTA); and protocols

Key elements of the Convention

Key elements of the Convention table

Elements	Description
General measures	Development of national strategies, plans or programmes for the conservation and sustainable use of biodiversity Integration of the conservation and sustainable use of biodiversity into relevant sectoral or cross-sectoral plans, programmes and policies
Identification and monitoring	Identification of components of biodiversity with regard to the list of categories set down in the Annex Monitoring of the components of biodiversity, with attention to those requiring urgent conservation measures and those offering the greatest potential for sustainable use Identification of processes and categories of activities likely to have adverse impacts on the conservation and sustainable use of biodiversity Maintenance and organization of data derived from identification and monitoring activities
In-situ conservation	Establishment of protected areas for the conservation of biodiversity; development of guidelines for the management of protected areas; regulation and management of biological resources; and promotion of the protection of ecosystems and natural habitats Development of necessary legislation and/or other regulatory provisions for the protection of threatened species
Ex-situ conservation	Establishment and maintenance of facilities for ex-situ conservation of plants, animals and microorganisms Regulation and management of collection of biological resources for ex-situ conservation purposes
Sustainable use of components of biological diversity	Integration of consideration of the conservation and sustainable use of biological resources into national decision-making Adoption of measures relating to the use of biological resources to avoid adverse impacts on biodiversity Protection and encouragement of customary use of biological resources in accordance with traditional cultural practices
Research and training	Establishment and maintenance of programmes for scientific and technical education and training Promotion of relevant research
Impact assessment and minimizing adverse impacts	Introduction of procedures requiring environmental impact assessment of projects that are likely to have significant adverse effects on biodiversity; and exchange of information on relevant activities
Access to genetic resources	Creation of conditions to facilitate access to genetic resources for environmentally sound uses Access to genetic resources on mutually agreed terms and efforts to carry out relevant research Legislative, administrative or policy measures based on a financial mechanism aimed at sharing the results of research and development and benefits in a fair and equitable way
Access to and transfer of technology	Promotion of the transfer of technology including biotechnology Access to and transfer of technology to developing countries provided under fair and most favourable terms; appropriate protection provided for technology subject to patents and other intellectual property rights Legislative, administrative or policy measures aimed at ensuring that developing countries providing genetic resources are provided access to and transfer of technology which makes use of those resources - Administrative or policy measures aimed at ensuring that the private sector facilitates transfer of technology for the benefit of both governmental institutions and the private sector of developing countries
Handling of biotechnology and distribution of its benefits	Legislative, administrative or policy measures aimed at providing for the effective participation in biotechnological research activities by countries providing genetic resources for such research Promotion of access, on mutually agreed terms, by provider countries to the results and benefits arising from biotechnologies based upon genetic resources provided by those countries, on a fair and equitable basis Establishment of a protocol setting out appropriate procedures, including advance informed agreement, in the field of the safe handling and use of any living modified organism Provision of information about the use and safety regulations in handling living modified organisms, as well as information on the potential adverse impact of such organisms
Financial resources and financial mechanism	Contracting Parties undertake to provide financial support to achieve the objectives of the Convention Developed countries provide financial resources to ensure the conservation of biodiversity in developing countries. Other Parties may voluntarily offer financial support.

Role of Convention bodies

Role of Convention bodies table

Convention body	Description
Conference of the Parties (COP)	The COP is the highest decision-making body under the Convention responsible for reviewing the implementation of the Convention; reviewing and adopting the Protocols; considering revisions to the Convention and its Annexes and Protocols; and establishing subsidiary bodies.
Subsidiary Body on Scientific, Technical and Technological Advice (SBSTTA)	The SBSTTA is a scientific, technical and technological advisory body to the COP. It provides scientific and technological assessments on the conservation of biodiversity; considers the effectiveness of measures taken in accordance with the provisions of the Convention; and identifies and recommends the latest technologies and measures for the conservation of biodiversity.
Secretariat	Located in Montreal, Canada, the Secretariat is tasked with making administrative arrangements related to the Convention and performing the functions assigned to it by the Convention.
Other bodies and meetings	WGRI, Working Group on the Review of Implementation Working Group on ABS Working Group on Article 8(j) Working Group on Protected Area