Introduction to the

Convention on Biological Diversity

Bert Visser
Scope of the presentation
• historical context
• major concepts of the CBD
• CBD and PGRFA
• relation to IT PGRFA
• Bonn Guidelines
• International Regime on ABS
• other outstanding issues
Preamble: policies continuously present

• genebanks and PGR collections always resulted

from biodiversity policies
• what is new: policy environment has changed

• genebanks were established because of

– need for autarchy (political motives: Soviet Union)
– need for plant introduction (migrant countries: USA)
– need for conservation (centres of origin)
– available breeding collections (seed exporting countries)
Historical context CBD (1)

• first international agreement on biological diversity

• no distinction between different types of
biodiversity
– e.g. terrestrial vs. marine, domesticated vs. non-domest.
• framework agreement
– CoPs responsible for implementation measures
Historical context CBD (2)

• confluence of different agendas

– concerns for nature
• natural parks and protected areas movement
• sustainable use of natural resources
– PGRFA conservation
• multiple perspectives
– movement against IPRs on biological materials
• control of bioprospecting
Increasing role of intellectual property rights

• plant breeder’s rights increasingly enacted

– right to protect market; does not limit research and
breeding
• patent rights important in biotech innovations
– stronger right; limits research and breeding
• farmers’ rights developed as a response
– to protect farmers’ practices and indigenous knowledge
– not developed (yet) into a legal form of intellectual
property rights protection
• institutional secrecy policies
Historical context CBD (3)

• fast negotiations to meet UNCED RIO deadline of

1992

• negotiators of Ministries of Environment

• legally binding to 192 states as parties

– since 28 December 1994 into force
Major concepts of CBD (1)

• three coherent objectives

– conservation of biodiversity
– sustainable use of its components
– fair and equitable benefit-sharing
• national sovereignty
– paradigm shift away from heritage of mankind
– access and benefit-sharing linked (ABS)
– mutually agreed terms (MAT)
– prior informed consent (PIC)
– bilateral negotiations on ABS
Major concepts of CBD (2)

• attention for knowledge, innovations and practices

of indigenous and local communities embodying
traditional lifestyles
– involves NGO community
– no explicit reference to farmers’ rights

• ex situ conservation seen as complementary to in

situ management/conservation
Major concepts of CBD (3)

• country of origin
– applicable to non-domesticated resources
– not fit for domesticated resources
• traveled the world
• improved in different countries
• whose contributions to improvement?

• PIC and MAT

– PIC = Prior Informed Consent
– MAT = Mutually Agreed Terms
CBD text

• Article 1 Objectives
– ‘the conservation of biological diversity, the sustainable
use of its components, and the fair and equitable sharing
of the benefits’

• Art. 9
– ‘Each party shall ….. adopt measures for the ex situ
conservation of biodiversity, preferably in the country of
origin of such components.’
CBD text (2)

• Article 15 Access
– ‘… the authority to determine access to genetic
resources rests with the national governments and is
subject to national legislation.’

• Article 16 Access to and Transfer of Technology

– ‘… essential elements for the attainment of the
objectives of this Convention …’
Core rules for implementation

• national strategies, plans or programmes for

conservation and sustainable use
• measures to ensure benefit-sharing
• CP shall create conditions for facilitated access
• CP shall promote understanding of the importance
of biodiversity

• no enforcement provisions (unlike WTO TRIPs)

National implementation

• many countries have enacted biodiversity

conservation laws

• early implementers:
– fear for bio-piracy
– complex permit rules
– few successful use cases
CBD and PGRFA

• Resolution 3 of Nairobi Final Act:

– PGRFA is covered
– FAO responsible for implementation of CBD regarding
PGRFA
• split position: covered but delegated
• limited attention to PGRFA over first decade
– in 2000 Working Programme on Agrobiodiversity
adopted
CBD on importance agrobiodiversity
• Agricultural biodiversity is essential to satisfy basic human needs for food and
livelihood security
• Agricultural biodiversity is managed by farmers; many components of
agricultural biodiversity depend on this human influence; indigenous knowledge
and culture are integral parts of the management of agricultural biodiversity
• There is a great interdependence between countries for the genetic resources
for food and agriculture
• For crops and domestic animals, diversity within species is at least as important
as diversity between species and has been greatly expanded through
agriculture
• Because of the degree of human management of agricultural biodiversity, its
conservation in production systems is inherently linked to sustainable use
• A lot of biological diversity is conserved ex situ in gene banks or breeders'
materials
• The interaction between the environment, genetic resources and management
practices that occurs in situ
Working Programme on Agricultural Biodiversity

The programme comprises four mutually reinforcing elements:

• Assessments: to provide a comprehensive analysis of status and trends of the
world's agricultural biodiversity and of their underlying causes, as well of local
knowledge of its management.
• Adaptive Management: to identify management practices, technologies and
policies that promote the positive and mitigate the negative impacts of
agriculture on biodiversity, and enhance productivity and the capacity to sustain
livelihoods, by expanding knowledge, understanding and awareness of the
multiple goods and services provided by the different levels and functions of
agricultural biodiversity.
• Capacity Building: to strengthen the capacities of farmers, and indigenous
and local communities, and their organizations and other stakeholders, to
manage sustainably agricultural biodiversity so as to increase their benefits, and
to promote awareness and responsible action.
• Mainstreaming: to support the development of national plans or strategies for
the conservation and sustainable use of agricultural biodiversity and to promote
their mainstreaming and integration in sectoral and cross-sectoral plans and
programmes.
Relation to IT PGRFA

• CBD requested negotiations for a revision of the

FAO International Undertaking
– PGRFA a specific domain
• IT PGRFA the outcome of this process
• IT PGRFA is in harmony with CBD, but also has a
unique feature
– Multilateral System of Access and Benefit-sharing
Bonn Guidelines

• voluntary instrument adopted by CoP in 2002

• provides assistance for setting up national

regulations for access and benefit-sharing
– provides a framework of steps on access

• introduces concepts of
– competent national authority
– national focal point
International Regime on ABS

• target agreed on WSSD Johannesburg in 2004

• to be a binding instrument

• biodiversity-wide
– not necessarily one-for-all solution
– sectoral?
– per type of use?
CBD and genebank collections (1)

• IT PGRFA provides ABS regulations for 35 staple

crops only
• ABS provisions of other crop collections should be
in line with CBD
– conditions for incorporation of new materials
– PIC and MAT also applicable to genebanks, including in
own country
– conditions for providing access to users
– usually Material Transfer Agreement forms the contract
Side step: Genebank governance

• Genebanks with different status

– CGIAR centres
– regional genebanks
– centralized national genebanks
– decentralized collection holders

• Involvement of different stakeholders

– NGOs
– private industry
CBD and genebank collections (2)

• no provisions for genebank collections acquired

before entry into force (28 Dec 1993)

• no MTA needed for repatriation of germplasm

CBD and in situ held materials

• role of indigenous and local communities

recognized
• state and/or communities may grant access and
should provide PIC for farmers’ varieties

• benefit-sharing may be monetary or non-monetary

– long-term or short-term
– directly linked or not to access
– information exchange, technology transfer, capacity
development
Current impact of the CBD

• awareness on the value of biodiversity

– environmental functions
– potential use

• strong decrease in international exchange

• conditions for access for small-scale farmers

unclear
Future impact of the CBD?

• through the International Regime

• specific nature of GRFA accepted?

• specific measures accepted?

• lead role of FAO accepted?

Conclusions

• CBD implementation ongoing

• access and benefit sharing unresolved issue
• Country of Origin concept unresolved as well
• results of CBD text and CoP decisions reflect the
balance of power between stakeholders

• CBD requested results from FAO

• now IT PGRFA stands as an example for CBD
• genebanks have to deal with both