Library - International Treaties and Declarations

International Treaties and Declarations

Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD)

The Biodiversity Convention commits parties to maintain the world's ecological and genetic welfare while pursuing sustainable economic development. The convention establishes three main goals: conservation of biological diversity, sustainable use of its components and fair and equitable sharing of benefits from use of genetic resources. It also obliges parties to “respect, preserve and maintain knowledge, innovations and practices of indigenous and local communities embodying traditional lifestyles relevant for the conservation and sustainable use of biological diversity and promote their wider application with the approval and involvement of the holders of such knowledge, innovations and practices and encourage the equitable sharing of the benefits arising from the utilisation of such knowledge, innovations and practices” (see also the CBD page on this website).

Treaty text