With the Convention on Biological Diversity, for the first time in history, the conservation of biological diversity is recognized as a common concern for humanity and part of the development process, at international level.

The CBD, in fact, is a legally binding agreement, and the countries that adhere to it are obliged to put its provisions into practice. It recalls that natural resources are not infinite and establishes the “sustainable use” philosophy.

While, in the past, conservation measures aimed at protecting specific species and habitats, the CBD  recognizes that ecosystems, species and genes should be used for the benefit of mankind and  that this use should not affect biological diversity in the long term.

The CBD does not give a general definition of conservation, but it gives a precise definition of in-situ and ex-situ conservation:

“In-situ conservation” means the conservation of ecosystems and natural habitats and the maintenance and recovery of viable populations of species in their natural surroundings and, in  the case of domesticated or cultivated species, in the surroundings where they have developed their distinctive properties.

“Ex-situ conservation” means the conservation of components of biological diversity outside their natural habitats.

In both cases, the CBD imposes a duty of cooperation between the Parties in providing financial and other support, particularly to developing countries.

In-situ Conservation

Article 8 of the CBD is dedicated to the in-situ conservation, considered as a fundamental requirement for the conservation of biodiversity.

For its purposes, the CBD requires to Contracting Parties the establishment of  “a system of protected areas or areas where special measures need to be taken to conserve biological diversity”, and the development of guidelines for their selection, establishment and management.

While a protected area is defined by the CBD as a “geographically defined area which is designated or regulated and managed to achieve specific conservation objectives”, the Convention does not give a definition of the second category.

In view of the increasingly limited land available for strict nature reserves, wilderness areas and national parks, the CBD provides the Parties with the alternative option of designating areas which, though they may not be strictly regulated as protected areas, are subject to certain special measures to conserve biological diversity.

Protection of ecosystems, natural habitats and viable population of species in natural surroundings is another major objective of conservation, along with the sustainable use of areas adjacent to protected areas and the recovery of threatened species. Parties are also required to prevent, control or eradicate the introduction of threatening alien species, and to regulate, manage or control the risks associated with living modified organisms (LMOs) resulting from biotechnology,  which could affect the conservation and sustainable use of biological diversity. When LMOs, especially in their more modern version of genetically modified organisms or GMOs, are released into the environment, their effects could be similar to that of invasive species and therefore cause damage or extinction to other species.

Art.8(j): In-situ Conservation and Traditional Knowledge

The provision of article 8(j) can be considered a significant step forward in the protection of the traditional knowledge, for although the action it contemplates is subject to national legislation, it is the first time that governments are called upon in a binding international instrument to preserve, maintain and respect the knowledge of indigenous and local communities, and to ensure the equitable sharing of the benefits arising from its utilization.

[Each Contracting Party shall]

“Subject to its national legislation, 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 utilization of such knowledge, innovations and practices”.

This topic will be discussed in the next posts.

Ex-situ Conservation

Ex-situ conservation aims to preserve the components of biological diversity outside their natural habitats. Facilities used for this purpose include botanic gardens, zoological gardens, arboreta, aquaria, seedbanks, tissue and cell culture and culture collections.

Developing countries have often associated ex-situ conservation with the misappropriation of their genetic resources, since most collections were carried out by developed countries,  far away from the country of origin of the genetic material, without the approval or involvement of the country of origin. They felt that, on the pretext of conservation, their genetic resources had been appropriated to be used for the benefit of others.

This is why the ex-situ conservation is considered as an instrument finalized to complement in-situ measures.

The Parties will adopt the conservation measures, the establishment and maintenance of facilities aimed at the conservation and the research on plants, animals and microorganisms, preferably in the country of origin of biological diversity components.

They are also required to take measures for the recovery and rehabilitation of threatened species and for their reintroduction into their natural habitats under appropriate conditions.

The collection of biological resources from their natural habitats aimed at the ex-situ conservation must be regulated and managed so as not to threaten ecosystems and in-situ population species, except for special temporary measures aimed at the recovery, rehabilitation and reintroduction of threatened species.

In the next posts, we will analyze the other two objectives of the CBD. Stay tuned!

Credits:

  • Borrás Pentinat, La Diversidad Biológica, in Derecho Internacional del Medio Ambiente: una visión desde Iberoamérica, Edited by Francesco Sindico et al., Cameron May, 2011.
  • A. Yusuf , International Law and Sustainable Development: the Convention on Biological Diversity, 2 Afr. Y.B. Int’l L. 109, 1994.
  • Convention on Biological Diversity

Photo by BRJ INC. on Visual Hunt / CC BY-NC-ND