International Initiatives for Biodiversity Conservation

Let us now move from national initiatives to the global architecture of biodiversity conservation.
At the centre of this is the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) — one of the most important international environmental treaties in the world.

Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD)

What is CBD?

The CBD is a legally binding multilateral treaty adopted at the 1992 Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro.
It came into force in 1993.

An interesting fact: Every UN member state except the United States has ratified the CBD.

Three Main Goals of CBD

CBD’s logic revolves around three foundational pillars:

1. Conservation of biological diversity
2. Sustainable utilisation of its components
3. Fair and equitable benefit-sharing from genetic resources

These three principles emphasise that biodiversity protection cannot be separated from development, fairness, and rights of nations and communities.

Parties to the CBD

• Total: 196 Parties
  (195 countries + European Union)

Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety (2000)

To complement the CBD, countries adopted the Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety, which entered into force in 2003.

This protocol deals with the biosafety risks associated with modern biotechnology.

Purpose

• Ensure safe handling, transport, and use of Living Modified Organisms (LMOs)
• Provide rules on:
  • Technology transfer
  • Biosafety
  • Benefit-sharing

India is a party to both CBD and the Cartagena Protocol.

Nagoya Protocol on Access and Benefit-sharing (2010)

Adopted at COP-10 in Nagoya, Japan, the Nagoya Protocol is the second major supplementary agreement to the CBD.

• Entered into force in 2014
• Currently has 137 parties, including India

Purpose

Focuses on one of the CBD’s core objectives:

“Access to genetic resources and the fair and equitable sharing of benefits arising from their utilization.”

This includes:

• Research access to biological resources
• Traditional knowledge
• Sharing benefits with local communities

International Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture (PGRFA)

Popularly called the International Seed Treaty.

It functions in harmony with the CBD and focuses specifically on crop diversity essential for global food security.

Objectives

• Conservation of plant genetic resources
• Sustainable use
• International exchange
• Fair and equitable benefit sharing

This treaty is crucial for future crop breeding, climate adaptation, and combating food insecurity.

Aichi Biodiversity Targets (2011–2020)

At CBD COP-12 (2014), countries reviewed implementation of the Strategic Plan for Biodiversity 2011–2020, which included 20 global targets, known as the Aichi Targets.

These were grouped into 5 broad goals:

Goal A — Address the underlying causes of biodiversity loss
(awareness, policy integration, incentives, etc.)

Goal B — Reduce direct pressures on biodiversity
(pollution, unsustainable exploitation, habitat loss)

Goal C — Safeguard ecosystems, species & genetic diversity

Goal D — Enhance benefits from ecosystem services

Goal E — Enhance participatory planning and management

Outcome

Not a single Aichi target was fully met by 2020.
This was highlighted in Global Biodiversity Outlook–5, reflecting severe gaps in implementation.

Sharm El-Sheikh Declaration (COP-14)

Held in Egypt, CBD COP-14 adopted the Sharm El-Sheikh Declaration, also called the “New Deal for Nature”.

Key Focus

• Integrate biodiversity into legislation, policies, and sectors
• Prepare the Post-2020 Global Biodiversity Framework
  (since Aichi Targets failed)

This set the stage for what would eventually become the Kunming–Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework.

CBD COP-15 (2022): Montreal + Kunming

COP-15 was unique because:

• Originally planned in Kunming (China)
• Later shifted to Montreal (Canada)
• Co-hosted by China and Canada

It also served as:

• 10th Meeting of Parties to the Cartagena Protocol
• 4th Meeting of Parties to the Nagoya Protocol

Main Outcome: Kunming–Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework (GBF)

This is the Post-2020 Global Biodiversity Framework, the new global biodiversity agenda.

Financial Commitments

• A new Global Biodiversity Framework Fund created under the Global Environment Facility (GEF)
• Target: USD 200 billion per year by 2030

India’s Stand at COP-15

India emphasised two important principles:

1. Need for a dedicated funding mechanism

• Developing countries need new, predictable, adequate finance.
• Current reliance on GEF is insufficient because GEF caters to multiple conventions (UNFCCC, UNCCD, CBD).

2. CBDR — Common but Differentiated Responsibilities

• Biodiversity loss is linked to climate change, caused primarily by developed countries.
• Hence, responsibilities must reflect historic contributions and capabilities.

Post-2020 Global Biodiversity Framework (Kunming–Montreal GBF)

The framework sets 4 Global Goals (by 2050) and 23 Global Targets (by 2030).

4 Global Goals (to be achieved by 2050)

1. Reduce extinction rate 10-fold and lower risk for all species.
2. Ensure sustainable use of biodiversity that supports human development.
3. Substantially increase fair and equitable benefit-sharing.
4. Mobilise adequate finance, technology, and capacity-building, closing the $700 billion annual biodiversity financing gap.

23 Global Targets (to be achieved by 2030)

The targets are divided into three clusters.

Cluster 1: Reducing Threats to Biodiversity — 8 Targets

1. Bring biodiversity loss in high-value areas close to zero.
2. 30×30 Pledge: Restore 30% of degraded ecosystems (land, marine, inland waters).
3. Conserve 30% of terrestrial, coastal & marine ecosystems — especially biodiversity hotspots.
4. Halt human-caused extinctions and reduce extinction risk.
5. Ensure sustainable & safe harvesting and trade of wild species (preventing pathogen spillover).
6. Reduce invasive alien species by 50%.
7. Reduce pollution risks, nutrient loss, pesticides & hazardous chemicals by 50%.
8. Minimize climate change and ocean acidification impacts on biodiversity.

Cluster 2: Meeting People’s Needs — 5 Targets

1. Promote sustainable use of wild species.
2. Ensure sustainable practices in agriculture, fisheries, aquaculture, and forestry.
3. Enhance key ecosystem services (pollination, flood control, soil formation, etc.).
4. Promote sustainable urbanisation by expanding green and blue spaces (trees + water bodies).
5. Ensure equitable benefit-sharing of genetic resources and digital sequence information.

Cluster 3: Tools & Solutions for Implementation — 10 Targets

1. Mainstream biodiversity in policies, planning, national accounts.
2. Encourage corporations to reduce biodiversity impacts.
3. Reduce overconsumption, food waste, and promote sustainable consumption.
4. Strengthen biotechnology regulation and biosafety.
5. Phase out harmful subsidies (USD 500 billion/year).
6. Mobilise USD 200 billion/year for biodiversity; developed countries to contribute 20–30 billion/year.
7. Enable technology transfer and scientific cooperation.
8. Improve availability of data and knowledge for decision-making.
9. Ensure gender-responsive participation in biodiversity decisions.
10. Ensure gender equality in the implementation of the framework.

Global Partnership on Forest and Landscape Restoration (GPFLR)

The GPFLR is a global coalition led by the IUCN, bringing together:

• Governments
• NGOs
• Communities
• Research institutions
• Private agencies

Purpose

To restore the world’s degraded forests and landscapes.

Its Major Commitment

GPFLR directly supports the Bonn Challenge, which aims to restore:

• 150 million hectares by 2020
• 350 million hectares by 2030

It works like a global platform that unites all restoration efforts under one umbrella.

Bonn Challenge

Launched in 2011 by:

• Government of Germany
• International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN)

Targets

• 150 million hectares restored by 2020
• 350 million hectares restored by 2030

Expansion via New York Declaration on Forests (2014)

At the UN Climate Summit 2014, countries adopted the New York Declaration on Forests, which expanded the global restoration target to 350 mha.

This declaration is:

• Voluntary
• Non-binding
• Aimed at halting deforestation by 2030

India’s Commitment

India joined the Bonn Challenge at:

• UNFCCC Paris (2015) → pledged 13 million ha by 2020 + 8 million ha by 2030 (21 mha)
• UNCCD COP-14 (Delhi, 2019) → revised target to 26 million ha by 2030

This aligns with India’s land degradation neutrality commitments.

Forest Landscape Restoration (FLR)

The concept of FLR was introduced in 2000 by IUCN and WWF.

What is FLR?

A long-term, landscape-scale approach that aims to:

• Restore ecological integrity
• Improve human well-being
• Regenerate degraded and deforested areas

Unlike small plantation projects, FLR focuses on entire landscapes rather than specific sites.

Seven Guiding Principles of FLR

1. Maintain natural ecosystems.
2. Focus on entire landscapes.
3. Conserve and sustainably manage forests.
4. Engage all stakeholders actively.
5. Integrate traditional and indigenous knowledge.
6. Restore multiple ecological, social, and economic functions.
7. Use adaptive management for long-term resilience.

FLR gained global attention after the Bonn Challenge, as it became the main framework for meeting restoration targets.

World Forestry Congress & the Seoul Declaration

World Forestry Congress (WFC)

• Held every six years since 1926
• Organised by FAO and the host country
• Largest international gathering in the forestry sector

XV World Forestry Congress (2022)

• Hosted in Seoul, South Korea
• By Korea Forest Service & FAO
• Theme: “Building a Green, Healthy and Resilient Future with Forests”
• Second Congress held in Asia (first was Indonesia, 1978)

Seoul Declaration — Key Message

• Promote a circular bioeconomy
  (use renewable biological resources for materials, energy, chemicals)
• Achieve climate neutrality through sustainable forest management

Major UN Initiatives

United Nations Strategic Plan for Forests 2017–2030

Adopted by the UN Forum on Forests, later endorsed by the UN General Assembly.

Contains:

• 6 Global Forest Goals
• 26 targets (voluntary and universal)

Major Target

Increase global forest area by 3% by 2030
= equivalent to 120 million hectares

This is aligned with SDGs and restoration frameworks like FLR and the Bonn Challenge.

UN Decade on Ecosystem Restoration (2021–2030)

Proclaimed by the UN General Assembly.

Co-led by:

• UNEP
• FAO
• Multiple global partners

Purpose

To prevent, halt and reverse ecosystem degradation on a massive scale.

It contributes to achieving the goals of multiple global agreements:

• SDGs (2030 Agenda)
• CBD Strategic Plan & Aichi Targets
• UNFCCC & Paris Agreement
• UNCCD & Land Degradation Neutrality
• Ramsar Convention
• GPFLR, Global Restoration Council
• UN Strategic Plan for Forests

The Decade serves as a unifying platform to restore degraded ecosystems worldwide.

Biodiversity Finance Initiative (BIOFIN)

Launched by UNDP in 2012, BIOFIN tackles the biggest practical challenge in conservation: financing.

Objective

To bridge the biodiversity finance gap at the national level.

Functions

• Helps implement National Biodiversity Action Plan (NBAP)
• Supports achieving National Biodiversity Targets (NBTs)
• Develops biodiversity finance solutions

BioFIN in India

• Hosted by: National Biodiversity Authority (NBA), under MoEF
• Works with:
  • State Biodiversity Boards
  • Wildlife Institute of India (WII)
  • National Institute of Public Finance and Policy (NIPFP)

UNESCO World Heritage Sites

UNESCO adopted the World Heritage Convention in 1972 to protect cultural and natural heritage of outstanding universal value.

Purpose

• Facilitate international cooperation in safeguarding important cultural and natural sites
• Protect unique biodiversity areas and geological formations

What qualifies as a World Heritage Site?

A site must:

• Have outstanding universal value, and
• Meet at least one of ten UNESCO criteria

Natural World Heritage Criteria

A natural site must satisfy at least one of the following:

1. Provide outstanding examples of the Earth’s geological history.
2. Represent ongoing ecological and biological processes.
3. Contain rare, unique, or superlative natural features.
4. Provide habitats for endangered species or be crucial for biodiversity.

These sites are globally recognised treasures that require strict protection and international cooperation.