| United Nations |
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E/CN.17/1997/11 |
Economic and Social Council
Distr. GENERAL
25 February 1997
ORIGINAL: ENGLISH
COMMISSION ON SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT
Fifth session
7-25 April 1997
PREPARATIONS FOR THE SPECIAL SESSION OF THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY
FOR THE PURPOSE OF AN OVERALL REVIEW AND APPRAISAL OF THE
IMPLEMENTATION OF AGENDA 21
Implementation of the Convention on Biological Diversity
Note by the Secretary-General
The Secretary-General has the honour to transmit to the Commission on
Sustainable Development, pursuant to General Assembly resolution 51/182, the
report of the Executive Secretary of the Convention on Biological Diversity on
experience gained under the Convention to date and on arrangements for the
coordination of activities related to the objectives of the Convention. The
report will also be made available to the General Assembly at its special
session.
Annex
IMPLEMENTATION OF THE CONVENTION ON BIOLOGICAL DIVERSITY:
A REPORT BY THE EXECUTIVE SECRETARY
1. This report has been prepared in response to General Assembly
resolution 51/182, in which the Assembly invited the Executive Secretary of the
Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) to provide to the General Assembly at
its special session in 1997, inter alia, information on experience gained under
the CBD to date and information on effective arrangements for the coordination
of activities related to the objectives of the CBD.
2. The key challenge facing the General Assembly at its special session is how
to further implement sustainable development. Biological diversity underpins
society in many important ways. More than 40 per cent of the world's economy
and some 80 per cent of the needs of the world's poor rely upon biological
diversity. Food security, climatic stability, freshwater security and the
health needs of humans all directly depend upon maintaining and using the
world's biological diversity. Manifestly sustainable development cannot be
achieved without the sustainable use of biological diversity.
3. The principal objectives of the CBD are the conservation, sustainable use
and equitable sharing of the benefits of the use of biological diversity. The
CBD recognizes that the key to maintaining biological diversity depends upon
using this diversity in a sustainable manner. The CBD is therefore not simply
a
conservation treaty: it assumes human use and benefit as the fundamental
purpose for achieving its objects. Negotiated contemporaneously with Agenda 21,
a central purpose of the CBD is to promote sustainable development. It is the
first truly and for the moment the foremost sustainable development treaty.
Furthermore, it is the only legally binding international instrument which is so
fundamentally based on this concept. The CBD is therefore an important and
effective instrument for the implementation of Agenda 21 and in turn has an
important contribution to make to the General Assembly's efforts to implement
sustainable development.
4. Given the broad range of ways in which society depends on biodiversity and
the nature and scope of the CBD, it is not surprising that the legal principles
developed under the CBD and implemented by its Parties also provide direct
support for implementation of many areas covered in Agenda 21. Consequently, in
providing the information called for in General Assembly resolution 51/182, it
was considered necessary to stress the cross-cutting nature of issues addressed
in the CBD. Although "conservation of biological diversity" is specifically
addressed in chapter 15 of Agenda 21 and the support for the CBD was called for
in that chapter, it was recognized by the Commission on Sustainable Development
at its third session that conservation of biological diversity and sustainable
use of its components interacted with other aspects of Agenda 21. 1/ The Parties
to the CBD have over the last five years also recognized that the principles of
this instrument encompass and support a wide spectrum of issues addressed in
Agenda 21. Consequently, the present report considers the relevant aspects and
activities of the CBD with respect to each section of Agenda 21 in order to
demonstrate that further collaboration between the Commission and the CBD is
essential for the achievement of sustainable development.
5. This report highlights the experiences gained to date, and the progress the
CBD has made towards the implementation of the set objectives in the four
sections of Agenda 21, as well as the effective arrangements for the
coordination of activities related to the objectives of the CBD. The report
focuses on the period 1992-1996. The following section contains a brief
description of the evolution of the CBD. Section II presents the relevant
aspects of the CBD in relation to activities envisaged in the chapters of
Agenda 21 and demonstrates the cross-cutting nature of the CBD. The section is
organized following Agenda 21. Information regarding the coordination efforts
by the CBD is contained in section III. Section IV presents the conclusions of
the report. The report does not address the contribution that the CBD has made
to the implementation of chapter 15 of Agenda 21 on the conservation of
biological diversity, as this is described in the task manager's report on that
chapter (see E/CN.17/1997/2/Add.14).
I. EVOLUTION OF THE CONVENTION ON BIOLOGICAL DIVERSITY
6. The CBD, like the other Rio conventions, has by the standards of other
international instruments developed with unprecedented speed. After being
opened for signature at the United Nations Conference on Environment and
Development, the CBD entered into force on 29 December 1993. As of
15 January 1997 there were 165 Parties with a further six States having signed
the Convention. The speed with which the instrument has gained near universal
support demonstrates the commitment of the international community to the
objectives of the Convention.
7. The Parties have also moved to implement the Convention with similar speed
and consequently the instrument has evolved rapidly. The organs of the CBD
anticipated in the Convention itself have not only been established but are
operational. They include a regular Conference of the Parties, which has met
three times; a scientific advisory body, the Subsidiary Body on Scientific,
Technical and Technological Advice (SBSTTA), which has met twice; a permanent
secretariat with some 48 positions; a clearing-house mechanism for the exchange
and dissemination of information; and a financial mechanism, operated on an
interim basis by the Global Environment Facility. The Parties have also
established an Ad Hoc Working Group of Experts on Biosafety to negotiate the
first protocol to the CBD on biosafety. Furthermore, they have established
programmes to develop the principles of the CBD and facilitate their
implementation: on coastal and marine biodiversity; forest biodiversity;
agricultural biodiversity; the biodiversity of inland waters; the rights of
indigenous and local communities under the CBD; and the equitable sharing of the
benefits of biodiversity. The next Conference of the Parties, in May 1998, will
review the entire modus operandi of the CBD in the light of the experience
gained to date.
II. CONTRIBUTIONS TO THE IMPLEMENTATION OF AGENDA 21
8. A consequence of this rapid evolution is that the Parties to the CBD have
already started to implement its provisions at the national level and that the
CBD has become a vehicle which has started to implement the concept of
sustainable development and the policies of Agenda 21 in the field. This
section of the report provides a brief summary of some of the more important
activities which have been carried out under the CBD and the contribution that
the Convention has made to the implementation of Agenda 21.
A. Section I of Agenda 21: Social and economic dimensions
9. Section I of Agenda 21 lays out cross-cutting issues whose solutions are
urgently needed for the achievement of sustainable development. It recognizes
the relationship between poverty and environmental degradation in developing
countries, as well as the problem caused by unsustainable patterns of production
and consumption, in particular, in the developed countries. The linkages
between human health and environment is also a key element in sustainable
development. Correspondingly, the Parties to the CBD have recognized that these
issues are crucial to achieving the objectives of the Convention.
1. International cooperation to accelerate sustainable
development (chapter 2 of Agenda 21)
10. As a sustainable development instrument, the CBD recognizes that the key to
maintaining biological diversity depends upon using biological diversity in a
sustainable manner and as such represents one of the few treaties which lays out
clear norms on equity in line with chapter 2 of Agenda 21. The Bahamas
Ministerial Declaration, adopted at the first meeting of the Conference of the
Parties, held in December 1994, regarded the Convention as a treaty with a
global vision based on common concern, mutual reliance and fair and equitable
sharing of benefits. They considered the CBD as much more than just a set of
rights and obligations: it was a global partnership with new approaches for
conservation and development. As such, the Convention represents an important
example of the new approach called for in chapter 2 of Agenda 21 and, more
important provides a forum which is attempting to promote sustainable
development and implement the policies of that chapter in a concrete manner.
11. As called for in programme area D of chapter 2 of Agenda 21, the Convention
has started the process of identifying activities and processes which have a
negative impact on biological diversity, such as misdirected economic incentives
and cost-benefit imbalances. The Parties have also acknowledged that
realization of the objectives of the CBD will not only be dependent upon
addressing the negative impacts that trade may have on biological diversity, but
will also depend on harnessing the positive impacts that trade has on
biodiversity. For example, sustainable use of biological diversity can only
properly occur if the terms of trade for products which are dependent upon
biodiversity and whose use has an impact on biodiversity, is conducted in an
environment and under conditions which ensure that the relevant externalities
can be internalized. This means not only addressing the causes of biodiversity
loss, such as habitat conversion to support monocultural agricultural practices,
but also encouraging uses which maintain biodiversity and which provide the
necessary resources to stakeholders to allow them to properly maintain
biodiversity. An example of this wider relevance is that at its most recent
meeting, the Conference of the Parties adopted a detailed programme to address
the management of agricultural biological diversity. The relevant decision 2/
calls for action by the Parties not only to address the causes of loss of
biodiversity, but also to consider the beneficial impacts that agriculture has
on biodiversity. In the same decision, the Parties also recognized that
ensuring conservation and sustainable use of agricultural biodiversity would not
be possible without understanding the role of trade, and, recalling
paragraph 39 (g) of the World Food Summit Plan of Action, the Parties encouraged
the World Trade Organization through its Committee on Trade and Environment, in
collaboration with other relevant organizations, to consider developing a better
appreciation of the relationship between trade and agricultural biodiversity
and, in this connection, recommended collaboration with the Convention on
Biological Diversity and requested the Executive Secretary to convey the request
to the World Trade Organization. Harnessing the positive potential of
development and trade is also being developed in other key areas of the
Convention, such as access to genetic resources; intellectual property rights;
technology transfer; and social and economic incentives.
2. Combating poverty (chapter 3 of Agenda 21)
12. As a sustainable development treaty, the CBD recognizes that combating
poverty is a key issue which needs to be addressed if the goals of the
Convention are to be met. The preamble to the Convention and paragraph 4 of
article 20 recognize that economic and social development and poverty
eradication are the first and overriding priorities of developing countries.
This acknowledgement is given concrete meaning through the incorporation of the
legal principle of common but differentiated responsibility in paragraph 4 of
article 20, which makes the obligations and commitments of developing countries
contingent upon the effective implementation by developed country Parties of
their commitments under the Convention related to financial resources and
transfer of technology. This overriding priority is apparent in every aspect of
the development and implementation of the Convention's principles. For example,
the guidance given to the financial mechanism has consistently emphasized that
in carrying out its activities it should pay heed to and support projects which
undertake to address the issue of poverty. Consequently, many of the projects
undertaken by the financial mechanism have poverty eradication as a key goal.
Another example is the work programme on agricultural biodiversity, adopted at
the most recent Conference of the Parties, which also explicitly acknowledged
that poverty eradication is the first and overriding priority of developing
countries.
3. Changing consumption patterns (chapter 4 of Agenda 21)
13. Global increases in per capita consumption of energy and natural resources,
in combination with unsustainable systems of agricultural and industrial
production, are driving habitat conversion and degradation worldwide. Patterns
of consumption and production and the failure to value the environment and its
resources have been explicitly recognized within the CBD as one of the
fundamental causes underlying the loss of biodiversity. An important ongoing
process within the CBD to address this issue and a central aim of the Convention
is to increase the understanding of the full spectrum of uses of biodiversity
and the resulting values from these uses, in order to address the root causes of
decline in biodiversity and develop incentives to address these causes. 3/
Consequently, development of bio-remediation of waste, sources of bio-energy,
and more efficient and environmentally sensitive systems of agriculture -
activities all dependent upon biological diversity and promoted by the Convention
-
represent concrete examples of implementation of the principles embodied in
chapter 4 of Agenda 21.
4. Protecting and promoting human health (chapter 6
of Agenda 21)
14. There are vital links between biodiversity, environmental and human health
and the natural resource base that sustains livelihoods and provides new options
for social and economic development. Disruptions in biodiversity can affect
disease transmission either through their influence on vectors of disease, or
more directly, through their influence on the disease-causing organisms
themselves. Moreover, the primary health-care needs of many people in the
developing world, particularly those in rural areas, is largely reliant upon
traditional medicines, which are in turn directly dependent upon a diverse range
of organisms. The Parties to the CBD have not only acknowledged this link, but
have taken steps to address it as well. For example, water quality in many
parts of the world is affected dramatically by unsustainable agricultural
practices and a lack of absorptive capacity within the aqueous environment due
to perturbations in the biological diversity of this habitat. The work
programme on agricultural biodiversity established by the Conference of the
Parties at its third meeting is developing methods and practices that promote
and protect human health as an alternative to the use of agro-chemicals.
Moreover, these efforts will be further supported by the fact that the thematic
focus for the CBD until May 1998 is the biological diversity of inland waters.
Parties are not only addressing present risks to human health but have started
to establish a mechanism to control future risks as well. For example, they are
currently negotiating a protocol to the CBD to address the risk that modified
living organisms may pose to human health.
5. Integrating environment and development in decision-making
(chapter 8 of Agenda 21)
15. The principle that environmental considerations should be integrated into
economic and other development plans, programmes and projects, and that
development needs should be taken into account in applying environmental
objectives is reflected in article 6, subparagraph (b), of the CBD. 4/ Many of
the Parties to the CBD have already developed strategies which facilitate a
cross-sectoral integration of biodiversity considerations, with 27 Parties
announcing at the third meeting of the Conference of the Parties that they had
completed their strategies. Mindful of the resource limitations in many
developing country Parties, the Conference of the Parties at its second meeting
instructed the financial mechanism to facilitate the urgent implementation of
article 6 by making financial resources available to developing countries in a
flexible and expeditious manner. In response, the financial mechanism developed
a fast-track procedure for what has become known as "enabling activities", under
which over 40 developing countries have received financial assistance to develop
a national biodiversity strategy, with another 40 expecting assistance in the
near future. Several Parties have also established multi-departmental
committees to ensure that biodiversity issues are considered on an ongoing
basis.
B. Section II of Agenda 21: Conservation and management
of resources for development
16. The most direct relationship between the principles of the CBD and
Agenda 21 are found in section II of Agenda 21. This reflects the heavy
reliance of the developing world's economy on biological diversity. The
sustainable use of biological resources is a central objective of the CBD.
1. Protection of the atmosphere (chapter 9 of Agenda 21)
17. In desert and grassland systems, the amount of water transpired and hence
the local climate depend strongly on the particular complement of species
present and the role they play in the water cycle through transpiration and
water retention. In marine systems, planktonic algae are a major carbon sink
and emit considerable amounts of dimethylsulphide, which subsequently have a
strong influence on cloud formation. In temperate forests, changes in species
composition can affect atmospheric interactions and local weather through
changes in evapotranspiration and albedo. Also, carbon fixation and
sequestration represent part of the diverse range of important functions and
services provided by forests. 5/ Maintaining existing forests is widely
advocated as a cost-effective hedge against climate change and can provide a
joint benefit of habitat conservation. Consequently, measures taken to maintain
biodiversity also play a part in addressing in a holistic manner the issues
raised in chapter 9 of Agenda 21, in particular, the programme areas dealing
with terrestrial and marine development and land use (programme area B.4) and
transboundary atmospheric pollution (programme area D).
2. Integrated approach to the planning and management of land
resources (chapter 10 of Agenda 21)
18. Land conversion is among the major factors contributing to biodiversity
loss. Many of the provisions of the CBD provide legal support for measures
designed to address the relation between environmentally sound physical planning
and land use. Most Parties to the CBD have begun to implement these provisions
and thereby to address these issues in a real and concrete manner. Article 6 of
the Convention requires Parties to integrate the conservation and sustainable
use of biodiversity into relevant sectoral or cross-sectoral plans, programmes
and policies. Parties are also required to communicate these strategies to the
next Conference of the Parties in 1998. As previously mentioned, the financial
mechanism has provided support to over 40 developing countries to develop
national biodiversity strategies. Most developed country Parties have already
developed and adopted such strategies. Development of these strategies has
involved applying the principles outlined in chapter 10 of Agenda 21. Thus,
developing these strategies has involved examining all uses of land and its
natural resources and linking social and economic development with environmental
protection and enhancement. Many of the national strategies adopted have
involved reorganization of decision-making structures and existing policies and
management procedures. Article 8 requires that Parties take an integrated
approach to the protection of natural habitat, with the provisions of this
article stressing the need for a systematic approach which takes into account
the needs and requirements of all major groups. This renewed emphasis on an
integrated approach to planning has resulted in many Parties re-examining the
manner in which they maintain their natural habitats.
3. Combating deforestation (chapter 11 of Agenda 21)
19. Forests provide the most diverse sets of habitats for plants, animals and
micro-organisms, holding the vast majority of the world's terrestrial species.
Consequently, the maintenance of forest ecosystems is crucial to the
conservation of biological diversity and degradation of forests has a dramatic
impact on biodiversity. Therefore, any strategy to maintain terrestrial
biodiversity must combat deforestation. The clear role and mandate of the CBD
in issues of forest biological diversity has been repeatedly confirmed by the
Parties. Furthermore, it is recognized within the CBD that it is vital that
issues related to forests are dealt with in a comprehensive and holistic manner,
including the consideration of environmental, economic and social values and
issues. Consequently, the CBD has recognized that the conservation and
sustainable use of forests cannot be isolated from the conservation and
sustainable use of biological diversity in general, and the conservation and
sustainable use of biological diversity must be an integral part of sustainable
forest management practices. 6/
20. At its third meeting, the Conference of the Parties requested the Executive
Secretary to develop a focused work programme for forest biological diversity.
The optional elements for such a work programme should initially focus on
research, cooperation and the development of technologies necessary for the
conservation and sustainable use of forest biological diversity. The programme
should also take into account and complement the work of relevant international
forums, and facilitate the application and integration of the objectives of the
CBD in the sustainable management of forests at the national, regional and
global levels, in accordance with the ecosystem approach. The SBSTTA has been
requested to contribute advice on the draft programme and report back to the
fourth meeting of the Conference of the Parties. Parties have been encouraged
to actively assist the Executive Secretary in carrying out this work. 7/ The
Conference of the Parties noted that the implementation of forest conservation
and sustainable use policies depends, inter alia, on the level of public
awareness and policies outside the forest sector, and recognized the vital role
played by forest ecosystems for many indigenous and local communities. 8/
21. The programme will also complement existing national, regional or
international criteria and indicator frameworks for sustainable forest
management, and incorporate traditional systems of forest biological diversity
conservation. This will build upon the cooperation with other relevant forums
that the CBD has already undertaken. For example, the CBD has actively
participated in the Ad Hoc Intergovernmental Panel on Forests (IPF) established
by the Commission on Sustainable Development. At its second meeting, the
Conference of the Parties issued a statement to IPF on biological diversity and
forests, in which it noted that more effort on biological diversity was needed
in research, training and other capacity-building activities. Important topics
include development of policies, criteria and indicators, methodologies and
technologies for sustainable forest management, and the impact of utilization of
components of biological diversity, particularly those under threat, on
ecological processes. 9/ The Conference of the Parties has instructed the SBSTTA
to undertake work on these topics. The secretariat of the CBD has been actively
involved in the work of the Inter-Agency Task Force of IPF. The Executive
Secretary provided advice and information on the relationship between indigenous
and local communities and forests, as requested by the Inter-Agency Task Force
of IPF through the Conference of the Parties. 10/ The Executive Secretary also
prepared a document on the links between forests and biological diversity at the
request of the Conference of the Parties at its second meeting. The document
was considered by the Conference of the Parties at its third meeting and
submitted to IPF for information. 11/
4. Managing fragile ecosystems: combating desertification
and drought (chapter 12 of Agenda 21) and sustainable
mountain development (chapter 13 of Agenda 21)
22. At its third meeting, the Conference of the Parties reaffirmed the central
importance of biological diversity to sustainable development in drylands and
montane areas. 12/ The Executive Secretary has been cooperating with the United
Nations Convention to Combat Desertification in those Countries Experiencing
Serious Drought and/or Desertification, particularly in Africa on matters
relating to biological diversity and drylands, with a view to identifying common
priorities. These efforts were given further impetus at the recent Conference
of the Parties with the explicit instruction to develop this type of cooperation
and report back to the next Conference of the Parties. Also at its third
meeting, the Conference of the Parties instructed the Executive Secretary to
contact those agencies and networks working on sustainable mountain development
with a view to examining forms of cooperation on matters relating to biological
diversity and mountains, and communicate the results to the SBSTTA at its third
meeting, to be held in September 1997. 13/ The financial mechanism has already
provided support to several projects which are intended to implement sustainable
development concepts in mountain regions.
5. Promoting sustainable agriculture and rural development
(chapter 14 of Agenda 21)
23. Promoting sustainable agriculture and rural development have been
acknowledged within the CBD as central to achieving the aims of the CBD. This
is due to the importance of maintaining agricultural biological diversity for
ensuring sustainable use of biological diversity and the dramatic impact that
unsustainable agriculture practices have had on biodiversity generally. For
example, deforestation of the Amazon basin, an issue which dramatically raised
awareness of the loss of biodiversity, was in part due to land conversion for
unsustainable cattle ranching in the region. More important, food security is
being threatened by the rapid loss of agricultural biodiversity. Maintaining
this biodiversity is therefore an essential prerequisite for promoting
sustainable agriculture and rural development.
24. The Parties to the CBD have recognized, however, that there is a vital
dependence between promoting agricultural and rural development and maintaining
agricultural biological diversity. At its third meeting, the Conference of the
Parties established a multi-year programme of activities to arrest the decline
of agricultural biodiversity. The objectives of the work programme are, first,
to promote the positive effects and mitigate the negative impacts of
agricultural practices on biological diversity in agro-ecosystems and their
interface with other ecosystems; second, to promote the conservation and
sustainable use of genetic resources of actual or potential value for food and
agriculture; and third, to promote the fair and equitable sharing of benefits
arising out of the utilization of genetic resources.
25. The programme areas of the CBD's work programme have attempted to develop
many of the programme areas of chapter 14 of Agenda 21. For example, the
principles embodied in the programme areas on plant genetic resources (programme
area G), animal genetic resources (programme area H) and integrated pest
management and control in agriculture (programme area I) are incorporated and
developed in the work programme adopted at the third meeting of the Conference
of the Parties. Parties have been requested to identify and assess relevant
ongoing activities and existing instruments at the national level and to
identify issues and priorities that need to be addressed at the national level
and to report back to the Conference of the Parties. 14/ Several Parties have
already done so. Parties have also been encouraged to use and/or study and
develop methods and indicators to monitor the impacts of agricultural
development projects, including the intensification and extension of production
systems, on biological diversity and to promote their application. 15/ Countries
are also invited to share case-study experiences addressing the conservation and
sustainable use of agricultural biological diversity, which, among other ways of
sharing information, should be posted through the clearing-house mechanism of
the CBD.
26. The Conference of the Parties, recognizing the central role that the Food
and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) has to play in this
area, has sought to work closely with its programmes. For example, the
Conference of the Parties delivered a statement to the Fourth International
Technical Conference on the Conservation and Utilization of Plant Genetic
Resources for Food and Agriculture. 16/ Furthermore, the Executive Secretary has
been requested to identify and assess relevant ongoing activities and existing
instruments at the international level, in close collaboration with FAO, other
relevant United Nations bodies and international organizations.
27. The clearing-house mechanism shall be used to promote and facilitate the
development and transfer of technology relevant to the conservation and
sustainable use of agricultural biological diversity by facilitating contacts
among groups needing solutions to specific problems. These groups include
holders of technologies developed and maintained by all sources,
technology-transfer brokers and enabling agencies which fund technology
transfer. The Conference of the Parties requested FAO to consider the need to
strengthen capacity-building, in particular in developing countries. 17/ Parties
have also been encouraged to work towards the empowerment of their indigenous
and local communities and to build their capacity for in situ conservation and
management of agricultural biological diversity, building on the indigenous
knowledge systems. Parties should also make efforts to strengthen capacity to
develop new crops and varieties that are specifically adapted to local
environments.
6. Environmentally sound management of biotechnology
(chapter 16 of Agenda 21)
28. Harnessing the benefits and controlling the dangers of biotechnology are a
central concern of the CBD. As such the CBD and its Parties have undertaken
numerous measures to implement the policies and goals of chapter 16 of
Agenda 21. Two areas where there has been significant development are:
controlling the use of genetic resources, and biosafety.
29. Genetic resources. Establishing enabling mechanisms for the development
and application of biotechnology depends upon ensuring that the benefits of
using this technology are shared in an equitable fashion. As recognized in
Agenda 21, this means capitalizing on the new opportunities offered by
biotechnology for global partnership, especially between those countries rich in
biological resources, but lacking in the expertise and investments needed to use
these resources, and developed countries. This, however, can be achieved only
by ensuring that those rich in biological resources have the ability to
negotiate terms of access which reflect the true value of the resource. This
can occur only if those parties have the capacity to control access to the basic
raw material of this industry - genetic resources. Prior to the CBD naturally
occurring genetic material was considered a public good and as such ownership
was not possible. The CBD for the first time legally recognized the sovereign
rights of States over their genetic resources and that the authority to
determine access to these resources rests with national Governments. Such
access shall be subject to prior informed consent of the owner of such resources
and shall be on mutually agreed terms. The CBD also provides the legal basis
for the measures aimed at sharing in a fair and equitable way the results of
research and development and the benefits arising from the commercial and other
utilization of genetic resources with the party providing such resources. 18/
30. These provisions of the Convention have been implemented in a variety of
ways by at least 13 Parties, with a further 13 announcing at the third meeting
of the Conference of the Parties that they were developing such controls. A
variety of strategies have emerged in those countries which have begun the
process of establishing controls over access to their genetic resources in order
to implement equitable sharing of the benefits of their use. In some countries,
the route to introducing access measures is to produce specific legislation on
access and benefit-sharing. The measures already introduced in the Philippines
and the countries members of the Andean Pact fall into this category, as do
drafts under consideration in Brazil and India. Others have developed
provisions within new legislation designed to implement a much broader set of
objectives such as establishing a basic framework to implement the Convention or
to ensure sustainable development generally. Fiji is pursuing this approach.
Other Parties have simply modified existing legislation, such as conservation,
wildlife or forestry laws, to incorporate access provisions. Western Australia
has already introduced amendments to its Conservation and Land Management Act.
A fourth category of measures are those intended primarily for other purposes,
but touching on access and benefit-sharing. An example is the Government of
Indonesia's Regulation on Plant Seed Management, the objective of which is to
ensure the quality of seeds, but whose provisions on plant seed management
contain clauses concerning the introduction and supply of seeds and propagating
material to and from the country and within it.
31. Biosafety. Despite the considerable benefits which biotechnology may
bring, the technology does have the potential to cause harm to the environment
and human health. Mindful of these dangers the CBD has established an Ad Hoc
Working Group of Experts on Biosafety to develop an international legally
binding protocol, specifically focusing on the transboundary movement of any
living modified organism resulting from biotechnology that may have an adverse
impact on the conservation and sustainable use of biodiversity. The Group first
met in July 1996, will meet twice in 1997 and a sufficient number of times in
1998 to complete its work that year. 19/ Parties were requested to submit their
views on the contents of the future protocol by the end of 1996. The document
compiling the views submitted should be finalized and distributed to Governments
by early March 1997. The secretariat is also requested to compile a background
document on existing international agreements pertaining to the matter and a
bibliography of relevant literature regarding both positive and negative
potential socio-economic effects of biotechnology. The compilation of binding
international agreements of the terms proposed for definition in the protocol
has already been prepared. The financial mechanism has been requested to
support capacity-building in biosafety, including for the implementation by
developing countries of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP)
International Technical Guidelines on Safety in Biotechnology. 20/
7. Protection of the oceans, all kinds of seas, including
enclosed and semi-enclosed seas, and coastal areas and
the protection, rational use and development of their
living resources (chapter 17 of Agenda 21)
32. Chapter 17 of Agenda 21 notes that international law sets forth rights and
obligations of States and provides the international basis upon which to pursue
the protection and sustainable development of the marine and coastal environment
and its resources. Even though the central instrument for developing norms and
rules to pursue these goals is the United Nations Convention on Law of the Sea
(UNCLOS), the provisions of the CBD supplement and support UNCLOS. In
particular, Parties have through the CBD been actively pursuing a strategy of
establishing the legal basis to ensure the integrated management and sustainable
development of coastal areas, including exclusive economic zones (programme
area A) and sustainable use and conservation of marine living resources under
national jurisdiction (programme area D).
33. To this end the second meeting of the Conference of the Parties elaborated
a programme of work, known as the Jakarta Mandate, which proposes a framework
for global action to maintain marine and coastal biodiversity. The Jakarta
Mandate identified five thematic programmes which will be the focus of further
attention in the CBD process. They are: integrated marine and coastal area
management; marine and coastal protected areas; sustainable use of coastal and
marine living resources; and alien species. The Mandate also established an
inter-sessional procedure to further develop its principles. The first meeting
of experts is planned to take place in Indonesia in March 1997. The Conference
of the Parties recognized that implementation of this would depend on close
cooperation with numerous organizations, including UNCLOS. Consequently, the
secretariat has also investigated means of cooperation with other international
organizations, in particular, the Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission,
the World Bank, FAO and the financial mechanism.
C. Section III of Agenda 21: Strengthening the
role of major groups
34. The United Nations Conference on Environment and Development was among the
first of the series of international conferences on development to recognize the
importance of the active participation of the major groups. During the past
four years, over 250 non-governmental organizations have participated in the
annual sessions of the Commission on Sustainable Development. Following the
momentum set at the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development,
but going even further, the CBD as a process is open to "participants" and is
not confined to Governments. 21/ The Convention's rules of procedure define
participants in a broad manner which essentially encompasses all of the major
groups identified in section III of Agenda 21, so long as they can demonstrate
that they are qualified in fields relating to the conservation and sustainable
use of biological diversity. Consequently, many of the organizations mentioned
in section III of Agenda 21 are able to participate in the Convention's
processes as well. Indeed, many have already looked to the CBD as a crucial
legal instrument that will enable them to engage in direct discussions with
Governments and ensure that Parties respect their commitments made at the United
Nations Conference on Environment and Development.
1. Global action for women towards sustainable and
equitable development (chapter 24 of Agenda 21)
35. Women play a major part in the protection of biological diversity and have
recognized the need not only to protect biodiversity but also to restore it.
The CBD acknowledges the critical role of women as resource managers, community
activists, consumers and environmental advocates. 22/ In this respect the
financial mechanism has worked to ensure that their interests are represented in
the development of national strategies which it has supported. The programme of
work for agricultural biodiversity also acknowledges the central role that women
have to play in promoting sustainable agricultural practices and maintaining
agricultural biodiversity.
2. Recognizing and strengthening the role of indigenous people
and their communities (chapter 26) and strengthening the
role of farmers (chapter 32)
36. Indigenous and local communities have been developing, conserving and using
the biological resources on their lands and territories in a sustainable manner
for millennia and consequently have a vital role to play in achieving the
objectives of the CBD. The CBD recognizes the importance of indigenous and
local communities to the conservation and sustainable use of biological
diversity in several of its provisions, which stress the right of indigenous and
local communities to share in the benefits derived from ideas and innovations
they have developed that prove useful to others, and calls upon Parties to
respect, protect and encourage customary use of biological resources. The CBD
is the foremost legally binding international instrument embodying these rights,
and indigenous and local communities have actively participated in the CBD
process.
37. Access to and participation in the CBD process of such groups has been
actively promoted by the Parties and the organs of the CBD. The Executive
Secretary has advised and provided information on the relationship between
indigenous and local communities and forests, as requested by the Inter-Agency
Task Force of the Ad Hoc Intergovernmental Panel on Forests through the
Conference of the Parties. 10/ At its the third meeting, the Conference of the
Parties stressed the need for Parties to implement the relevant provisions of
the CBD and initiated an intergovernmental process to further develop these
provisions. As part of this inter-sessional process, the Executive Secretary
has been requested to arrange a five-day meeting of the Parties and other
participants before the fourth meeting of the Conference of the Parties.
38. Parties have been encouraged to conduct case studies of the relationships
between intellectual property rights and the knowledge, practices and
innovations of indigenous and local communities. 23/ Parties have also been
invited to share experiences on incentive measures and make relevant case
studies available to the secretariat. Parties are also encouraged to promote
the mobilization of farming communities, including indigenous and local
communities, for the development, maintenance and use of their knowledge and
practices in the conservation and use of biological diversity in the
agricultural sector. 24/ Parties are encouraged to develop national strategies,
programmes and plans which, inter alia, empower their indigenous and local
communities and build their capacity for in situ conservation and sustainable
use and management of agricultural biological diversity, building on the
indigenous knowledge systems. 25/
39. The need for Parties to initiate projects on capacity-building with
indigenous and local communities to address concerns in the conservation and
sustainable use of biological diversity and of equitable sharing of the benefits
arising from the utilization of their knowledge, innovations and practices has
been emphasized. The financial mechanism has been requested to examine
supporting capacity-building projects for indigenous and local communities
embodying traditional lifestyles relevant for the conservation and sustainable
use of biological diversity with their prior informed consent and their
participation. 26/
3. Strengthening the role of business and industry
(chapter 30 of Agenda 21)
40. As in the case of Agenda 21, participation of the private sector is
critical to the implementation of the CBD. The private sector has an especially
important role to play in the design and implementation of incentive measures.
To this end, Parties have been encouraged to develop training and
capacity-building programmes to implement incentive measures and promote
private-sector initiatives. 27/ The Executive Secretary has been requested to
encourage the involvement of the private sector in supporting the objectives of
the CBD. 28/ Involving the private sector is also one of the key characteristics
of the clearing-house mechanism. 29/ Facilitating private foreign investment to
support projects which will promote conservation, sustainable use and equitable
sharing of the benefits of biodiversity is a major focus of the activities of
the CBD for this year.
D. Section IV of Agenda 21: Means of implementation
41. As a product of a contemporaneous negotiation process the CBD not
surprisingly uses similar means of implementing its commitments as those
identified in section IV of Agenda 21. For example, the provisions of the CBD
with regard to the financial resources and mechanism used to deliver these
commitments largely replicate the policies and activities identified in
chapter 33 of Agenda 21. Consequently, the experience of the effectiveness
within the CBD provides important lessons for the review of these chapters.
Similarly, any review of these mechanisms will provide valuable insights and
lessons for the CBD itself, particularly in the light of the overall review of
the operations of the CBD which is to be undertaken at the fourth meeting of the
Conference of the Parties, in May 1998.
1. Financial resources and mechanisms (chapter 33 of Agenda 21)
42. The CBD recognizes the need for additional financial resources if
developing country Parties are to implement their commitments under the
Convention. Accordingly, the CBD contains commitments by the developed country
Parties to provide new and additional financial resources to enable developing
country Parties to meet the agreed full incremental costs to them of
implementing measures which fulfil the obligations of the Convention. To
facilitate the provision of these financial resources the CBD has a financial
mechanism which is operated on an interim basis by the Global Environment
Facility. At its first meeting, the Conference of the Parties adopted
comprehensive guidance for the financial mechanism. This guidance was refined
at each of the subsequent meetings of the Conference of the Parties. As of
15 January 1997, the financial mechanism has approved 74 projects with a total
commitment of over $418 million.
43. Developed country Parties are also entitled to fulfil their commitment to
providing new and additional financial resources through their own bilateral aid
programmes. Further financial support for developing country Parties is also
made available through the aid programmes of multilateral organizations.
Monitoring these commitments has proved problematic, due to lack of
standardization in the reporting procedures of funding institutions. At its
second and third meetings, the Conference of the Parties instructed the
secretariat to consider how these commitments might be monitored, and urged
funding institutions to standardize information on their financial support for
the CBD and to provide such information to the secretariat. As a result the
secretariat has begun discussions with the World Bank and the Development
Assistance Committee of the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and
Development (OECD), with a view to developing a system of reporting which will
enable the monitoring of such commitments. The secretariat of the CBD has also
begun to explore with the Department for Policy Coordination and Sustainable
Development of the United Nations Secretariat how it might usefully contribute
such information to the Department's work regarding financial commitments for
Agenda 21. The Conference of the Parties also urged funding institutions to
review their activities in order to make them more supportive of the CBD,
specifically requesting them to consider how they might incorporate principles
of best practice into their programmes.
44. The Conference of the Parties has also instructed the secretariat to
explore the possibilities of identifying additional financial resources to
support the objectives of the Convention. An area which the secretariat has
actively pursued in this respect is that of developing the level of private
investment in activities which support the aims of the CBD. In support of this
work, the Conference of the Parties at its third meeting invited Parties to
share experiences on measures which encourage private-sector investment and
requested the Secretariat to facilitate this exchange through the clearing-house
mechanism and regional workshops.
2. Transfer of environmentally sound technology, cooperation
and capacity-building (chapter 34 of Agenda 21)
45. The activities proposed in chapter 34 of Agenda 21, which aim at improving
conditions and processes regarding information on, access to and transfer of
technology, as well as capacity-building and cooperative arrangements and
partnerships in the field of technology, have been central to the efforts of the
CBD to implement its provisions with regard to the sustainable use of
biodiversity and the equitable sharing of the benefits of that use. The
measures outlined in the previous discussion on environmentally sound management
of biotechnology illustrate how the CBD has managed to move beyond the
promulgation of policy and translate this means of implementation into reality.
Such measures are given further weight in the CBD, with article 20, paragraph 4,
making the obligations of developing country Parties contingent upon the
developed country Parties fulfilling their obligations to transfer technology
and financial resources.
46. The experience of this technique within the CBD has been mixed. Properly
managed, the technique has encouraged the involvement of the private sector.
One particularly well-known example of private sector involvement is the
agreement between the National Biodiversity Institute (INBio) of Costa Rica, a
quasi-governmental non-governmental organization and Merck & Co. Ltd., the
largest pharmaceutical company in the world, where Merck agreed not only to
advance over $1 million to INBio for access to samples of Costa Rican flora but
also to support training initiatives for local parataxonomists. This agreement
is, however, only one of many which demonstrate the enthusiasm in the private
sector for undertaking such activities. Measures taken by the CBD or in the
name of the Convention have not always been demonstrably successful in achieving
the aims of chapter 34 of Agenda 21. For example, the clearing-house mechanism
which has been established under the CBD, despite its rapid development and
popularity, has not so far had any demonstrable impact on the transfer of
technology. It has nevertheless rapidly developed into a sophisticated
mechanism for the sharing of experiences and information and has begun to
develop capacity in developing countries and encourage cooperation.
Consequently, it can reasonably be expected to facilitate the transfer of
technology in the future. Its ability to achieve this should be significantly
enhanced by a series of regional workshops which are to be held by the
secretariat during the course of this year. Consideration of intellectual
property rights within the CBD forums has also not provided unequivocal answers
to their impact on technology transfer.
3. Science for sustainable development (chapter 35 of Agenda 21)
47. It is axiomatic that implementing the aims of the CBD requires a quantum
leap in the available scientific understanding of biodiversity. Indeed, even
basic information such as the number of species which currently exist or are
threatened is not adequately known. Consequently, significant importance is
placed on the promotion of the relevant sciences within the CBD. The importance
placed on the issue is indicated by the fact that the purpose of the first and
as yet only, subsidiary body of the Conference of the Parties is to provide
scientific advice for the Conference of the Parties. This subsidiary body,
SBSTTA, has met twice and provided a range of assessments (relating to
agricultural biodiversity) and advice on a number of matters. The relevance of
the SBSTTA's advice is demonstrated by the heavy reliance of the Conference of
the Parties on this advice. The CBD process has also been active in developing
scientific capacity in developing countries. For example, the most recent
Conference of the Parties requested the financial mechanism to support a Global
Taxonomic Initiative which is designed not only to build our knowledge about the
nature and number of species throughout the world, but also to develop taxonomic
capacity in the developing world and encourage its development in the developed
world. Another activity designed to promote scientific capacity in developing
countries is the clearing-house mechanism. Although this mechanism has not yet
had any demonstrable impact on scientific understanding, it is expected when
fully operational to make a significant contribution to understanding
biodiversity at regional and global levels.
4. National mechanisms and international cooperation for
capacity-building in developing countries (chapter 37
of Agenda 21)
48. As implementation of the principles of the CBD is largely a national
prerogative, capacity-building is crucial to implementing and developing the
CBD. Capacity-building is emphasized in every aspect of the CBD's principles
and their development. For example, at its first meeting, the Conference of the
Parties identified capacity-building as one of the 13 programme priorities,
including human resources development and institutional development and/or
strengthening, for the financial mechanism to support. 30/ At its second
meeting, the Conference of the Parties further elaborated the guidance to the
financial mechanism on capacity-building in developing countries. The first
Conference of the Parties also suggested that the medium-term work programme for
1995-1997 should reflect the importance of capacity-building as one of the
elements of successful Convention implementation. 31/ The suggestion was
endorsed at the second and third meetings of the Conference of the Parties. 32/
The secretariat has also started working with the International Union for
Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources (IUCN), the World Bank, the World
Resources Institute, the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and the
United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) to launch a series of efforts to
support the work of the CBD on capacity-building.
49. Despite this widespread support within the CBD process for capacity-
building, a lack of capacity in developing country Parties remains perhaps the
single biggest constraint on development of the principles of the CBD and their
implementation. Consequently, much remains to be done in this respect and more
support from the international community is vital if this constraint is to be
properly overcome.
5. Information for decision-making (chapter 40 of Agenda 21)
50. Another consequence of the CBD being a country-driven process is the
premium this places on the generation and availability of reliable and accurate
information to guide decision makers. The important role for information
identified in chapter 40 of Agenda 21 is further emphasized by the fact that the
only compliance technique provided for in the CBD is the Parties' duty to
provide national reports. Sharing of experiences has also become a major
element of all the activities and developments which have taken place within the
CBD so far. The production of a comprehensive overview of the information
contained in the national reports of Parties, the Global Biodiversity Outlook,
is expected to be the single most important pre-session document for decision
makers at the next meeting of the Conference of the Parties.
51. The Parties have also recognized that dissemination of this information
will also be crucial to its effective use. Consequently, considerable resources
and attention have been devoted to the establishment of the clearing-house
mechanism provided for in article 18 of the CBD. The mechanism is envisaged to
play a significant role in technical and scientific cooperation and
capacity-building, particularly in providing information for decision-making.
At its second meeting, the Conference of the Parties reaffirmed the importance
of the clearing-house mechanism to promote and facilitate technical and
scientific cooperation and to support implementation of the CBD at the national
level. The need for its accessibility to all countries was also recognized.
The Conference of the Parties noted that enhanced cooperation with other
information systems and activities would contribute to the development of the
clearing-house mechanism. The Conference of the Parties also requested the
financial mechanism to explore the modalities of providing support to developing
country Parties for capacity-building in relation to the operation of the
clearing-house mechanism. The rapid development and enthusiasm for the
clearing-house mechanism illustrates the widely recognized need for reliable and
accurate information to ensure effective implementation of the CBD. The
exercise has also demonstrated the complexity of establishing an effective and
accessible global clearing-house mechanism. It has also demonstrated the
importance of establishing the system from the ground up and developing it in an
organic and flexible manner, as opposed to a highly engineered and structured
system.
III. INTERNATIONAL INSTITUTIONAL ARRANGEMENTS
52. The CBD is a legal instrument which is entirely dependent upon Parties and
other organizations to develop and implement its provisions; the need to develop
cooperative relationships with other bodies and hence mechanisms for
coordinating these relationships is therefore fundamental to the implementation
of the CBD. Each Conference of the Parties has reaffirmed the importance it
attaches to cooperation and coordination between the CBD and other conventions,
institutions and processes of relevance. Not only is the matter a standing item
on the agenda of the Conference of the Parties, but one of the key organs of the
CBD, the financial mechanism, is operated by another institution, the Global
Environment Facility. The extent to which the CBD as a process relies upon
cooperative arrangements with other institutions and processes is evident from
the repeated references in the preceding paragraphs of the present report to
other organizations. Reliance upon this approach to develop and implement the
CBD has been a significant part of the rapid development of the Convention and
the success enjoyed so far in the implementation of its principles.
53. The Conference of the Parties has repeatedly emphasized its commitment to
continuing to explore effective mechanisms for cooperation with other
conventions, institutions and processes of relevance, and in particular with the
Commission on Sustainable Development, in order to promote the efficient use of
resources in implementing its objectives and objectives contained in Agenda 21.
In response, the secretariat of the CBD has actively participated in the
Inter-Agency Task Force of the Ad Hoc Intergovernmental Panel on Forests.
Furthermore, the secretariat has also contributed to the work of the
Inter-Agency Committee on Sustainable Development (IACSD) of the United Nations,
and representatives of the secretariat of the CBD attended its eighth meeting,
in July 1996. For example, the secretariat has made written contributions to
the review of Agenda 21 for the special session of the General Assembly and has
been involved with the initiative of the IACSD to standardize requests for
national reports. Other areas of cooperation under investigation between the
Department for Policy Coordination and Sustainable Development of the United
Nations Secretariat and the CBD include the development of indicators for
measuring the status of relevant environmental factors and the effectiveness of
measures taken by both processes within the United Nations system-wide effort
towards the development of sustainable development indicators.
54. Cooperation between the CBD and the United Nations has not been restricted
to the administrative level, but has also included the legislative or policy-
making bodies of both processes. For instance, at all its meetings, the
Conference of the Parties has adopted statements for particular initiatives
resulting from Agenda 21. By decision I/8, the Conference of the Parties
transmitted a statement to the Commission on Sustainable Development at its
third session. By decision II/9, the Conference of the Parties transmitted a
statement to the Ad Hoc Intergovernmental Panel on Forests at its second session
and by decision II/16, adopted a statement for the International Technical
Conference on the Conservation and Utilization of Plant Genetic Resources for
Food and Agriculture. By decision III/19, the Conference of the Parties adopted
a statement to be submitted to the special session of the General Assembly in
response to General Assembly resolution 50/113.
55. Cooperation has also been pursued with many other organizations, with
agreements of cooperation being concluded between the secretariat of the CBD and
the secretariats of the Ramsar Convention on Wetlands, the Convention on
International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora, and the
Convention on the Conservation of Migratory Species of Wild Animals.
Discussions are also under way with the Intergovernmental Oceanographic
Commission, the World Bank, FAO and the World Heritage Convention.
IV. CONCLUSION
56. Both the Commission on Sustainable Development and the General Assembly
have emphasized that in the review of Agenda 21 at the special session of the
Assembly, there should be no attempt to renegotiate Agenda 21; rather,
discussions should focus on the further implementation of Agenda 21 (General
Assembly resolution 51/181). At its fourth session, the Commission on
Sustainable Development highlighted a number of objectives for the special
session to which the CBD can make a direct contribution. They were that the
special session should promote the Rio commitments through concrete proposals
for action and revitalize and energize commitments to the concept of sustainable
development. It is evident from the present report that the CBD has begun to
make a contribution to this by providing a legal basis for many policies of
Agenda 21, which hitherto had been expressed only in an exhortatory non-binding
fashion.
57. The brief summary of the activities carried out under the CBD has clearly
demonstrated that, like Agenda 21, the central purpose of the CBD is to promote
and implement the concept of sustainable development, albeit that in the case of
the CBD the goal is restricted to harnessing development to maintaining
biodiversity. As is evident in the report the complementarity in purposes mean
that both instruments have mutually reinforcing objectives. Thus,
implementation of the principles of the CBD also means implementation of the
principles of Agenda 21. It is also apparent from the report that in
capitalizing on the administrative synergies and efficiencies which arise from
this mutuality, the Department for Policy Coordination and Sustainable
Development of the United Nations Secretariat and the secretariat of the CBD
have been working increasingly closely. This mutuality also means that further
collaboration between the Commission on Sustainable Development and the CBD is
essential for the implementation of sustainable development.
Notes
1/ E/1995/32, chap. I, para. 226.
2/ Decision III/11. For the decisions adopted by the Conference of the
Parties at its third meeting, see UNEP/CBD/COP/3/38, annex II.
3/ Decisions III/2 and III/18.
4/ "Integrate, as far as possible and as appropriate, the conservation and
sustainable use of biological diversity into relevant sectoral or cross-sectoral
plans, programmes and policies."
5/ As recognized in the "Statement on biological diversity and forests
from the Convention on Biological Diversity to the Intergovernmental Panel on
Forests" (decision II/9, annex). For the decisions adopted by the Conference of
the Parties at its second meeting, see A/51/12, annex.
6/ Decision III/12.
7/ Decision III/12.
8/ Decision III/12.
9/ Decision II/9.
10/ Decision II/9, para. 2 (a); the advice of the Executive Secretary is
contained in document UNEP/CBD/SBSTTA/2/Inf.3.
11/ UNEP/CBD/COP/3/16.
12/ Preamble to decision III/13.
13/ Decision III/13.
14/ Decision III/11, paras. 4 and 5.
15/ Decision III/11, para. 9.
16/ Decisions II/15 and II/16.
17/ Decision II/16.
18/ Article 15 of the CBD.
19/ Decision III/20.
20/ Decisions III/5 and III/20, endorsing recommendation II/5 of the
Subsidiary Body on Scientific, Technical and Technological Advice and, in
particular, the importance of funding for capacity-building in biosafety.
21/ Article 23, para. 5.
22/ The preamble to the CBD recognizes "the vital role that women play in
the conservation and sustainable use of biological diversity" and affirms "the
need for the full participation of women at all levels of policy-making and
implementation for biological diversity conservation".
23/ Decision III/17.
24/ Decision III/11, para. 17 (c).
25/ Decision III/11, para. 15 (f).
26/ Decisions III/15 and III/14.
27/ Decision III/18.
28/ Decision III/6.
29/ Decision III/4.
30/ Decision I/2. For the decisions adopted by the Conference of the
Parties at its first meeting, see UNEP/CBD/COP/1/17.
31/ Decision I/9.
32/ Decisions II/18, annex, and III/22.
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