Convention on Biological Diversity and its protocols

The Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) has three main objectives: the conservation of biological diversity; the sustainable use of the components of biological diversity; an the fair and equitable sharing of the benefits arising out of the utilization of genetic resources. The Convention acknowledges the special needs of LDCs, among those of other developing countries:

• Preamble: Parties acknowledge that “special provision is required to meet the needs of developing countries, including the provision of new and additional financial resources and appropriate access to relevant technologies” and, in this regard, note “the special conditions of the least developed countries and small island States”.
• Article 20.5: Parties commit to taking “full account of the specific needs and special situation of least developed countries in their actions with regard to funding and transfer of technology”.

The Convention has two protocols, both of which take into account the needs of, and commit to cooperating with, developing countries and “in particular” those of LDCs and other groups of countries such as SIDS and Parties with Economies in transition:

• Nagoya Protocol on Access to Generic Resources and the Fair and Equitable Sharing of Benefits Arising from their Utilization: Parties committed to taking into account the needs of, and cooperating with, developing country Parties and “in particular” LDCs, SIDS and Parties with economies in transition (Article 22 on capacity; Article 23 on technology transfer, collaboration and cooperation; Article 25 on Financial Mechanisms and Resources).
• Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety to the Convention on Biological Diversity (governs the movements of living modified organisms – LMOs – resulting from modern biotechnology from one country to another): In regard to the establishment of a Biosafety Clearing-House, Parties committed to ” Assist Parties to implement the Protocol, taking into account the special needs of developing country Parties, in particular the least developed and small island developing States among them, and countries with economies in transition as well as countries that are centres of origin and centres of genetic diversity”(Article 20); in regard to capacity-building, financial resources and access to and transfer of technology and know-how, Parties commit to cooperating in the development and/or strengthening of human resources and institutional capacities in biosafety in developing country Parties, “in particular” the LDCs and SIDS among them, and in Parties with economies in transition (Articles 22 and 28).