Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) 

and the

Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety (CPB)

Historical background,  linkages, scope and  objectives

The principal objectives of the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) is “the conservation of biological diversity, the sustainable use of its components and the fair and equitable sharing of the benefits arising out of the utilization of genetic resources, including by appropriate access to genetic resources and by appropriate transfer of relevant technologies, taking into account all rights over those resources and to technologies, and by appropriate funding”

 The Convention recognizes that the key to maintaining biological diversity depends upon using this diversity in a sustainable manner and translates its guiding objectives of conservation, sustainable use and equitable sharing of benefits into binding commitments.

  The origin of the negotiations for the Convention on Biological Diversity lies in the 1987 Governing Council decision 14/26 of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), which called upon UNEP to convene and ad hoc working group of experts on biological diversity who agreed on the need to elaborate an internationally binding instrument on biological diversity.

The Convention was opened for the signature at the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development in Rio de Janeiro in 1992.

  His Excellency, President Sam Nujoma, signed the Convention on Biological Diversity in 1992 in Rio de Janeiro, on behalf of Namibia. Namibia further ratified the Convention on 18 March 1997.

  Biotechnology is addressed in the Convention in two ways. First, Parties are enforced to share and provide access to both, genetic resources AND biotechnology. Second, as laid down in its article 8(g), to “Establish or maintain means to regulate, manage or control the risks associated with the use and release of living modified organisms resulting from biotechnology which are likely to have adverse environmental impacts that could affect the conservation and sustainable use of biological diversity, taking also into account the risks to human health. “

One instrument is the Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety adopted as a supplementary agreement to the Convention on 29 January 2000, entered into force on September 11^th 2003 (see website http://www.biodiv.org/).

The mandate to develop such an international and legally binding Protocol on Biosafety is based on article 19 paragraph 3 of the Convention on Biological Diversity( The Parties shall consider the need for and modalities of a protocol setting out appropriate procedures, including in particular, advance informed agreement in the field of the safe transfer, handling and use of any living modified organism resulting from biotechnology that may have adverse effect on the conservation and sustainable use of biological diversity), to regulate the safe transfer, handling and use of genetically modified organisms (GMO). The Protocol primarily regulates the transbondary movements of GMO (the Protocol uses the synonym LMO instead of GMO)

Currently (as of 26 September) 63 states ratified the Protocol on Biosafety. The entry into force of the Protocol (since the 11th of September 2003)  means that it will become a legally binding in the international legal system and in the legal systems of States that have given consent to be bound by it; and henceforth States must comply with, and implement, all the provisions of the Protocol.

what happened with  the Protocol on Biosafety entry into force?