The United Nations Organisation (UN) prepared a convention for the protection of biodiversity. The Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) was adopted at the Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro in 1992.
The Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) has three main goals;
- the conservation of biodiversity;
- the sustainable use of its components;
- the fair and equitable sharing of benefits resulting from the use of genetic resources.
This agreement covers all ecosystems, species and genetic resources. It links traditional conservation efforts to the economic goals by promoting sustainable and balanced management of biological resources.
The Convention on Biological Diversity was ratified by Belgium on 22 November 1996. In order to implement it, the signatory States have developed national Action plans or Strategies for the conservation and sustainable use of biological diversity.
The Convention on Biological Diversity also covers the field of biotechnology through its Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety, which addresses issues related to technology development, sharing the benefits of biotechnology and biosafety.
In 2010, various agreements were adopted to achieve the three goals of this Convention specifically including the Strategic Plan for Biodiversity 2011-2020 (including the Aichi Targets) and the Nagoya Protocol on access to Genetic Resources and the fair and equitable sharing of benefits resulting from them.
Our country has recently updated its national strategy so that it can meet the objectives of the EU Strategy on Biodiversity 2020 and the Strategic Plan of the CBD.