Biological Diversity, Convention On

Convention on Biological Diversity, also called Biodiversity Treaty, international treaty designed to promote the conservation of biodiversity and to ensure the sustainable use and equitable sharing of genetic resources. Work on the treaty concluded in Nairobi in May 1992 with the adoption of the Nairobi Final Act by the Nairobi Conference for the Adoption of the Agreed Text of the Convention on Biological Diversity. The convention was opened for signatures at the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development, or Earth Summit, in June 1992 and entered into force in December of that year. The parties to the convention include some 190 countries (though not the United States) and the European Union.

The convention calls for the conservation of genetic resources by preserving sensitive ecosystems, rehabilitating degraded ecosystems, and enacting legislation that protects endangered plant and animal species. Additionally, the treaty requests financial assistance for developing countries so that they can afford programs designed to conserve their biological resources. The Conference of Parties, the governing body of the convention, has established thematic programs that set goals and strategies for conserving genetic resources in each of several major types of ecosystems: marine and coastal areas, inland waterways, forests, mountain areas, agricultural areas, and dry and subhumid lands.