From: benjamin@cyberus.ca (craig benjamin)
Subject: The Biodiversity Convention in Brief
THE BIODIVERSITY CONVENTION IN BRIEF
CS Canada
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The struggles of indigenous peoples and other traditional communities to
defend our cultures and lifeways. The efforts of governments to take
control over new sources of wealth such as exotic plant species or
rainforest medicines. Corporate pressure to expand the global trade in
these and other forms of "biological diversity." Environmental programs to
regulate the exploitation of the earth's resources. These paths all cross
at the United Nations' Convention on Biological Diversity, an
international agreement covering most aspects of the conservation and
exploitation of the living world, as well as our knowledge of it. The
Biodiversity Convention is significant for indigenous peoples because it
is the first international legal framework to include explicit references
to rights of those who maintain the world's biodiversity and contribute
valuable knowledge of it's use. At the same, the Biodiversity Convention
is also cause for concern because it appears to encourage the trend toward
rapid growth in commercial exploitation of biodiversity and traditional
knowledge. The Convention is also cause for concern because it assigns
sovereignty over biodiversity solely to national governments, and not to
peoples. The principles set out in the Convention are still open for
interpretation. And indigenous peoples around the world are developing
their own recommendations. These initiatives seek to ensure that the
implementation of the Convention supports and expands - rather than erodes
and restricts - our rights under national legislation and international
law. This pamphlet provides a brief introduction to these themes.
The Biodiversity Convention is a binding agreement among national
governments. The CBD was negotiated in 1992 alongside the United Nations
Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED) in Rio de Janeiro,
Brazil. The majority of the world's government's signed the Convention.
The Convention has since become law in 145 states. The most notable
holdout is the United States which considers the Convention a threat to
the private ownership of living things.
The stated purpose of the Convention is "...the conservation of biological
diversity, the sustainable use of its components and the fair and
equitable sharing of its benefits arising out of the utilization of
genetic resources... taking into account all rights over those
resources... [emphasis added]."
The Convention claims to override all other international agreements when
it comes to protection of the environment. This power has never been
tested.
Article 8(j) of the Convention states: "Each Contracting Party shall, as
far as possible and as appropriate... subject to its national legislation,
respect, preserve and maintain knowledge, innovations and practices of
indigenous and local communities embodying traditional lifestyles relevant
for the conservation and sustainable use of biological diversity and
promote their wider application with the approval and involvement of the
holders of such knowledge, innovations and practices and encourage the
equitable sharing of the benefits arising from the utilization of such
knowledge, innovations and practices."
Article 10 (c) states: "Each Contracting Party shall, as far as possible
and as appropriate... protect and encourage customary use of biological
resources in accordance with traditional cultural practices that are
compatible with conservation or sustainable use requirements."
The Convention consists primarily of principles. Implementation of these
principles is being negotiated at regular Conferences of the Parties. In
November 1996, the COP will be held in Buenos Aires, Argentina.
Interpretation and implementation of 8(j) is one of the items on the
agenda. Article 10 (c) will be on the agenda for the COP in 1997.
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This article was posted as part of an international indigenous peoples'
initiative to promote greater understanding of the events at the Third
Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity
(COPIII).
Posted by: Liaison Committee of the Indigenous Peoples' Biodiversity
Information Network (IBIN).
IBIN Liaison Committee
c/o Shuswap Nation Fisheries Commission
355 Yellowhead Hwy,
Kamloops, British Columbia
Canada, V2H 1H1
Telephone: 1-604-828-9791
Fax: 1-604-828-9787
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