The Convention on Biological Diversity

14 January 2009 Online-Conference on Capacity-Building for Integration of Biosafety into National Development Plans will be held from 19 January to 6 February 2009. More »
6 January 2009 Monthly Bulletin of Activities (MBA) of the CBD, November-December 2008. More »
23 December 2008 Report on activities of the Secretariat on the implementation of the work programme of the Convention on Biological Diversity and its Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety now available. More »
19 December 2008 Resolution on “Sustainable Development: Convention on Biological Diversity”, adopted on 19 December 2008 by the Sixty-third session of the United Nations General Assembly under Agenda item 49 (f). More »
19 December 2008 Message from Ahmed Djoghlaf, Executive Secretary, on the occasion of the United Nations Day for South-South Cooperation, 19 December 2008. More »
17 December 2008 Visit to the Secretariat of a Delegation from Ishikawa Prefecture, Japan. More »
17 December 2008 Disaster Reduction and Climate Change Adaptation, statement by the Executive Secretary, Ahmed Djoghlaf, on the occasion of the 5th Annual United Nations Day for South-South Cooperation and the Launch of the Global South-South Development Expo organized by the United Nation Development Programme, New York, 17 December 2008. More »
16 December 2008 Report of the Expert Meeting for South-South Cooperation on Biodiversity for Development. More »
16 December 2008 The CBD Secretariat is launching a quarterly e-Newsletter on the Ecosystem Approach, in order to facilitate sharing of information on the application of the ecosystem approach and promote the use and voluntary update of the Ecosystem Approach Sourcebook. More »
15 December 2008 A new website for the Life Web is unveiled. With the support of the Government of Germany and pending the development of the permanent website for the Life Web initiative, information on the Life Web can be accessed in the interim on this new web site hosted by CBD. More »
11 December 2008 Food Security in Mountains, Message by the Executive Secretary, Dr. Ahmed Djoghlaf, on the occasion of International Mountain Day, 11 December 2008. More »
9 December 2008 Statement by the Executive Secretary, Dr. Ahmed Djoghlaf, on the occasion of the 9th National Conference on Science, Policy and the Environment organized by the National Council for Science and Environment on the theme of Biodiversity in a Rapidly Changing World, Washington, D.C., 9 December 2008. More »
2 December 2008 CBD provides free tool to identify win-win areas for REDD and biodiversity. The Bali Action plan under the United Nations FCCC encourages efforts to reduce emissions from reducing emissions from deforestation and forest degradation (REDD), while aiming for synergies with the implementation of the (CBD). The national gap analyses under CBD PoWPA are important tools for maximizing this kind of synergy. More »
1 December 2008 Biosafety: The second round of Discussion Groups within the Open-ended Online Expert Forum on Risk Assessment and Risk Management extended to 19 December 2008. More »
1 December 2008 State of Paraná Reports on Carbon-Offset Programme for the Operations of the Secretariat through the Tenth Meeting of the Conference of the Parties. More »

What is the Convention?

Signed by 150 government leaders at the 1992 Rio Earth Summit, the Convention on Biological Diversity is dedicated to promoting sustainable development. Conceived as a practical tool for translating the principles of Agenda 21 into reality, the Convention recognizes that biological diversity is about more than plants, animals and micro organisms and their ecosystems – it is about people and our need for food security, medicines, fresh air and water, shelter, and a clean and healthy environment in which to live. Learn more...