United Nations Convention on Conservation of Biological Diversity

United Nations Convention on Conservation of Biological Diversity

The Convention on Biological Diversity, signed in 1992, constitutes an important step taken in the protection of biological diversity, its sustainable use and the fair sharing of the benefit arising from the use of genetic resources.  The Convention recognises that biodiversity and biological resources must be protected for the sake of ethics, economic benefit and the future of people. In this way, the international community has for the first time demonstrated a holistic approach to biodiversity conservation rather than a sectoral approach.

The Convention obliges the Parties to include the issue of biodiversity conservation in decision-making through national biodiversity strategies. It also requires Parties to conduct research and training programmes to raise public awareness, to support the exchange of information, to take stimulus measures and to carry out environmental impact assessments for projects that may have adverse impacts on biodiversity.

Turkey became a party to the Convention on Biological Diversity in 1996. As of 2012, a total of 193 countries are party to the Convention.