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Business Under The Convention

The Conference of the Parties (COP)

The Conference of the Parties (COP) is the governing body of the Convention, and advances implementation of the Convention through the decisions it takes at its periodic meetings. To date the Conference of the Parties has held 10 ordinary meetings. The Eleventh meeting of the Conference of the Parties will take place in Hyderabad, India in October 2012. The Business sector is encouraged to participate and the CBD Secretariat is planning a number of business events during COP including:

  • High level meetings between business leaders and government officials
  • A green business exhibition
  • Meeting of the National Business Biodiversity Initiatives

Private sector engagement at Conference of the parties:

Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) have, for some time, been exploring ways to enhance private-sector collaboration in achieving the goals of the Convention. COP 8 (Brazil, 2006) addressed the need for business involvement in biodiversity conservation, and COP 9 (Germany, 2008) invited Parties to improve actions and cooperation for the engagement of the business community through public/private partnerships.

In addition, the G-8 Environment Ministers (Japan, 2008) discussed ways to promote the conservation and sustainable use of global biodiversity, adopting the Kobe Call for Action for Biodiversity to promote international cooperation and engagement of the private sector. The Third Business and the 2010 Biodiversity Challenge Conference (Indonesia, 2009) issued The Jakarta Charter on Business and Biodiversity which also focused on the sustainable use and conservation of biodiversity.

At COP 10 (Japan, 2010) far-reaching decisions were adopted to achieve the goals of the Convention. These included, inter-alia, Nagoya Protocol on Access to Genetic Resources and the Fair and Equitable Sharing of Benefits Arising from their Utilization and the new Strategic Plan for the years 2011 to 2020 with concrete targets for achieving the objectives of the Convention. Recognizing that such ambitious targets cannot be achieved by governments alone, a decision calling for the direct engagement of business, together with other stakeholders, was adopted by the Parties as Decision X/21 on Business Engagement. The decision calls upon the Secretariat of the Convention on Biological Diversity to:

  • Encourage the establishment of national and regional business and biodiversity initiatives
  • Compile and disseminate information on best available practices for mainstreaming ecosystem services
  • Encourage the development and application of tools and mechanisms that can further facilitate the engagement of business in integrating biodiversity conservation into their practices
  • Monitor implementation of private sector progress in mainstreaming ecosystem services and assess the effectiveness of tools and mechanisms in use for this purpose
  • Encourage businesses that support the Convention’s objectives in communicating their biodiversity-relevant activities to their consumers, customers, and other stakeholders.

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