Global Biodiversity Outlook

Abstract

The Convention on Biological Diversity was adopted in 1992, as a result of a growing recognition that isolated actions targeting individual species or ecosystems were insufficient to stem the increasing loss of the natural resource base that underpins all human societies and whose maintenance is essential for sustainable development. The Convention was - and still is - an ambitious undertaking. Its scope is broad, and its commitments so general that much work has been needed by the Conference of the Parties to translate them into practical actions. The Convention is, however, clear on one thing: that, if the impending catastrophe of biodiversity loss is to be averted, acton is needed at the national and international levels and that this action must be facilitated through cooperation among all countries and, in particular, the transfer of necessary financial and technological resources from North to South to enable developing countries - the countries that are home to the majority of the world's natural wealth - to meet their commitments.