Biodiv Sci ›› 2009, Vol. 17 ›› Issue (1): 97-105.  DOI: 10.3724/SP.J.1003.2009.08202

• Research Brief • Previous Articles     Next Articles

Dynamics in international implementation of the Convention on Biological diversity

Yi Huang*(), Weishuang Zheng   

  1. College of Environmental Sciences and Engineering, Peking University, Beijing 100871
  • Received:2008-08-19 Accepted:2008-11-04 Online:2009-01-20 Published:2009-01-20
  • Contact: Yi Huang

Abstract:

The implementation of the Convention on Biodiversity (CBD) is a dynamic and reactive process that focuses on efficiency. The process has three essential components, i.e. the vicissitude of issues for in-depth consideration, group alliance, and reactions of parties at the national level. These components are related to each other through a feedback mechanism to modify the CBD. The issues for in-depth consideration are the core of the Conference of the Parties (COP), because the decisions reached from the discussion of these issues will lead to changes in the CBD organization, implementation of the strategies and plan, and group alliance. At the international level, interest group’s re-alliance occurs in response to new decisions from COP; correspondingly, groups actively raise issues beneficial to themselves in order to influence the development of CBD. Thus, disagreement among groups is one of the obstacles to the improvement of CBD. At the national level, countries implement CBD by adjusting their relative implementary priorities of the CBD articles in consequence to the new decisions made by COP. Analysis showed that different countries set up different priorities based on their own situation. China assigned highest priority to all the CBD articles which had led to low efficiency in the implementation. Based on this analysis, suggestions and recommendations are provided to promote China’s performance in fulfilling CBD.

Key words: issues for in-depth consideration, access and benefit sharing, conference of the parties, conservation priority