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Annex IV
Key articles of the CBD for organizations
The Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD)
promotes the conservation and sustainable
use of biodiversity and the fair and equitable
sharing of the benefits resulting from the
use of genetic resources. In the table in this
Annex a selection of key articles of the CBD
for organizations is presented 17 .
Table IV: Business related aspects of the CBD
CBD
article
Article 6
Subject
National Biodiversity
Strategies and Action
Plans (NBSAPs) and
mainstreaming of
biodiversity
Relevance to business
NBSAPs provide frameworks for companies to link their own biodiversity action plans into wider
action at the country level and for biodiversity to be integrated into sectoral and cross-sectoral plans,
programmes and policies
Article 8 In situ conservation In situ conservation calls for governments to establish protected area systems and undertake conservation
activities to preserve ecosystems and the species they contain in the wild. These actions have
implications for where a business can and cannot operate and provides the context for businesses to
contribute to biodiversity by undertaking conservation activities in and around operations.
Furthermore, Article 8(g) calls for means to regulate, manage or control risks associated with the release
of living modified organisms resulting from biotechnology, and thus is of particular interest to the
agriculture, forestry and pharmaceutical industries.
Article 8(h) calls for preventing the introduction of, control or eradicate those alien species which
threaten ecosystems, habitats or species, and is thus of particular importance to the exotic pet trade,
the aquaculture industry and the horticulture industry.
Article 9 Ex situ conservation Ex situ conservation calls for the preservation of natural resources outside the context of their natural environments.
Article 10 Sustainable use Article 10(e) encourages cooperation between government authorities and the private sector in
developing methods for sustainable use of biological resources.
Article 11 Incentive measures Incentive measures create opportunities for new markets for biodiversity goods and services, using
market instruments such as labelling, and establish innovative financial mechanisms for promoting
responsible small and medium-sized companies in emerging economies.
Article 14 Impact assessment Article 14.1 promotes the integration of biodiversity into Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA)
processes and therefore could result in government adopting new and different requirements for
impact assessment procedures.
Article 15
Article 16
Article 19
Access to genetic
resources
Access to and transfer
of technology
Handling of biotechnology
and distribution
of its profits
Article 14.2 addresses the issue of liability and redress, including restoration and compensation, for damage to
biodiversity, posing a risk to companies that may be having deleterious impacts on biodiversity.
The access to genetic resources debate in the CBD is raising important issues for business such as
‘mutually agreed terms’, ‘prior informed consent’, and ‘fair and equitable distribution of benefits’.
Promotes facilitating access to technology relevant to conservation and sustainable use of biodiversity
or make use of genetic resources, so companies that are developing new technologies may find that
new frameworks for technology transfer between countries provides new business opportunities.
Article 16.2 looks into the transfer of technology which is subject to intellectual property rights.
Article 16.4 calls for the parties to the CBD to take legislative, administrative or policy measures to
ensure that the private sector facilitates access to technology for the benefit of both governmental
institutions and the private sector of developing countries, offering opportunities for collaboration
between the private sector in developed and developing countries.
Of particular relevance to those businesses that are involved in biotechnology, even indirectly.
17] Assistance to organizations in understanding the context of the CBD and implementing the same
in policies can be derived from ‘Business and Biodiversity, A Guide for the Private Sector’ (Stone, D.,
Ringwood, K., Vorhies, F. 1997), http://biodiversityeconomics.org/document.rm?id=144
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