GCIL HOME HIGHLIGHTS Papahanaumokuakea Marine Monument Seabirds R.M.S. Titanic Significant Developments SUBJECT AREAS Antarctic Arctic Biological Diversity Climate Change Environment and Trade Extraterritorial Appl. of Laws Fisheries Heritage Marine Debris Marine Mammals Marine Pollution Marine Protected Areas Marine Turtles Marine Scientific Research Seabed Management Seabirds Ships, Regulation of Survey and Charting Treaties Underwater Sound Zones and Boundaries ACRONYMS INTERNSHIPS REFERENCES

BIOLOGICAL DIVERSITY AND RELATED ISSUES The Office of General Counsel for International Law The primary international legal instrument that addresses the conservation of biological diversity is the Convention on Biological Diversity, adopted in Rio de Janeiro in 1992 and entered into force in 1993. The Convention recognizes "the importance of biological diversity for maintaining life sustaining systems of the biosphere." At present, 192 nations are Parties. The Convention calls for international cooperation to achieve its three main goals: 1. Conservation of biological diversity (or biodiversity); 2. Sustainable use of its components; and 3. Fair and equitable sharing of benefits arising from genetic resources. The United States signed the Convention in June 1993 and submitted it for Senate advice and consent to ratification. While the Senate Foreign Relations Committee voted in support of ratification in 1994, the full Senate has not yet acted. The current Administration does not seek Senate action at this time. Administration's 2009 Treaty Priorities List In addition to biological diversity on land, the Convention also applies to marine biological diversity as each Party is required to take action to protect components of biodiversity, such as species, ecosystems, and genetic material, within the limits of its national jurisdiction. This includes a Party's territorial sea, exclusive economic zone, and continental shelf. The Parties have identified marine and coastal biodiversity as one of seven thematic programs of work. The program establishes a vision for, and basic principles to guide, future work, sets out key issues for consideration, identifies potential outputs, and suggests a timetable and means for achieving them. The five elements of the program are: (1) Integrated Marine and Coastal Management, (2) Marine and Coastal Living Resources, (3) Marine and Coastal Protected Areas, (4) Mariculture, and (5) Invasive Alien Species. The Convention has been supplemented by the Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety, which entered into force in December 2003 and at present has more than 150 Parties. The Protocol, which the U.S. has not signed, seeks to protect biological diversity from the potential risks posed by living modified organisms resulting from modern biotechnology. The Protocol applies to the transboundary movement, transit, handling and use of all living modified organisms that may have adverse effects on the conservation and sustainable use of biological diversity, taking into account risks to human health. Additional reference information: Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) List of Convention Parties Treaty Transmittal Package, Senate Treaty No. 103-20 Senate Foreign Relations Committee Executive Report No. 103-30 Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety List of Cartagena Protocol Parties Background on Relationship between Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS) Agreement and the CBD Review of TRIPS Article 27.3.b