VI/21. Annex to The Hague Ministerial Declaration of the Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity

The Conference of the Parties,

Recalling its decision V/27 on the contribution of the Convention on Biological Diversity to the ten-year review of progress achieved since the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development,

Noting the outcome of the third meeting of the Commission on Sustainable Development acting as the Preparatory Committee for the World Summit on Sustainable Development,

Convinced that the World Summit on Sustainable Development should be an excellent opportunity to mobilize more political will and resources to promote the implementation of the Convention on Biological Diversity and reinvigorate the global commitment to sustainable development,

Deeply concerned that, despite many successful and continuing efforts of the international community since the entry into force of the Convention and the fact that some progress has been made, the condition of biodiversity in the world's major ecosystems continues to deteriorate, almost without exception and often at an accelerating rate,

Recalling resolution 55/199 of the United Nations General Assembly on the ten-year review of progress achieved in the implementation of the outcome of the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development which invited, inter alia, conventions related to the Conference to participate fully in the ten-year review of progress achieved in the implementation of Agenda 21,

Noting with appreciation the outcomes of the International Conference on Financing for Development which took place in Monterrey, Mexico, in March 2002,

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Annex

CONTRIBUTION FROM THE CONFERENCE OF THE PARTIES TO THE CONVENTION ON BIOLOGICAL DIVERSITY TO THE WORLD SUMMIT ON SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT

A. Introduction: the Convention on Biological Diversity and Agenda 21

1. The maintenance of biodiversity is a necessary condition for sustainable development and as such constitutes one of the great challenges of the modern era.

2. The rate of biodiversity loss is increasing at an unprecedented rate, threatening the very existence of life as it is currently understood.

3. Addressing the major threats to biodiversity will require long-term and fundamental changes in the way resources are used and benefits are distributed. Achieving this adjustment will require broad-based action among a wide range of actors.

4. The importance of the biodiversity challenge was universally acknowledged at the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development, which met in Rio de Janeiro in 1992, and through the adoption of the Convention on Biological Diversity.

5. In becoming Parties to the Convention, States have committed themselves to undertaking national, regional and international measures aimed at achieving its three objectives: the conservation of biological diversity; the sustainable use of its components; and the fair and equitable sharing of benefits arising out of the utilization of genetic resources.

6. The Conference of the Parties has met six times and, on each occasion, through its decisions has taken steps to translate the general provisions of the Convention into practical action. This process has initiated national biodiversity strategies and action plans in over 100 countries, raised awareness about biodiversity and led to the adoption of the Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety, a treaty that provides an international regulatory framework for the safe transfer, handling and use of living modified organisms resulting from modern biotechnology.

B. Experience gained and lessons learned in implementing the Convention on Biological Diversity

7. The last ten years have clearly demonstrated that the Convention is the principal global instrument relevant to achieving the goals set out in chapter 15 of Agenda 21 titled "Conservation of Biological Diversity". During that period the Convention has realized significant achievements:

• The Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety was adopted by an extraordinary meeting of the Conference of the Parties in Montreal on 29 January 2000;
• National biodiversity strategies and action plans have been developed by over 100 Parties to the Convention and are under active implementation;
• A clearing-house mechanism has been established and operationalized to promote and facilitate technical and scientific cooperation amongst Parties;
• Public awareness of the importance of biodiversity and of the objectives of the Convention has been raised considerably in many countries;
• A Global Biodiversity Outlook which provides a general view on the status of biodiversity, the main pressures contributing to its loss, and the state of implementation of the Convention has been prepared and widely circulated;
• Indigenous and local communities have been effectively involved in the Convention process;
• A Strategic Plan for the Convention has been adopted; and
• The Global Environment Facility as the institutional structure operating the financial mechanism of the Convention, other financial mechanisms, donors and international organizations have made significant contributions to the progress in the implementation of the Convention by Parties in the last decade, particularly through multi-stakeholder processes.

8. Notwithstanding these important achievements much still remains to be done.

9. The experience and lessons learnt from the work of the Convention also indicate several key areas where implementation of the Convention and of Agenda 21 can be mutually reinforcing. Such areas include:

10. The most important lesson of the last ten years is that the objectives of the Convention will be impossible to meet until consideration of biodiversity is fully integrated into other sectors. The need to mainstream the conservation and sustainable use of biological resources across all sectors of the national economy, the society and the policy-making framework is a complex challenge at the heart of the Convention.

11. While many countries have made some start in this, notably in those sectors most immediately associated with biodiversity such as forestry, fisheries and agriculture, much more needs to be done, particularly in areas that traditionally are economically and politically dominant such as industry, trade and transport. Even in those sectors where a start has been made in incorporating the consideration of biodiversity into decision-making, more cross-sectoral integration is needed, for example consideration of the impacts of forestry, agriculture or aquaculture on sustainable use of inland water biodiversity, of fishing on marine and coastal biodiversity, or of land-use change on forest or dry-land biodiversity.

12. At the global level, what is needed above all is for other international regimes to take into consideration the concerns of this Convention.

13. The experience of integration has been mixed. On some issues there have been encouraging advances, albeit slower than desired. In others no headway has been made.

14. Another key lesson of the last ten years is the need for leadership in setting the international agenda on biodiversity. Leadership is required in order to ensure that a wide range of stakeholders involved in achieving the aims of the Convention work in harmony. Leadership is required in order to ensure that other sectors effectively consider the aims of the Convention in their activities. Leadership is required in order to ensure that conflicts over uses are minimized. Leadership is required in order to ensure that in the work of the World Summit on Sustainable Development in addressing the needs of the poor and promoting sustainable development, due account is taken of the role of biological diversity.

15. Although the Convention has raised public awareness of biological diversity, of the goods and services it provides, and of the threats that human activities pose to its long-term viability, it is widely recognized that more needs to be done if the aims of the Convention are to be realized. A key need in this regard is increasing stakeholder involvement in implementation of the Convention at international, regional and national levels.

16. The world's poor, particularly the rural poor, are often expected to bear much of the cost of maintaining biodiversity, for example in the form of foregone benefits of land conversion when areas are set aside for the protection of unique or threatened ecosystems or species. Unless they are fully involved in decision-making and benefit-sharing, it is unlikely that long-term solutions to the problem of biodiversity loss can be found. In developing mechanisms to ensure such involvement, it is vital that issues of gender and social structure are properly addressed. Already, there is a growing number of rural communities, especially in developing countries, who have begun to address their poverty issues through innovative approaches to the sustainable use of their biological resources, demonstrating their effectiveness. In this context, it should be ensured that such initiatives are promoted, communicated and supported, as they represent practical means to address the three objectives of the Convention.