The Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD), which entered into force on December 29, 1993, established an international treaty for the conservation and sustainable use of biological diversity and set up a process for the further development of legal, policy, and scientific activities related to biodiversity. The treaty has been highly controversial, however, provoking strong differences in perspectives, especially between those claiming to speak for indigenous peoples and for commercializing enterprises.

Historical Background

Concerns about the global loss of biodiversity that emerged in the late 1970s took their initial legal form in the International Undertaking on Plant Genetic Resources voluntarily adopted by members of the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO). This 1983 agreement, based on a proclaimed "universally accepted principle that plant genetic resources are a heritage of mankind and consequently should be available without restriction," aimed to "ensure that plant genetic resources of economic and/or social interest ... will...