Analysis of the decisions of the Convention on Biological Diversity: a tool for use at the national level

This internal briefing by Friends of the Earth International (FOEI) analyzes 233 decisions of the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) to create a tool for national-level advocacy. The document categorizes these decisions into five programmatic areas—Community Forest Management (CFM), Biodiversity, Rights, Financing (False Solutions), and Governance—to help Indigenous Peoples and social movements hold governments accountable to their international commitments.

• The Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) has three primary objectives: the conservation of biological diversity, the sustainable use of its components, and the fair and equitable sharing of benefits from genetic resources. While 196 countries are parties to the CBD and implement these through National Biodiversity Strategies and Action Plans (NBSAPs), FOEI asserts that many decisions protecting biodiversity and the rights of Indigenous Peoples and local communities are not being implemented.
• The Ecosystem Approach, refined at COP 7 (Decision VII-11), is a strategy for integrated management of land, water, and living resources. It is based on 12 principles, including the requirement that management be "decentralised to the lowest appropriate level" and that it should consider "all forms of relevant information, including scientific, indigenous, and local knowledge, innovations, and practices."
• The Addis Ababa Principles and Guidelines for the Sustainable Use of Biodiversity (Decision VII-12) establish 14 principles for resource management. Key among these is the requirement that local users of biodiversity be "sufficiently empowered and supported by rights to be responsible for use of the resources concerned" and that the needs and contributions of indigenous and local communities be reflected in the "equitable distribution of the benefits from the use of those resources."
• The CBD has developed several voluntary guidelines to support a rights-based approach for Indigenous Peoples and local communities, including the Akwé: Kon Guidelines for impact assessments, the Tkarihwaié Code of Ethical Conduct for traditional knowledge, the Mo’Otz Kuxtal Guidelines for free, prior and informed consent, and the Rutzolijirisaxik Guidelines for the repatriation of traditional knowledge.
• Regarding forest biodiversity, the CBD's Expanded Programme of Work (Decision VI-22) encourages community-based approaches to conservation and sustainable use, integrating traditional knowledge and benefit-sharing. It specifically urges Parties to recognize the "vital role that women play in indigenous and local communities" for the conservation of forest biological diversity.
• The CBD has adopted a precautionary approach to genetically modified trees and biomass for energy (Decision IX-5). It urges that the release of transgenic trees only occur after contained studies and transparent risk assessments, and that Parties consider the "possible socio-economic impacts of genetically modified trees, as well as their possible impact on the livelihoods of indigenous and local communities."
• FOEI identifies "false solutions" as market-based approaches that promote the "financialisation of nature," which they argue allows business to continue as usual while enabling environmental destruction and human rights violations. This includes the use of economic valuation of ecosystem services to create payment mechanisms that do not address the "perverse incentives" driving biodiversity loss.
• The CBD has sought to integrate biodiversity into the private sector through various decisions (e.g., VIII-17, X-21, XIV-3), promoting business engagement and the mainstreaming of biodiversity in sectors such as energy, mining, infrastructure, and manufacturing. FOEI criticizes these efforts as "greenwashing" and notes an "ideological bias" that fails to address the responsibilities of business sectors for biodiversity loss.
• The CBD recognizes the link between biological diversity and human health (Decisions XIII-6 and XIV-4), noting that biodiversity provides food, traditional medicines, and biomedical discoveries, while also acting as a reservoir for zoonotic pathogens. It emphasizes the benefits of "biodiverse green spaces in urban environments" for physiological and psychological well-being.
• The CBD's approach to protected areas has evolved to include "other effective area-based conservation measures" (Decision XIV-8), defined as areas other than protected areas that are managed to achieve "sustained positive and lasting results for the conservation of biological diversity in situ." The document notes that these areas are often indigenous and local community lands.

APA

Spataro, E., & Rojas, I. (2020). Analysis of the decisions of the Convention on Biological Diversity: a tool for use at the national level. Friends of the Earth International. https://www.foei.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/Analysis-of-the-decisions-of-the-Convention-on-Biological-Diversity_Friends-of-the-Earth-International_English.pdf

Chicago

Spataro, Emilio, and Isaac Rojas. Analysis of the decisions of the Convention on Biological Diversity: a tool for use at the national level. Friends of the Earth International, 2020. https://www.foei.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/Analysis-of-the-decisions-of-the-Convention-on-Biological-Diversity_Friends-of-the-Earth-International_English.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Spataro |first1=Emilio |last2=Rojas |first2=Isaac |title=Analysis of the decisions of the Convention on Biological Diversity: a tool for use at the national level |publisher=Friends of the Earth International |date=December 2020 |url=https://www.foei.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/Analysis-of-the-decisions-of-the-Convention-on-Biological-Diversity_Friends-of-the-Earth-International_English.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{spataro2020analysis, author = {Spataro, Emilio and Rojas, Isaac}, title = {{Analysis of the decisions of the Convention on Biological Diversity: a tool for use at the national level}}, institution = {Friends of the Earth International}, year = {2020}, month = dec, url = {https://www.foei.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/Analysis-of-the-decisions-of-the-Convention-on-Biological-Diversity_Friends-of-the-Earth-International_English.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }