Definition

An international legally binding United Nations treaty to deliver national strategies for the conservation and sustainable use of biodiversity. It has three main goals:

• the conservation of biodiversity;
• the sustainable use of the components of biodiversity; and
• the fair and equitable sharing of benefits arising from the use of genetic resources.

Secretariat of the Convention on Biological Diversity (2011) ¹

It is one of the three Rio Conventions and one of the eight international conventions that focus on biodiversity issues. ²