ABSTRACT
This chapter explores how did the global treaty emerge and how has it evolved, by providing an overview of the Convention's origins. It then examines the implications of human history, as well as the Convention's core characteristics, for the Convention on Biological Diversity's (CBD) implementation and overall operational effectiveness. The CBD goes beyond environmental preservation and provides for the sharing – with communities and countries of origin – of benefits arising from the use of genetic resources. The CBD was formally negotiated over the course of ten intergovernmental meetings held between November 1988 and May 1992. An Intergovernmental Committee on the Convention on Biological Diversity (ICCBD) was convened to oversee the Convention in the period between its adoption and entry into force. The structure of the negotiations, the haphazard way in which crucial issues were considered, and the pressures of time contributed to a legal instrument which should cause distress for international lawyers and policy-makers.
