ABSTRACT
Biological diversity plays a vital role in ecosystem functioning and the provision of goods and services that are important for human well-being (MA, 2005; Naeem et al., 2009) (Chapter 1). The growing realization that biodiversity and human well-being are inextricably linked was a major driver behind the adoption of numerous national and international policies over the past decades (Chapters 1, 13, 14, 15 and 16). One of these policies was the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD), which was opened for signature in the 1992 Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro and came into effect shortly after. Among others, the CBD has been instrumental in promoting the notion that biodiversity and its components should be utilized sustainably and that there should be fair and equitable sharing of the benefits arising out of this utilization (CBD, 1992) (Chapter 13).
