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Other international policies
In addition to the Global Strategy for Plant Conservation and the European Strategy for Plant Conservation, there are many other policies and strategies which target plant and nature conservation.
Carta di Siracusa
This is a declaration of the leaders G8 (2009) on the needs for agreement on biodiversity conservation, low carbon economies, actions on climate change, and measures to improve children’s health post 2010. Click here to download a copy.
Convention on Biological Diversity
The Convention on Biological Diversity is the main international convention for conserving biodiversity. It has three main strands: to conserve biological diversity; to use biological diversity in a sustainable fashion; and to share the benefits of biological diversity fairly and equitably. In addition there is the supplementary agreement of the CBD, the Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety, to protect biodiversity from the potential risks from living modified organisms resulting from modern biotechnology, ie. genetically modified (GM) organisms. The CBD also adopted the Global Strategy for Plant Conservation (GSPC) which is currently being revised to run until 2020.
Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES)
The Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species is the main international convention which governs the trade in endangered species, both plant and animal.
Intergovernmental Science Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES)
This international forum of science experts coordinated by the United Nations Environment Programme has recently been established and will act as an interface between science and policy for biodiversity and ecosystem services.
RAMSAR
The RAMSAR Convention on Wetlands of International Importance, was agreed in the Iranian city of Ramsar in 1971, and is the main international conservation agreement for protecting rapidly disappearing wetland habitats. It maintains a register and database of RAMSAR sites.
The Economics of Ecosystems and Biodiversity (TEEB)
The Economics of Ecosystems and Biodiversity is an international initiative aimed at highlighting the global economic benefits of biodiversity and the growing costs of biodiversity loss and degradation. Several TEEB reports, sponsored by the German Government, the European Commission and the UN, are available to download, including ‘The Economics of Ecosystems and Biodiversity, an interim report’, TEEB and Climate Change report, TEEB for Policy Makers Report, TEEB for Business Report’, with others planned for 2010.
UN policies
Goal 7 of the UN Millennium Development Goals calls for environmental sustainability and the integration of the principles of sustainable development into the policies and programmes of individual countries. The loss of environmental resources, particularly plants, affects the poorest communities in the world most directly, and any attempts to eradicate poverty must engage with this issue. In addition the UN also coordinates activities under the Convention to Combat Desertification and the Framework Convention on Climate Change [link http://unfccc.int/2860.php]. The UN also coordinates activities under the Barcelona Convention for the Protection of the Mediterranean Sea from pollution.