# Chapter 3 Passing on the Life of the Earth to the Future

In order to preserve the healthy condition of the Earth, which is the basis of human existence, conservation and sustainable use of biodiversity, along with the measures against global warming, are essential. The 10th meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity (COP10), which was held in Nagoya City, Aichi Prefecture in October 2010, was a historic conference that left significant results such as adoption of the "Aichi Biodiversity Targets," new global targets related to biodiversity, and the "Nagoya Protocol," which relates to Access to Genetic Resources and Benefit-Sharing (ABS). In addition, international society is beginning to make big strides in aiming to realize a "world living in harmony with nature" by 2050. In this chapter we will discuss the results of COP10, the future direction of efforts within and outside Japan based on those results, and efforts by private sector and households.

## Section 1 The Results of COP10 and COP-MOP5, and Future Development

### 1. The Background of Holding COP10

The Convention on Biological Diversity was opened for signature along with the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, at the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development (Earth Summit) that was held in 1992 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, and entered into force the following year 1993. Indeed there had been various conventions prior to that with the objectives of conserving specific areas or rare species of wildlife, such as the Ramsar Convention (The Convention on Wetlands of International Importance especially as Waterfowl Habitat) and CITES (The Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora), but such specific conventions did not cover the topic about the importance of a comprehensive framework to preserve biodiversity.

The Convention on Biological Diversity has the following three objectives: 1) conservation of biological diversity, 2) sustainable use of its components, and 3) the fair and equitable sharing of benefits arising from the utilization of genetic resources. There are many topics, ranging from issues that are deeply related to conservation, such as “protected areas,” “forests,” “marine and coasts” and “invasive alien species,” to those such as “climate change,” “businesses” and “financial mechanism.” They are expanding in reflection of the trends of international biodiversity issues (Table 3-1-1: Major Themes of the Convention on Biological Diversity).

192 states and the European Union are the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity, which means that most of the countries in the world are participating (as of March 2011 (The U.S. has not yet accepted.)). The Conference of the Parties (COP), which is the highest decision-making body of Convention on Biological Diversity, is held about every two years (Table 3-1-2: Background of the COPs). In addition to the governments that are Parties to the Convention, various players such as non-party countries, the United Nations organizations, local municipalities, NGOs, organizations of indigenous peoples and local communities, corporations and educational organizations can also participate at the COP as observers. The number of participants in the COP increases every time, and what was

Table 3-1-1 Major Themes of the Convention on Biological Diversity

Thematic Programs	Cross Cutting Issues
·Agricultural Biodiversity·Dry and Sub-humid Lands Biodiversity·Forest Biodiversity·Inland Waters Biodiversity·Inland Biodiversity·Marine and Coastal Biodiversity·Mountain Biodiversity	·2010 Biodiversity Targets·Access to Genetic Resources and Benefit Sharing (ABS)·Biodiversity for Development·Climate Change and Biodiversity·Communication, Education, & Public Awareness (CEPA)·Economic, Trade, and Incentive measures·Ecosystem approach·Global Strategy for Plant Conservation Strategy for preserving the world's plants·Global Taxonomy Initiative·Impact Assessment·Identification, Monitoring, Indicators, and Assessment·Invasive Alien Species·Liability and Redress (Article 14.2)·Protected Areas·Biodiversity and Sustainable Tourism and biodiversity·Traditional Knowledge, Innovations, and Practices (Article 8 (j))·Technology Transfers and Cooperation

Source: Created by the Ministry of the Environment, based on the information on the Convention on Biological Diversity Secretariat website