Imagine a lotus blossom, a shark, a penguin, and a gecko. They have all inspired new technologies like self-cleaning surfaces, new aerodynamic coatings for airplanes, cars with low-drag coefficients, better engines, and reusable adhesives. These animals have not only given us the opportunity to create higher performance technologies; together with all animals, plants, fungi, and microorganisms, they clean the air and water, and contribute to creating fertile soil and a pleasant climate. Both the economy and society benefit from biological diversity - in terms of providing food, preserving health, and catalysing innovation.

But nature suffers from an alarming, and quickly advancing, worldwide loss of biodiversity, species, and ecosystems, which is endangering the livelihood of mankind on a global scale. One of the key questions that we need to address – and soon need to answer – is, how to achieve the ideal combination of both using and protecting biodiversity?

The United Nations identified this dilemma at the Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro in 1992, and decided on the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD). The three objectives of the convention with currently more than 190 member states are:

• Conservation of the diversity of animal and plant species, ecosystems and genetic diversity;
• Sustainable use of natural resources;
• Fair and equitable sharing of the benefits arising out of the utilisation of genetic resources.

Signatory countries have committed to significantly slow down the decline of biological diversity by 2010.

Several Conferences of the Parties (COP) have emphasised the importance of the private sector in ensuring the conservation and sustainable use of biological diversity, recognising that the loss of biological diversity - as well as its conservation - is linked in multiple ways with business activities.

Despite this, action by the private sector has been rather limited. In response, the COP 8 Decision VIII/17 a) emphasises that the private sector has to be increasingly integrated into the implementation process of the Convention and thus, “could make a significant contribution towards the 2010 targets”.

The three objectives, and with it the conservation of natural resources for future generations, can only be accomplished with the active support and involvement of the private sector. 

In May 2008, Germany hosted the 9th Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity - COP 9. The conference was attended by more than 5.000 delegates from about 190 signatory states and sent strong signals concerning collaboration with the private sector. In line with Decision IX/26 the COP 9 passed a priority action framework for the collaboration with businesses. 

The Business and Biodiversity Initiative is an initiative with international participation under the German chairmanship of the CBD.

About the initiative