Negotiations on the Convention on Biological Diversity signed by over 150 nations in Rio de Janeiro in June 1992 often revolved around the allocation of perceived economic benefits from biotechnological exploitation of biodiversity, sometimes to the neglect of the overall agenda of conservation of nature. The debate centered on what can be called the international “biodiversity trade,” which raises several issues linking biodiversity and biotechnology. First, how should the economic benefits of biodiversity be distributed among nations? In particular, how should biotechnology based on genetic resources-the ultimate source of all biodiversity-be transferred or shared between the countries in which the biotechnology is developed and the countries from which the genetic resources are taken? A related issue was what rights of access do countries have to genetic resources in other countries? In particular, the relationship between these issues and intellectual property rights was one of the “most divisive issues” in the treaty negotiations
This article proposes some actions the parties to the Convention could take to deal with these issues. Part I briefly reviews the negotiations on the biodiversity trade and the resulting text of the Convention. Part II offers a preliminary critique of the terms of this debate, aimed at helping future negotiators break negotiating deadlocks and reach agreement on concrete measures to carry out the Convention’s basic principles. Part III includes proposals for specific actions both at the multilateral level by the Conference of the Parties- through protocols or administrative structures under the treaty’s framework-and at the domestic level by individual parties, through implementation of the treaty.