International conventions on Biodiversity

In November 1988, the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) organised the Ad-Hoc Working Group of Experts on Biological Diversity to investigate the need for a worldwide biological diversity agreement. Soon after, in May 1989, it established the Ad Hoc Working Group of Technical and Legal Experts to draught an international legal instrument for biological diversity protection and sustainable use. The experts were to address "the need to share costs and benefits between developed and developing countries" as well as "ways and means to support innovation by local people".as well as "tools and methods to assist local people's innovation." 

The Ad Hoc Working Group was renamed the Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee in February 1991. Its efforts culminated on May 22, 1992, with the Nairobi Conference for the Adoption of the Convention on Biological Diversity's Agreed Text. On June 5, 1992, at the United Nations 

Conference on Environment and Development (commonly known as the "Rio Earth Summit"), the Convention was opened for signature by member nations. It remained available until June 4, 1993, when it received 168 signatures. The Convention entered into force 90 days following the 30th ratification, on December 29, 1993. The inaugural session of the Conference of the Parties was slated to take place in the Bahamas from November 28 to December 9, 1994.

After the CBD was ratified, a National Policy and Macrolevel Action Strategy on Biodiversity was created and adopted by the Committee of Secretaries in 1999. This was done through a participative and consultative process involving numerous stakeholders. The CBD Secretariat received this submission. After that, from 2000 to 2004, the Government of India's Ministry of Environment and Forests carried out a project on the National Biodiversity Strategy and Action Plan (NBSAP) with assistance from outside sources. The National Biodiversity Action Plan (NBAP) was started after the Union Cabinet approved the National Environment Policy in 2006. The 1999-developed National Policy and Macrolevel Action Strategy on Biodiversity has been updated and altered. The National Biodiversity Strategy and Action Plan (NBSAP) project's final technical report was utilised. Additionally, it was made sure that the NBAP adhered to the National Environment Policy. The Union Cabinet accepted the updated NBAP on November 6, 2008, taking into account the feedback. The CBD website contains the two generations of NBSAP documents for India.

The Strategic Plan for Biodiversity Conservation for 2011-2020, agreed by the Conference of Parties (CoP)-10 in 2010, specified five objectives and 20 Aichi Targets. The Aichi Targets' primary objectives are

The plan was created with the goal of motivating all nations and stakeholders to take extensive action in favour of biodiversity during the next ten years. The Strategic Plan and Aichi Targets serve as the overarching framework for biodiversity for all UN member states as well as the CBD and accords linked to biodiversity. The Strategic Plan's term, 2011 to 2020, was designated as the UN Decade on Biodiversity by the UN General Assembly in a resolution.

The nations have agreed to set their own national goals utilising the Strategic Plan and its Aichi Targets as a flexible framework, and to update or alter their NBSAPs as necessary to align them with the Strategic Plan in order to include the national goals. The work of several Ministries and Departments is connected to many of the Aichi Targets (commerce, industry, agriculture, health etc.). Therefore, strong cross-sectoral collaboration is required to develop national targets that are consistent with the Aichi Targets. Using the Aichi objectives as a framework, India produced 12 national biodiversity targets and the monitoring indicators through a thorough collaborative process, and released a National Biodiversity Action Plan Addendum to NBAP 2008 in 2014. The Convention on Biological Diversity's (CBD) Conference of the Parties' (COP 11) eleventh conference was held in Hyderabad, India, between October 8 through October 19, 2012. India had the chance to strengthen, expand, and highlight its national biodiversity strengths during the event. Since India was the host nation and the CoP-11 President, the meetings were presided over by the Minister for Environment and Forests.

In 2010, a Nagoya Protocol on Access and Benefit Sharing (ABS) was agreed following six years of discussions to expand the ABS framework offered by the Convention. The CBD-covered genetic resources and the advantages resulting from their use are covered by the Nagoya Protocol. The CBD-covered genetic resources and the advantages resulting from their use are also covered by the Nagoya Protocol's traditional knowledge (TK) section.

The Nagoya Protocol aims to increase legal clarity and transparency for both genetic resource producers and users by

The Nagoya Protocol increases the contribution of biodiversity to development and human well-being by encouraging the conservation and sustainable use of genetic resources. This is accomplished through helping to secure benefit-sharing. India significantly aided the Nagoya negotiations in a favourable way. The fair and equal distribution of benefits resulting from the exploitation of biological resources is the Nagoya Protocol's main goal. On October 12, 2014, the Protocol went into effect. India ratified the Protocol on October 9, 2012, after having signed it on May 11, 2011.

During her Presidency, India engaged in a number of biodiversity-related initiatives, some of which were particularly distinctive and novel. These, among others, comprise:

The United Nations System, governments, and major groups are to implement Agenda 21 as a comprehensive plan of action on a global, national, and local level in every area where people have an impact on the environment. It was also a result of the 1992 Rio Earth Summit. It is an action plan that can be carried out at the local, national, and international levels by the UN, other multilateral organisations, and other governments around the world. The 21st Century is indicated by the "21" in Agenda 21.

Agenda 21 is a 350-page book with 40 chapters arranged into the following 4 sections:

An grasp of several fundamental concepts and ideas that permeate Agenda 21 is crucial to a proper understanding of it. These include the crucial role that national strategies, plans, and programmes must play, the necessity of integrated decision-making at all levels, and the significance of community involvement in putting Agenda 21 into action. Monitoring the application of UNCED decisions is the responsibility of the UN Commission on Sustainable Development (CSD). The first CSD meeting, held in 1993, was an organisational gathering. The second, third, and fourth meetings, held in 1994, 1995, and 1996, respectively, were in-depth analyses of various chapters of Agenda 21. In 1996, the initial round of the reviews was finished.

Indigenous peoples' groups value Principle 22 highly. It reads, "Due to their expertise and customs, indigenous people, their communities, and other local communities play a crucial part in environmental management and development. In order to enable their meaningful engagement in sustainable development, states should acknowledge and appropriately promote their identity, culture, and interests."

A local Agenda 21 must be developed by each town, according to Agenda 21's Chapter 28. To create "a Local Agenda 21," each local government should have a conversation with its residents, community organisations, and private businesses. Local authorities would learn from individuals and from local, municipal, community, corporate, and industrial organisations through consultation and consensus-building and gather the data required for drafting the most effective strategies. –

The 115 distinct and extremely targeted projects that make up Agenda 21 are intended to encourage or compel the switch to sustainable development. The goal of the Earth Summit, as explicitly stated by its leaders, is to alter the current system of sovereign nations. There are 8 "programme areas for action" on the agenda: