Biodiversity and wildlife treaties
The treaties that protect species, genes and ecosystems: the CBD and its two protocols, CITES, the migratory species convention and UNCCD.
What the paper can ask
- CBD: secretariat in Montreal under UNEP; nearly every country is a party, and the United States signed but never ratified.
- Cartagena Protocol adopted 2000, in force 2003; Nagoya Protocol adopted 2010, in force 2014; Kunming-Montreal framework (COP15, December 2022) has four goals and 23 targets; COP16 was in Cali, Colombia in 2024 and COP17 was scheduled for Yerevan, Armenia, 19 to 30 October 2026.
- CITES was finalised at Washington on 3 March 1973 and came into force in 1975. Species sit in three Appendices (I: the strictest level; II: not necessarily threatened but needing control; III: one country has asked others for help); secretariat in Geneva, administered by UNEP.
- The Convention on the Conservation of Migratory Species of Wild Animals was signed on 23 June 1979 under UNEP, in force 1983, with two Appendices (threatened species; species needing international cooperation).
- UNCCD: adopted in Paris, in force from the mid-1990s, 197 parties as of 2026; India hosted COP14 in New Delhi in September 2019. (as of 24 Oct 2026)
Why exams ask
Setters ask what each treaty or protocol regulates, the year and city of adoption, which protocol belongs to which convention, headline targets, and which conventions came out of Rio.
The full story
The Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) has three aims: conserve biodiversity, use it sustainably, and share the benefits of genetic resources fairly. Two protocols hang under it, adopted in Cartagena (2000) and Nagoya (2010), and its COP15 agreed the Kunming-Montreal framework in 2022. Older treaties name specific threats: CITES (1973) lists species at different levels of protection and the CMS (1979) is about animals that cross borders.
In the news
Test yourself
1.CITES, signed at Washington in 1973, regulates:
Correct. The Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species lists species in Appendices I to III to control or ban their trade.
Not quite. The Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species lists species in Appendices I to III to control or ban their trade. It goes into your error book.
2.The Convention on the Conservation of Migratory Species of Wild Animals (1979) is also known as the:
Correct. The CMS, or Bonn Convention, protects migratory species; India hosted its COP13 at Gandhinagar in February 2020.
Not quite. The CMS, or Bonn Convention, protects migratory species; India hosted its COP13 at Gandhinagar in February 2020. It goes into your error book.
3.The Cartagena Protocol (2000) under the Convention on Biological Diversity deals with:
Correct. Cartagena covers biosafety of LMOs from biotechnology; the Nagoya Protocol (2010) covers access and benefit sharing of genetic resources.
Not quite. Cartagena covers biosafety of LMOs from biotechnology; the Nagoya Protocol (2010) covers access and benefit sharing of genetic resources. It goes into your error book.