Consider the following international agreements:
- The International Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture
- The United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification
- The World Heritage Convention
Which of the above has/have a bearing on biodiversity?
- 1 and 2 only
- 3 only,
- 1 and 3 only
- 1, 2 and 3
Explanation
The International Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture is correct
- PGRFA is popularly known as the International Seed Treaty. It is an international agreement in harmony with the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD).
- It aims at guaranteeing food security through the conservation, exchange, and sustainable use of the world’s plant genetic resources for food and agriculture, as well as the fair and equitable benefit sharing arising from its use.
The United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification is correct
- The United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD), along with the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) and the UNFCCC, emerged from the 1992 Rio Earth Summit and was formally established in 1994 in Paris. It has been ratified by 196 countries and the European Union, with India ratifying the Convention in 1996.
- The UNCCD seeks to promote coordinated global action to combat land degradation and is the only legally binding international agreement that links environmental concerns with development through sustainable land management.
- It requires member countries to prepare National Action Programmes (NAPs) using a bottom-up approach that involves local communities in efforts to restore degraded land. Additionally, the Global Mechanism (GM) under the Convention assists countries in mobilising financial resources for its effective implementation.
The World Heritage Convention is correct
- UNESCO adopted the World Heritage Convention, an international treaty, in 1972. It provides a framework for international cooperation in preserving and protecting cultural treasures and natural areas (including those of exceptional biodiversity).
- World Heritage Sites means “Sites any of various areas or objects inscribed on the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) World Heritage List”. The sites are designated as having outstanding universal value concerning the Protection of the World’s Cultural (ancient monuments, museums) and Natural Heritage (biodiversity, geological heritage).
