Canada's Biodiversity Convention Office (BCO) serves as National Focal Point for the

United Nations The United Nations (UN) is the Earth, global intergovernmental organization established by the signing of the Charter of the United Nations, UN Charter on 26 June 1945 with the stated purpose of maintaining international peace and internationa ...

Convention on Biological Diversity The Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD), known informally as the Biodiversity Convention, is a multilateral treaty. The Convention has three main goals: the conservation of biological diversity (or biodiversity); the sustainable use of its ...

UN CBD National Focal Points
/ref> and the Canadian Biodiversity Strategy. BCO also provides a leadership role in the Biodiversity Conservation Working Group of the

Commission for Environmental Cooperation The Commission for Environmental Cooperation (CEC; ; ) is an intergovernmental organization established by Canada, Mexico, and the United States to implement the North American Agreement on Environmental Cooperation (NAAEC), the environmental si ...

and in the Conservation of Arctic Flora and Fauna (CAFF) working group of the

Arctic Council The Arctic Council is a high-level intergovernmental forum that addresses issues faced by the Arctic governments and the indigenous people of the Arctic region. At present, eight countries exercise sovereignty over the lands within the Arctic ...

. The BCO was established by

Environment Canada Environment and Climate Change Canada (ECCC; )Environment and Climate Change Canada is the applied title under the Federal Identity Program; the legal title is Department of the Environment (). is the Ministry (government department), department ...

in September 1991 to coordinate Canadian involvement in the negotiations of the Convention. Following Canada's ratification of the Convention in December 1992, attention shifted to development of a Canadian response. Under the guidance of the BCO, a Federal-Provincial-Territorial Working Group was charged by the Canadian Council of Ministers of the Environment with developing the Canadian Biodiversity Strategy. In 1996, all jurisdictions signed a statement of commitment to use the Strategy as a guide to implementing the Convention in Canada. In 2005, Ministers instructed the Federal-Provincial-Territorial Working Group to develop a corresponding outcomes-based framework for guiding and monitoring implementation of the Canadian Biodiversity Strategy. This Biodiversity Outcomes Framework was approved by Ministers responsible for Environment, Forests, Parks, Fisheries and Aquaculture, and Wildlife in October 2006. The BCO plays a policy coordinating, catalysing and facilitating role in national efforts to define Canada's response to the Convention and National Strategy. It operates through a network of contacts within and outside government. At the federal level, an Interdepartmental Committee on Biodiversity provides advice and guidance on domestic and international policy issues. The Federal/Provincial/Territorial Biodiversity Working Group focuses on national biodiversity issues. BCO also works with indigenous groups to enable their participation in meeting the objectives of the Convention and the Canadian Biodiversity Strategy. It also undertakes a variety of public education activities, helping to create awareness and training tools for national implementation of the Canadian Biodiversity Strategy. ''See also'': Criticisms of the biodiversity paradigm

References

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External links

Convention on Biological Diversity

Biodiversity Convention OfficeEnvironment Canada
Environment of Canada Environment and Climate Change Canada Biodiversity