ABSTRACT
The database of the United Nations Environmental Program (UNEP) currently contains 10 MEAs that are in some way relevant to biodiversity in the broad sense (UNEP 2012 ). Numerous bilateral environmental agreements also exist wherein two parties, in most cases countries, agree on issues related to biodiversity. Several definitions of biodiversity exist; the term is often used synonymously with biological diversity. The most widely agreed definition is enshrined in the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) concluded in 1992: “‘Biological diversity’ means the variability among living organisms from all sources including, inter alia, terrestrial, marine and other aquatic ecosystems and the ecological complexes of which they are part; this includes diversity within species, between species and of ecosystems” (Article 2 CBD). The CBD’s definition of biodiversity does not expressly cover abiotic issues, but these also provide a continuous contribution to shaping species and ecosystems. In comparison, another definition explicitly includes abiotic factors: “The term biodiversity encompasses all of the species that currently exist on Earth, the variations that exist within each species, and all of the interactions that exist among all of these organisms and their biotic and abiotic environments as well as the integrity of these interactions” (Gowdy 1997 : 186).
