INTRODUCTION
The importance of biological diversity to sustainable development is obvious. Beyond the
intrinsic value we ascribe to living organisms and assemblages, biodiversity contributes to
numerous ecosystem processes that support ecological, economic, and social wellbeing.
Biodiversity enhances the ability of ecosystems – including heavily modified ecosystems such
as those found in farms, gardens, cities, and towns – to cope with climatic and environmental
shocks. Biodiversity supports food security by providing raw genetic material for improved
crop and livestock varieties. Biodiversity provides opportunities for indigenous and other
communities to cultivate market niches based on traditional knowledge and livelihood
practices. Indeed, biodiversity and the ecosystem processes in which it is implicated provide a
host of services to people that would otherwise require expensive technological and financial
inputs. These include the purification of water and air; the provision of food, fibre, timber, and
fuel; the mitigation of floods, drought, disease; and so on. In more ways than we yet understand,
biodiversity is central to the sustainability of human societies and economies.
According to Rockström et al. (2009), current rates of species extinction – a proxy for
biodiversity loss – lie somewhere in the range of 100 to 1000 times historical rates. Biodiversity
decline, they argue, threatens to shift the balance of other key Earth-system processes including
climate change; pushing ecosystems towards tipping points – periods of rapid transformation
from one state to another – that could profoundly compromise the capacity of those ecosystems
to support human welfare (Rockström et al. 2009). It follows from this that reversing current
rates of biodiversity loss and building biodiversity-enhancing practices into systems of
production and consumption ought to be the focus of concerted political and policy attention.
As the Convention on Biological Diversity’s Global Biodiversity Outlook 3 put it: “protection
of biodiversity should be seen as a prudent and cost-effective investment in risk-avoidance for
the global community” (CBD 2010: 11). Evidence to date, however, suggests that while the
importance of investing in biodiversity is acknowledged by governments and multilateral
institutions, action to preserve and enhance biodiversity is either insufficient or ineffective. At
the first Rio Earth Summit in 1992, two legally binding agreements were opened for signature:
the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change and the Convention on
Biological Diversity (CBD). At Rio+10 in 2002, agreement was reached to target significant
reductions in biodiversity loss at the global, regional, and national levels.
SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT AND BIODIVERSITY
Sustainable development, according to the Brundtland Report of 1987, is development that
meets the needs of the present generation without compromising the ability of future
generations to meet their own needs. Put in the new globalized order, sustainable development
is the integration of economic, social, and environmental development considered as the interdependent and mutually reinforcing pillars which operate at the local, national, regional and
global levels. Poverty eradication the change in unsustainable patterns of production and
consumption and the protection and management of natural resources base of economic and
social development are constantly cited as the over-arching objectives and essential
requirements for sustainable development. Sustainable development is the development which
meets the needs of the present generation without compromising the ability of future
generations to meet their own needs. This includes considering the impact of present decisions
on the options of future generations. Three goals of sustainable development have been
identified which includes.
i)
ii)
iii)
Economic wellbeing.
Social and human development and
Environmental sustainability and regeneration (Dalal-Clayton and Bass, 2002).
BIODIVERSITY
The word biodiversity is derived from two other words namely, biological and diversity.
Biological relates to biology or all living organisms and diversity relating to many things, many
forms, etc.
Therefor biodiversity is the variety and variability of life on earth. It encompasses the
differences within and between all levels of biological organisation, genetics, species, and
ecosystems, and from the largest mammals and trees down to microscopic plants, animals,
bacteria and viruses. It includes humankind, various cultures, and peoples; often linked to their
very specific environments of origin in terms of physical features, cultural beliefs, and
practices.
The Convention on Biological Diversity also gives a formal definition of biodiversity in its
article: stating that biodiversity 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 of; this includes diversity within species, between species
and of ecosystems.
Biodiversity is not only the sum of all ecosystems, species, and genetic material. Rather, it
represents the variability within and among them. It can be distinguished from the expression
"biological resources", which refer to the tangible components of ecosystems. Biological
resources are real entities (a particular species of bird, a wheat variety growing in a field, oak
wood, etc.) while biological diversity is rather an attribute of life (the variety of bird species,
the genetic variability of wheat around the world, forest types, etc.).
Biodiversity is important to humankind far beyond the value of beautiful landscapes and
impressive wildlife and nature experiences. Biodiversity is humankind’s intricate life-support
system!
In a country like ours, where a great majority of the population; depend on subsistence
agriculture and natural resources for their daily living, the protection of biodiversity and the
wise management of this precious resource becomes a question of daily survival which entails
development opportunities.
Without effective measures to conserve biodiversity and use its components in a sustainable
manner, the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development will not be achievable. Given the need
for biodiversity and healthy ecosystems to achieve the 2030 Agenda, it is not surprising that
many Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) include targets that reflect their important role.
The role of biodiversity and healthy ecosystems is thus reflected not only in SDG 14 (life below
water), and SDG 15 (life on land), but also in many other goals and targets. For example, there
are critical biodiversity dependencies for SDG 2 on zero hunger. Target 2.3 calls for a doubling
of agriculture production and, according to the Thematic Assessment of Pollinators, Pollination
and Food Production of the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and
Ecosystem Services (IPBES), more than three-quarters of the world's food crops rely at least
in part on pollination by insects and other animals, with between US$235 billion and US$577
billion worth of annual global food production relying on direct contributions by pollinators
(www.ipbes.net). An analysis of how biodiversity supports the achievement of all SDGs,
published jointly by the Secretariat of the Convention on Biological diversity (CBD), the Food
and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, the World Bank, the United Nations
Environment Programme, and the United Nations Development Programme, is available
online. (www.cbd.int)
In the context of the SDGs to be reviewed by the 2018 High-level Political Forum on
Sustainable Development, biodiversity supports the achievement of the 2030 Agenda in the
following ways:
 SDG 6: Clean Water and Sanitation. Ecosystems provide reliable sources of freshwater.
Ecosystems also function as natural water infrastructure, costing less than technological
solutions. For instance, wetlands regulate flooding, and healthy soils increase water and
nutrient availability for crops and help reduce off-farm impacts. UN-Water underscores the
importance of naturebased solutions in water management in its flagship report, The United
Nations World Water Development Report 2018: Nature-Based Solutions for Water.
(www.unwater.org)
 SDG 7: Affordable and Clean Energy. Bioenergy produced from renewable biomass such as
forestry by-products and agricultural residues can provide major opportunities for supplying
cleaner and affordable energy. Ecosystem services are also important for clean energy, e.g., the
sources of water needed for energy production.
 SDG 11: Sustainable Cities and Communities. Ecosystems help secure freshwater supplies
on which cities rely, and can provide natural solutions for urban water run-off, regulating
temperature, supporting clean air, and providing resilience to climate change and natural
disasters.
 SDG 12: Responsible Consumption and Production. Utilizing more resource-efficient
approaches is an essential aspect for the sustainable use of biodiversity. Reducing wastes and
pollutants is also an important element to reduce adverse impacts on biodiversity.
 SDG 15: Life on Land. The conservation, restoration and sustainable use of terrestrial
ecosystems is essential for sustainable development and for achieving the 2030 Agenda and all
of the SDGs. Targets under this goal include a call to integrate ecosystem and biodiversity
values into national and local development planning, poverty reduction strategies and accounts
(Target 15.9). Other targets highlight the importance of ecosystems, including wetlands, forests
and mountains, while others focus on specific challenges, such as desertification and land
degradation, as well as poaching and trafficking of protected species.
CHALLENGES
Despite these important roles in sustainable development, biodiversity and ecosystem services
which support people’s lives and livelihoods continue to be degraded and lost at unprecedented
rates. The recent regional assessment reports by the Intergovernmental Science-Policy
Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES) found that biodiversity is in decline
in all regions of the world. (www.ipbes.net) The Strategic Plan for Biodiversity 2011-2020 and
its twenty Aichi Biodiversity Targets, adopted by the Conference of the Parties to the
Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) in 2010 at its tenth meeting (www.cbd.int), has
been recognized by the United Nations General Assembly as the global policy framework for
biodiversity. Accordingly, many elements of the 2030 Agenda and its SDGs have been drawn
from the Strategic Plan and the Aichi Biodiversity Targets. The Strategic Plan for Biodiversity
2011-2020 itself is framed in the context of sustainable development, with a vision of
maintaining and enhancing ecosystem services, sustaining a healthy planet, and delivering
benefits essential for all people. At its thirteenth meeting, held in December 2016, the
Conference of the Parties to the Convention welcomed the adoption of the 2030 Agenda for
Sustainable Development (see decision XIII/3, para. 3) (www.cbd.int) and recognized the
strong interdependence between the Strategic Plan for Biodiversity 2011-2020 and the SDGs
in which biodiversity is included in numerous goals and targets (para. 9). In addition, it
recognized that the implementation of the 2030 Agenda provides a major opportunity for the
mainstreaming of biodiversity and for the achievement of the Aichi Biodiversity Targets
(para.10). Further, the Conference of the Parties called for an integrated approach to the
implementation of the strategies and plans for the 2030 Agenda and of national biodiversity
strategies and actions plans (NBSAPs; paras. 14 and 15).
The 34th Session of the Human Rights Council recognized that “although the importance of a
healthy environment for the enjoyment of human rights is widely recognized, the relationship
between human rights and biodiversity remains less well understood” and, from the perspective
of leaving no one behind, made the following observations related to biodiversity:
 The loss of biodiversity-dependent ecosystem services has disproportionate effects on
people who are vulnerable for other reasons, including gender, age, disability, poverty
or minority status.
 The degradation and loss of biodiversity often result from and reinforce existing
patterns of discrimination. Although everyone depends on ecosystem services, some
people depend on them more closely than others. For indigenous peoples, forestdwellers, fisherfolk and others who rely directly on the products of forests, rivers, lakes
and oceans for their food, fuel and medicine, environmental harm can and often does
have disastrous consequences.
 Many religions call on all human beings to be stewards of the riches of the natural
world. However, the loss of places is felt predominantly by those who associate their
sacred rituals and sites with those locations. Food and shelter may be replaced, but the
destruction of a sacred grove may cause irreparable harm.
 The loss of biodiversity-dependent ecosystem services is likely to accentuate
inequality and marginalization of the most vulnerable sectors of society, by decreasing
their access to basic materials for a healthy life and by reducing their freedom of choice
and action. Economic development that does not consider effects on these ecosystem
services may decrease the quality of life of these vulnerable populations, even if other
segments of society benefit.
EFFORTS
The world convention has enforced policies, tools and guidelines that provide a sufficient
framework to deal with the biodiversity crisis. It has given sufficient room to the country to
work on their own suitability to improve coordination, engage more people and groups to
understand the importance of biodiversity and engage key stakeholders to integrate biodiversity
considerations into their work. Further, the world leader, in The Hague in 2002 have agreed
“to achieve a significant reduction of the current rate of biodiversity loss at the global, regional
and national level as a contribution to poverty reduction and to the benefit of all life on earth”
and the World Summit for Sustainable Development in Johannesburg in 2002 and the
Millennium Summit in New York in 2005 also reiterated the same agenda.
Biodiversity will be better protected through actions that are justified on their economic merits.
For sustainability, the biodiversity considerations must be integrated into national development
strategies and effective plan may have a strong effect on economic development, including
food and agricultural production. For this reason, the appropriate actions need to be developed
and implemented at all levels. If the policies of the convention are widely applied in all relevant
sectors with appropriate local responses; it is possible to achieve the target at national, regional,
and global levels.
It is obvious that we need unprecedented efforts to achieve the target, but the convention to the
parties needs to provide support to other parties. At the national level, must develop and
implement comprehensive National Biodiversity Strategies and Action Plans, national targets
and mobilize sufficient resources. More importantly, all the individuals must be aware of the
impact that their choices and consumption patterns have on the environment.
Nepal has diverse physiographic zones, climatic contrasts, and altitudinal variations, which
provide habitats for biological species of both Indo-Malayan and Palaeoarctic realms, including
endemic Himalayan flora and fauna. A total of 118 ecosystems with 75 vegetation types and
35 forest types have been identified in these realms. Over 19 percent of the total land has been
designated as protected areas, representing all ecological regions and established national
parks, wildlife reserves, conservation areas, hunting reserve and buffer zones. Forests outside
the protected areas are being managed under various forms of community based natural
resource management including the community forestry programs.
Further, Nepal has also developed a national biodiversity strategy that provides an operational
framework for the conservation of biodiversity, the maintenance of ecological processes and
the equitable sharing of benefits. Based on an analysis of the status of Nepal’s ecosystems,
major threats, and existing mechanisms, policies, programs with some targets have been
developed at various levels. With this, Nepal has exceeded the target and designated over 19
percent of its total land area as protected areas. The national parks and wildlife conservation
acts and buffer zones management regulation have further enhanced that. Likewise, to
institutionalize biodiversity documentation process at the local level, District Biodiversity
Committees had been established in some districts in 2004 and more will be established in all
75 districts.
Concern for now and future
A well bio-diversified ecosystem provides the goods and services to fulfill human need, but
many of these are in decline, such as the fresh water, marine fisheries, the cleansing of
atmospheric pollutants, protection from natural hazards, pollination of crops and pest. The loss
of biological diversity destabilizes ecosystems and makes them vulnerable and disturbances,
which may further reduce the ability of environments to provide services for human being.
These negative consequences are felt most harshly by the people, who rely most directly on the
local ecosystems. For this reason, biodiversity loss poses a significant barrier to meeting the
sustainable development goals. Therefore, only ratification of international convention is not
sufficient to address the major threats caused by loss of biodiversity rather appropriate rules
and regulation, people friendly strategy and actions, functional mechanisms, and time-bound
targets with a greater focus on local participation is an urgent need.