In 1992 at the Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro, world leaders agreed on a comprehensive strategy for "sustainable development" -- meeting our needs while ensuring that we leave a healthy and viable world for future generations. One of the key agreements adopted at Rio was the Convention on Biological Diversity (or biodiversity; the variety of living things; the different plants, animals and microorganisms, the genetic information they contain and the ecosystems they form).

The Convention establishes three main goals: the conservation of biological diversity, the sustainable use of its components, and the fair and equitable sharing of the benefits from the use of genetic resources.

This pact among governments sets out commitments for maintaining the world's ecological underpinnings as we go about the business of economic development.