Workshop on Liability and Redress in the Context of the Convention on Biological Diversity

The workshop on liability and redress in the context of the Convention on Biological Diversity was held in Paris, France, from 18 to 20 June 2001 (see the report of the workshop). The workshop was convened pursuant to decision V/18 of the Conference of the Parties, in which the Conference of the Parties, inter alia, decided "to consider at its sixth meeting a process for reviewing paragraph 2 of Article 14, including the establishment of an ad hoc technical expert group..." and welcomed "the offer of the Government of France to organize a workshop on liability and redress in the context of the Convention on Biological Diversity."

The purpose of the workshop was to provide guidance to the Conference of the Parties regarding its consideration of a process for reviewing paragraph 2 of Article 14 of the Convention based on a review of the state of international law relating to liability and redress for transboundary environmental damage. On the basis of its deliberations, the workshop made a number of recommendations regarding further information gathering and analysis; the establishment of a legal and technical experts group to review the information gathered and to continue the technical analysis of pertinent issues, including examining the appropriateness of a liability and redress regime under the Convention; and the enhancement of capacities at the national level with respect to measures for the prevention of damage to biological diversity, the establishment and implementation of national policy and legislative regimes on liability and redress, including through the elaboration of guidelines. The report of the workshop including its recommendations was submitted to the sixth meeting of the Conference of the Parties in April 2002. For official and information documents related to this workshop as well as associated notifications from the Secretariat, please refer to the relevant meetings page. For ease of reference, the final report of the workshop (UNEP/CBD/WS-L&R/3) is also included in this list. The workshop report includes in its Annex II, the Chair's Observations. An unofficial French translation of these observations entitled "Note de la présidence" has been provided to the Secretariat by the Chair.

Meeting of the Group of Legal and Technical Experts on Liability and Redress in the Context of the Convention on Biological Diversity

The Conference of the Parties at its seventh meeting by decision VII/17 renewed the call to the Executive Secretary, as contained in its decision VI/11, to convene a group of legal and technical experts to discharge the mandate specified in that decision. The Conference of the Parties also urged Governments to make the necessary voluntary financial contributions to facilitate the convening of the group of legal and technical experts. With the financial support of the European Community, the Group of legal and technical experts on liability and redress in the context of Article 14(2), was held in Montreal, Canada, from 12 to 14 October 2005 (see the report of the workshop).

The Group of Legal and Technical Experts met with the mandate to review information gathered in accordance with paragraph 2 of the decision, and conduct further analysis of pertinent issues relating to liability and redress in the context of paragraph 2 of Article 14 of the Convention, and in particular:

1. Clarifying basic concepts and developing definitions relevant to paragraph 2 of Article 14 (such as the concept of damage to biological diversity, its valuation, classification, and its relationship with environmental damage, the meaning of “purely internal matter”);
2. Proposing the possible introduction of elements, as appropriate, to address specifically liability and redress relating to damage to biological diversity into existing liability and redress regimes;
3. Examining the appropriateness of a liability and redress regime under the Convention on Biological Diversity, as well as exploring issues relating to restoration and compensation;
4. Analysing activities and situations that contribute to damage to biological diversity, including situations of potential concern; and
5. Considering preventive measures on the basis of the responsibility recognized under Article 3 of the Convention.

Click here for more information on this meeting on liability and redress in the context of the Convention.

To access information on the workshop on Liability and Redress in the context of Article 14(2) of the Convention and the meeting of the Group of Legal and Technical Experts please click here.