Owing to the cross cutting nature of the Convention there are a number of UK policies, including those that implement EU obligations, which deliver specific requirements of the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD).

A particular focus of domestic implementation is the United Kingdom Biodiversity Action Plan.

• more about what we are doing in England and the UK

Domestic implementations of the CBD also includes:

• publication of the first National Ecosystem Assessment on 2 June 2011. This is the first analysis of the UK’s natural environment in terms of the benefits it provides to society and our continuing economic prosperity, and the UK is the first country in the world to undertake such an assessment.
• publication of the Natural Environment White Paper ‘The Natural Choice: securing the value of nature’, on 7 June 2011. This is an ambitious statement of our vision for the Natural Environment, covering work we are doing to protect and enhance our marine environment, air, water, soil and landscapes.
• the England Biodiversity Strategy 2011-2020 was launched on 19 August 2011, and is a response to the commitments made by UK in Nagoya. This document sets out a new strategic direction for biodiversity policy in England for the next decade.
• UK action in support of the conservation and sustainable use of global biodiversity, which is predominantly delivered through the Darwin Initiative grant scheme.
• the UK’s response to the Global Strategy for Plant Conservation (GSPC). Plant Diversity Challenge, the UK’s first such response, was published in 2004.
• a review of experience in implementing the Access and Benefit Sharing provisions of the Convention, which was published in 2005.
• a UK taxonomic needs assessment, published in 2006, which fulfilled one of the principal obligations on Parties of the Global Taxonomy Initiative.
• much work that is being done within the work programme on invasive alien species the GB Non-native Species Secretariat coordinates action within GB, and further information is also available on the Defra non-native species webpage.
• a suite of biodiversity indicators, which was published in 2007 and subsequently updated in 2011. This measures the UK’s progress towards achieving a significant reduction in biodiversity loss by 2010.

To find out more about implementation of the CBD in the UK please send an email to post2010@defra.gsi.gov.uk