Biodiversity: an international perspective.

This paper examines the way in which biodiversity has been incorporated into the agenda of many international organisations, including non-governmental organisations, and international programmes. Biodiversity has been defined by the Convention on Biological Diversity but is also widely discussed in relation to genetic resources, biodiversity hotspots and ecosystem services. The author identifies the principal institutions, organisations, conventions and international programmes that specifically refer to biodiversity, the environment or ecosystem services. This more recent 'ecosystem approach' has radically changed the perspective on biodiversity by focusing on the services that biodiversity provides. Finally, this paper stresses the urgent need to develop indicators of the ecosystem services that people and societies gain from biodiversity.