Action plan on Biological Diversity
In addition to the Action Plan of the National Board of Fisheries, this summary is based on the document "Biological Diversity in Sweden. A Country Study" (Swedish Environmental Protection Agency, Monitor 14) and the report "Fiske och vattenbruk. Ekologiska effekter" (Naturvårdsverket, Rapport 4297). The catch statistics of the Action Plan have been updated to include the figures for1996. The Convention on Biological Diversity In June 1992, at the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development in Rio de Janeiro, a total of 153 states, together with the European Union, signed the Conventionon Biological Diversity. Since then, a number of states have signed or acceded the Convention, making it one of the most widely supported international agreements ever. The Convention came into force on 29 December 1993 and, with its broad approach, has the potential to play a coordinating and leading role in international nature conservation efforts. The objectives of the Biodiversity Convention are "the conservation of biological diversity, the sustainable use of its components and the fair and equitable sharing of the benefits arising out of the utilization of geneticresources". The last-mentioned of these aims concerns the relationship between countries providing genetic resources and those which use their technology and know-how to develop products from them. Terms of reference for the action plan In the autumn of 1993, the Swedish Government presented a bill intitled Strategy for Biological Diversity (Government Bill 1993/94:30). The bill was subsequently approvedby the Parliament and thus constitutes a political platform and strategy for the promotion of biodiversity in Sweden. This document sets out broad principles for the conservation of biological diversity and the sustainable use of biological resources. In August 1994 the Board of Fisheries was commissioned by the Government to draw up a plan on the environmental aspects of fisheries. The work should be carried out on the basis of the objectives for the fishery and the environment approved by the Swedish Parliament. The plan should indicate measures aiming at a conservation of biological diversity and a sustainable use of the fish resources. An important basis for the work was the country study Biological Diversity in Sweden. The Board's work with the action plan should be coordinated with corresponding work carried out by the Swedish Environmental Agency. This agency was asked by the Government to undertake "an overall assessment of the sectorial action plans" of the Swedish Board of Agriculture, the National Board of Forestry, the national Board of Fisheries and the National Board of Housing, Building and Planning. The work with the action plan has been carried out by a Steering Group headed by Mr K.-E. Berntsson and with Mr I. Olsson (secretary) at the Board of Fisheries. Other members of the group were Mr B. Sjöstrand, Institute of Marine Research, Mr M. Appelberg, Institute of Freshwater Research and Mr J. Andersson, Institute of Coastal Research. ; This document is a summary of the main part of a report submitted to the Swedish Government in September 1995