Business and industry will play several important roles in the implementation of the Convention on Biological Diversity. These will include full compliance with the nature conservation and environmental regulations prescribed by individual governments; the acceptance of social responsibility for biodiversity by adopting additional voluntary measures wherever possible and appropriate; and the development of economic activities that support the conservation and sustainable use of biodiversity.
British Petroleum (BP) has teamed up with Flora and Fauna International to develop a corporate biodiversity strategy. Just as national governments are developing biodiversity strategies under the CBD, it also provides a framework for national companies and multinational corporations to develop their own corporate biodiversity strategies. BP is taking the lead in exploring new opportunities for directing their corporate earnings as well as corporate investments in ways that support biodiversity.
A paper company in Brazil has planted eucalyptus trees in areas which had previously been degraded and manages them in a way to preserve the biodiversity, soil and water resources. To assure a balanced environment, the eucalyptus plantations are interspersed with 56 000 hectares of native reserves, where about one million native trees per year are planted in order to enhance biodiversity. These preservations correspond to 27 % of the company's total landholding. The eucalyptus wood is processed into pulp in a modern mill, which complies with world class environmental standards.