This paper attempts to assess some of the economic implications of the Convention of Biological Diversity. After outlining the main principles and the scope of the Convention, the following aspects are being addressed: the determination of the "optimal" level of biodiversity loss, the indeterminacy of monetary value of biodiversity and the problems it poses for the funding mechanism, and concludes with a discussion of the issues of access to genetic resources and lo biotechnology.

This paper attempts to assess some of the economic implications of the Convention of Biological Diversity. After outlining the main principles and the scope of the Convention, the following aspects are being addressed: the determination of the “optimal“ level of biodiversity loss, the indeterminacy of monetary value of biodiversity and the problems it poses for the funding mechanism, and concludes with a discussion of the issues of access to genetic resources and lo biotechnology.