Recognizing the enormous importance of biodiversity to humankind and to its own goal of environmentally sustainable development, Bhutan became a party to the Convention on Biological Diversity – a multilateral environmental treaty under the aegis of the United Nations to address the concerns of loss of biodiversity through international cooperation and collective actions – in 1995, three years after the Convention was conceived.

The third Biodiversity Action Plan, builds on the past Biodiversity Action Plans and places greater emphasis on sustainable use of biodiversity to reduce poverty and enhance economic growth.