The Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) was adopted in 1992 at the UN Summit on Environment and Development in Rio de Janeiro. The Conference of the Parties (COP) is the governing body of the CBD. After some changes, it is now being held every two years. Around 18,000 delegates from 190 member state participate. One host country chairs the conference as the delegates debate measures for protecting biodiversity. In addition to the conservation of biological diversity, they discuss the sustainable use of these resources and the issues of access and benefit-sharing.

In 2008, the first time of Go4BioDiv, COP 9 took place in German.  COP 10 was held in Nagoya, Japan, in October 2010 and COP 11 took place in Hyderabad, India, in October 2012.