A United Nations convention on biodiversity kicked off in the eastern city of Pyeongchang on Monday, bringing together government officials, environmentalists and businesspeople from around the world.

The 12th meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity, also called the COP 12, will run until Oct. 17, with some 20,000 representatives from 124 countries attending.

The conference themed "Biodiversity for Sustainable Development" aims to give midterm evaluations for the 2011-2020 strategic plan for biodiversity, a coordinated response by governments and the U.N. to the loss of plant and animal species around the world, organizers said.

At the end of the two-week session, the COP 12 will adopt a "Pyeongchang Road Map" that addresses ways to achieve the U.N.

sustainable development goals and a "Gangwon Declaration" containing the results of the conference. 

The convention also includes the first meeting for the "Nagoya Protocol on Access and Benefit-sharing" (Oct. 13-17), the "Biodiversity Summit for Cities and Subnational Governments" (Oct. 13-14) and the "High-Level Segment" (Oct. 15-16).

The Convention on Biological Diversity, informally known as the biodiversity convention, was adopted at the U.N. Conference on Environment and Development in 1992 to address all issues pertaining to biological diversity.

The multilateral treaty is one of the three U.N. conventions aimed at protecting the environment. The other two are the Framework Convention on Climate Change and the Convention to Combat Desertification. (Yonhap)