Anchor: A UN biodiversity convention kicked off on Monday in Pyeongchang, the host of the 2018 Winter Olympics. The meeting will give a mid-term evaluation to the UN's plan to significantly reduce biodiversity loss by 2020.
Our Kim In-kyung has more.
 
Report: A United Nations convention on biodiversity kicked off in Pyeongchang, Gangwon Province, on Monday.
 
The 12th Conference of Parties to the UN Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) will be held for two weeks until October 17.
 
Twenty-thousand participants, including representatives from the CBD’s 194 member states, international organizations and civil society will attend the conference and its side events.
 
The convention, held under the theme of "Biodiversity for Sustainable Development," will give a mid-term evaluation to the UN Decade on Biodiversity (2011-2020) initiative, which aims to promote the conservation and sustainable use of nature.
 
At the end of the meeting, participants will adopt the "Pyeongchang Road Map," which will address ways to achieve biodiversity through technology cooperation, funding and strengthening the capacity of developing countries.
 
During the convention, parties to the Nagoya Protocol, a multilateral treaty that lays down the rules of access to genetic resources and encourages states to put in place systems of benefit-sharing, will hold their first meeting. Results of the meeting, to be held from October 13 to 17, could affect the world's pharmaceutical, agricultural and health industries. 
 
On the sidelines of the meeting, Gangwon Province will host a "Biodiversity Summit for Cities and Subnational Governments" while the Ministry of Environment will host a "High-Level Segment."
Kim In-kyung, KBS World Radio News.