Government leaders from more than 150 countries confirmed at the world summit in Johannesburg xo years later that the convention is the key instrument for the conservation and sustainable use of biological diversity and the fair and equitable sharing of benefits arising from use of genetic resources. It emphasises the need for counteracting the loss of biological diversity through conservation and sustainable development. Genetic variations within the species, for example in the populations of the same species spread over a large area, are also covered by the term.