Résumé
This chapter focuses on the role of the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) and Natural Resources in the design of the United Nations Framework Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD), concluded on 5 June 1992 at the Rio de Janeiro Earth Summit. The three main objectives of this Convention, are the conservation of biological diversity, the sustainable use of its components and the fair and equitable sharing of the benefits arising out of the utilization of genetic resources. The chapter identifies few types of semantic discourse used by the various stakeholders in the international negotiations on biological diversity. It shows how the IUCN has influenced the international debate on biodiversity by trying to mix, at least partially, these various discourses. The chapter demonstrates that it is in fact a genuine 'epistemic community', with a double dynamics largely based on a participative process, both at the level of the scientific actors and of the institution itself.