Convention on Biological Diversity’s Tenth Conference of the Parties (CBD COP 10)
18th – 29th October 2010
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To access a copy of the ABS Protocol, click here.
From 18 to 29 October, the 193 Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) and an uncountable number of civil society actors are expected to meet in Nagoya, Japan for the “Kyoto conference for all living things” - the CBD’s 10th Conference of the Parties (COP). It is a meeting that the biodiversity community has been waiting for with as much anticipation as climate change negotiators awaited Copenhagen last year. Hopefully though, it will be remembered as a more successful event. Despite the slow pace of negotiations over the past year, some observers still say COP 10 has the potential to be the birth place of the long-awaited international protocol that would implement an effective system for access and benefit sharing (ABS Protocol) in place. With the last strategic plan phasing out this year, the issue at stake is nothing less than the following: where will global efforts on conserving biodiversity go in the next 10 years?
Forty percent of the world’s economy depends directly or indirectly on biological resources. The natural goods and services biodiversity provides are a key source of food, water, shelter, incomes, and livelihoods for billions of people. The rural poor especially depend on biological resources for up to 90 percent of their daily needs. With biodiversity continuing to decline and species being extinct at 1000 times the natural rate, protection of biodiversity calls for immediate action.
This call is by no means new, given the adoption of the CBD in 1992. It contains three core objectives: 1) the protection of biodiversity, 2) the sustainable use of its components, and 3) the fair and equitable sharing of benefits arising from the use of genetic resources. Already during COP 6 held in 2002, Members agreed on a first strategic plan to put these objectives into practice. Amongst other milestones, 2010 was declared the international year of biodiversity, the year by which members wanted to substantially reduce the loss of biodiversity.
Most controversially however, are the ongoing negotiations on an international protocol to ensure that the benefits arising from the use of genetic resources, often found on indigenous peoples’ land, are shared in a fair and equitable manner with the holders of such resources. Members have set COP 10 as the target for adopting the ABS protocol, putting a successful end to the protracted negotiations. The issue thus finds itself in the spotlight at Nagoya. “Reaching a consensus on an ABS Protocol is essential for a successful meeting in Nagoya,” Izabella Teixeira, Brazil’s Minister of Environment said in an interview with PR Newswire.
Since its establishment in 1996, the International Centre for Trade and Sustainable Development (ICTSD) has been working on these issues from various angles and perspectives, following and participating in the process that brought upon the system in place today: from Rio to Johannesburg, from Bonn to Geneva. As a non-partisan actor, it has generated sound and novel analysis on viable and sustainable policy options related to trade, intellectual property and sustainable use, and convened exchange between a wide range of stakeholders from developing and developed countries alike.
Please also note our side event jointly organized with GTZ on Tuesday 19th on “Intellectual Property, Trade and Biodiversity Conservation: A South - South Exchange”. For further information, please visit this site http://ictsd.org/i/events/dialogues/87357/.
Below please find a number of selected papers, prepared specifically for the COP 10 and the ongoing negotiations on Access and Benefit Sharing.
J. Cabrera Medaglia - The Disclosure of Origin Requirement in Central America
J. Cabrera Medaglia - The Political Economy of the International ABS Regime Negotiations
M. Ruiz Muller - Thinking Outside the Box of Innovative Options for an Operational Regime on ABS
E. Vélez - Brazil’s Practical Experience with ABS and the Protection of Traditional Knowledge
D. Vivas Eugui and M. Julia Oliva - Biodiversity Related Intellectual Property Provisions in FTAs
To inform discussions and negotiations on access and benefit sharing to take place before and during COP 10, ICTSD has also compiled a series of short articles by experts on some of the most critical outstanding issues related to the negotiations. The aim is to provide sound, yet not necessarily complete or definitive, legal analysis on the latest draft of the ABS Protocol as a result of the 21 September Interregional Negotiation Group of the ABS Working Group. A number of personal suggestions and recommendations are also provided by the authors to address outstanding points in the negotiations on these topics. Though a large number of topics would undoubtedly benefit from such analysis, this issue’s feature articles will concentrate on the following selected issues:
Utilisation – The wording of the CBD’s third objective to ensure the fair and equitable sharing of benefits arising from the utilisation of genetic resources has proven unfortunate and presented a major stumbling block to negotiation of an effective international regime on ABS. A literal definition of genetic resources would, in effect, exclude from the remit of any regime biochemical compounds, which do not contain functional units of heredity. Developing countries have long argued that any regime must deal with, not only genetic resources but also proteins, metabolites and other so-called derivatives of genetic resources. Latest developments on this issue are addressed by Kabir Bavikatte and Brendan Tobin.
Exemptions – While Parties continue to engage in heated discussions regarding the appropriate definition and meaning of genetic resources, its derivatives, use and continued use, a long list of possible exemptions adds further ambiguity to the substantive scope of the protocol. This is particularly true for genetic resources for food and agriculture, and genetic resources with human pathogen potential – two issues that are further complicated by the fact that other international organisations and agreements have their own say in this field. The sharing of human pathogen material is addressed by Fredrick Abbott while Claudio Chiarolla discusses the standing of genetic resources on food and agriculture.
F. Abbott - Sharing Human Pathogens
C. Chiarolla - Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture
Traditional Knowledge – The inclusion of traditional knowledge associated with genetic resources is of critical importance for any meaningful international ABS regime as access to genetic resources often occurs through the use of associated traditional knowledge. Accordingly, the most recent draft ABS Protocol includes several provisions relating to traditional knowledge in the form of either bracketed or unbracketed text which leave, however, a large number of important issues unresolved. Daniel Robinson and Brendan Tobin address the various outstanding issues on this matter.
D. Robinson and B. Tobin - Dealing with Traditional Knowledge under the ABS Protocol
Disclosure of Origin – To solve problems related to the monitoring and traceability of genetic resources, ABS negotiations have focused on the development of some form of certificate of origin/source/legal provenance – more recently called a “certificate of compliance.” Closely linked to this tool is the discussion on a requirement to disclose the origin of genetic resources and associated traditional knowledge in intellectual property (IP) applications. The disclosure requirement and the international certificate are discussed by Jorge Cabrera and Oliver Rukundo.
We hope that this compilation of articles will inform the negotiations and, together with the innumerable efforts undertaken by member states and civil society organisations, create the drive needed to make Nagoya a success.
In 2009, the German Development Agency (GTZ) and ICTSD undertook a collaborative initiative to create regional platforms for interactive and generative dialogue among key actors. The collaboration focused on problem-solving and consensus-building in regards to biodiversity issues with a high priority in development and environmental policies in Central and South America. As part of this project, in coordination with local partners, and upon initiative of GTZ , ICTSD developed a number of papers that were included in a reader published by GTZ on “Triggering the Synergies between Intellectual Property Rights and Biodiversity” which can be accessed at http://www.gtz.de/en/dokumente/gtz2010-en-iprs-and-biodiversity-reader.pdf.
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This meeting will give chance tomembers to discuss on pressing issues of global biodiversity particularly now where there are direct climate change effect on global biodiversity.Again other effect embraces global economic crisis which has reduced fund for management of biodiversit.Morever,i also recommend on creating natinal biodiversity to every country and disseminating informations and therefore sharing globally.