India Joins Nagoya Protocol on Access to Genetic Resources

So far 21 countries have signed the Nagoya Protocol on Access to Genetic Resources and the Fair and Equitable Sharing of Benefits Arising from their Utilization to the Convention on Biological Diversity

India is one of the eight additional countries that signed the Nagoya Protocol on Access to Genetic Resources and the Fair and Equitable Sharing of Benefits Arising from their Utilization to the Convention on Biological Diversity on 11 May 2011, bringing the total number of signatories to 21. The 15 page Nagoya Protocol has 36 articles and a annexure.It text has been made available by Montreal based Secretariat of Convention on Biological Diversity. The Convention on Biological Diversity entered into force on 29th December 1993.

It is the only international instrument comprehensively addressing biological diversity.

The Convention’s three objectives are the conservation of biological diversity, the
sustainable use of its components and the fair and equitable sharing of benefits
arising from the utilisation of genetic resources.

As per the Protocol, to further advance the implementation of the third objective, the World Summit on Sustainable Development (Johannesburg, September 2002) called for the negotiation of an international regime, within the framework of the Convention, to promote and safeguard the fair and equitable sharing of benefi ts arising from the utilisation of genetic resources. The Convention’s Conference of the Parties responded at its seventh meeting, in 2004, by mandating its Ad Hoc Open-ended Working Group
on Access and Benefit-sharing to elaborate and negotiate an international regime
on access to genetic resources and benefi t-sharing in order to eff ectively implement
Articles 15 (Access to Genetic Resources) and 8(j) (Traditional Knowledge) of the
Convention and its three objectives.

At page 3, the Nagoya Protocol reveals that it took birth "after six years of negotiation, the Nagoya Protocol on Access to Genetic Resources and the Fair and Equitable Sharing of Benefits Arising from their Utilization to the Convention on Biological Diversity was adopted at the tenth meeting of the Conference of the Parties on 29 October 2010, in Nagoya, Japan.

It claims that "The Protocol significantly advances the Convention’s third objective by providing a strong basis for greater legal certainty and transparency for both providers and users of genetic resources."

The signing ceremony took place at United Nations Headquarters in New York in conjunction with the Ministerial Segment of the 19th session of the United Nations Commission on Sustainable Development. It was presided over by Mr. Joseph Deiss, President of the sixty-fifth session of the United Nations General Assembly, who chaired the High-level Meeting on Biodiversity held in New York on 22 September 2010 as a contribution to the International Year of Biodiversity.

At the signing ceremony, signatures were received from Guatemala, Indonesia, India, Japan, Norway, South Africa, and Switzerland and Tunisia.

These eight signatories join 13 others that have signed the Protocol since it opened for signature on 2 February 2011: Colombia, Yemen, Algeria, Brazil, Mexico, Rwanda, Ecuador, the Central African Republic, the Seychelles, Mali, Sudan, Panama and Peru.
The Nagoya Protocol will enter into force 90 days after deposit of the 50th instrument of ratification. The pace established by today’s signatures points to a clear momentum towards the early entry into force of the Protocol by the eleventh meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity (COP 11), scheduled for fall 2012.

In his remarks at the signing ceremony, Mr. Deiss said: “I hope that it will take effect as early as possible through the ratification by at least 50 Parties to the Convention.”

“Our efforts do not end here. We must keep the positive momentum of Nagoya into the eleventh meeting of the Conference of the Parties in India and into Rio+20 so that our generation can be remembered for the wisdom of protecting biodiversity, the very basis for the well-being for our posterity.”

Mr. Hideki Minamikawa, the Administrative Vice Minister of the Environment, Japan, said: “The collective wisdom and efforts of all participants that gathered at Nagoya, where COP 10 was held, and their willingness to compromise contributed to the adoption last October of the Nagoya Protocol on ABS, which establishes an international framework for achieving the third objective of the Convention.”

Mr. Ahmed Djoghlaf, CBD Executive Secretary, said: “Today’s signing ceremony by eight additional parties, including Japan and India in their capacity as presidents of COP 10 and COP 11 respectively, is a major step towards the entry into force of the Nagoya Protocol and a clear demonstration of the partnership embedded in the spirit and letter of this historical treaty.”

The Executive Secretary also said “I look forward to the signing of the Nagoya Protocol by the European Union in the near future which will be another major step towards the early entry into force of the Protocol.”

A Statement made by Mr Janez Potočnik on behalf of the European Union and its Member States can be found online at: http://www.cbd.int/doc/speech/2011/sp-2011-05-10-eu-en.pdf

Mr. T. Chatterjee, Secretary, Ministry of Environment and Forests, India, stated: "As a mega diverse country and the incoming President of the eleventh meeting of the Conference of Parties, India welcomes the signing of the Nagoya Protocol on Access and Benefit-sharing by 21 countries so far. We urge other countries to sign the Nagoya Protocol early so that it can enter into force and the first Meeting of Parties of the Protocol can take place in India in the fall of 2012, when we host COP 11.”

Mr. Chatterjee noted that: “India participated actively and contributed substantively to the negotiation and adoption of the Nagoya Protocol. The Protocol will contribute to the meaningful implementation of two objectives of the CBD relating to conservation and sustainable use, since benefits accruing from utilization of genetic resources would act as an incentive for biodiversity-rich countries and their local communities to conserve and sustainably use their biodiversity.

He added that India accounted for 7 to 8% of the recorded species of the world and was also rich in associated traditional knowledge, both in terms of the ancient texts of Indian systems of medicines such as Ayurveda, Unani and Sidha, and also in oral traditions.

“These genetic resources and associated traditional knowledge,” he said, “can be used to develop a wide range of products and services for human benefit, such as medicines, agricultural practices, cosmetics etc. It is expected that the ABS Protocol which is a key missing pillar of the CBD, would address the concern of misappropriation or biopiracy of genetic resources."

The entry into force of the Nagoya Protocol on Access to Genetic Resources and the Fair and Equitable Sharing of Benefits Arising from their Utilization will provide greater legal certainty and transparency for both providers and users of genetic resources, creating a framework that promotes the use of genetic resources and associated traditional knowledge while strengthening the opportunities for fair and equitable sharing of benefits from their use. Hence, the Protocol will create new incentives to conserve biodiversity, sustainably use its components, and further enhance the contribution of biodiversity to sustainable development and human well-being.

The Global Environment Facility (GEF) has provided financial support for the early entry into force and effective implementation of the Nagoya Protocol. The Nagoya Protocol Implementation Fund was established by GEF with an initial financial contribution of US$ 12.5 million from Japan. The GEF Council at its fortieth meeting will further discuss the operational modalities of this new trust fund. In addition, a medium-sized project of US$ 2 million is providing support to the ratification and early entry into force of the Nagoya Protocol through a series of awareness-raising and capacity-building activities. The project is executed by the Secretariat and it is now fully operational.

The next signing ceremony will be in New York on 20 September 2011 in conjunction with the High level events of the sixty-sixth session of the United Nations General Assembly.

Heads of State and Government at the World Summit on Sustainable Development (Johannesburg, September 2002) first recognized the need for an international regime to promote and safeguard the fair and equitable sharing of benefits and called for negotiations to be carried out within the framework of the Convention on Biological Diversity. The Conference of the Parties to the Convention responded at its seventh meeting, in 2004, by mandating its Ad Hoc Open-ended Working Group on Access and Benefit-sharing to elaborate and negotiate an international regime on access to genetic resources and benefit-sharing to effectively implement Articles 15 (Access to Genetic Resources) and 8(j) (Traditional Knowledge) of the Convention and its three objectives.

The Nagoya Protocol significantly advances the objective of the Convention on the fair and equitable sharing of benefits arising from the utilization of genetic resources by providing greater legal certainty and transparency for both providers and users of genetic resources. Specific obligations to support compliance with domestic legislation or regulatory requirements of the Party providing genetic resources and contractual obligations reflected in mutually agreed terms are a significant innovation of the Nagoya Protocol. These compliance provisions as well as provisions establishing more predictable conditions for access to genetic resources will contribute to ensuring the sharing of benefits when genetic resources leave a Party providing genetic resources. Also, the Protocol’s provisions on access to traditional knowledge held by indigenous and local communities when it is associated with genetic resources will strengthen the ability of these communities to benefit from the use of their knowledge, innovations and practices.

By promoting the use of genetic resources and associated traditional knowledge, and by strengthening the opportunities for fair and equitable sharing of benefits from their use, the Protocol will create incentives to conserve biodiversity, sustainably use its components, and further enhance the contribution of biodiversity to sustainable development and human well-being. The Nagoya Protocol is available at: www.cbd.int/abs/

The Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD)

Opened for signature at the Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro in 1992, and entering into force in December 1993, the Convention on Biological Diversity is an international treaty for the conservation of biodiversity, the sustainable use of the components of biodiversity and the equitable sharing of the benefits derived from the use of genetic resources. With 193 Parties, the Convention has near universal participation among countries. The Convention seeks to address all threats to biodiversity and ecosystem services, including threats from climate change, through scientific assessments, the development of tools, incentives and processes, the transfer of technologies and good practices and the full and active involvement of relevant stakeholders including indigenous and local communities, youth, NGOs, women and the business community. The Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety is a subsidiary agreement to the Convention. It seeks to protect biological diversity from the potential risks posed by living modified organisms resulting from modern biotechnology. To date, 159 countries plus the European Union have ratified the Cartagena Protocol. The Secretariat of the Convention and its Cartagena Protocol is located in Montreal, Canada.

Background

ABS Provisions in the Convention
Summary of ABS developments under the CBD
ABS developments prior to the negotiations of an International Regime on ABS
International mandate to negotiate an International Regime on ABS
Mandate from the Conference of the Parties to negotiate an International Regime on ABS
Negotiations of an International Regime on ABS
Relevant documentation from the negotiations of the Nagoya Protocol
Adoption of the Nagoya Protocol on ABS
Timeline leading to the adoption of the Nagoya Protocol on ABS

ABS Provisions in the Convention

One of the three fundamental objectives of the Convention on Biological Diversity, as set out in its Article 1, is the: “fair and equitable sharing of the benefits arising out of the utilization of genetic resources, including by appropriate access to genetic resources and by appropriate transfer of relevant technologies, taking into account all rights over those resources and to technologies, and by appropriate funding”. A framework for the implementation of this third objective of the Convention with regard to access to genetic resources and benefit-sharing (ABS) is provided in Article 15 of the Convention.

The Convention on Biological Diversity recognizes the sovereign rights of States over their natural resources in areas within their jurisdiction. Parties to the Convention therefore have the authority to determine access to genetic resources in areas within their jurisdiction. Parties also have the obligation to take appropriate measures with the aim of sharing the benefits derived from their use.

In addition, Article 8(j) contains provision to encourage the equitable sharing of the benefits arising from the utilization of knowledge, innovations and practices of indigenous and local communities embodying traditional lifestyles relevant for conservation and sustainable use of biological diversity.

These provisions are also linked to the provisions on access to, and transfer of technology (Article 16), exchange of information (Article 17), technical and scientific cooperation (Article 18), the handling of biotechnology and distribution of its benefits (Article 19, paragraphs 1 and 2), and financial resources and financial mechanism (Article 20 and Article 21).

Summary of ABS developments under the CBD

At its fourth meeting in 1998, the Conference of the Parties decided to establish a Panel of Experts on Access and Benefit-sharing to clarify principles and concepts related to ABS. The Panel met twice and discussed issues such as prior-informed consent, mutually agreed terms, benefit-sharing, capacity-building and stakeholder involvement in ABS processes.

At its fifth meeting, in 2000, the Conference of the Parties established the Ad Hoc Open-ended Working Group on Access and Benefit-sharing, a subsidiary body of the Conference of the Parties, with the mandate to develop guidelines and other approaches to assist Parties with the implementation of the access and benefit-sharing provisions of the Convention.

The Bonn Guidelines on Access to Genetic Resources and Fair and Equitable Sharing of the Benefits Arising out of their Utilization were adopted in 2002 to assist Parties when establishing administrative, legislative or policy measures on access and benefit-sharing and/or when negotiating contractual arrangements for access to genetic resources and benefit-sharing.

Further to the call for action by Governments at the World Summit on Sustainable Development in 2002, the Conference of the Parties mandated the Working Group on ABS to elaborate and negotiate an international regime on access to genetic resources and benefit-sharing with the aim of adopting an instrument/instruments to effectively implement the provisions in Article 15 and 8(j) of the Convention and the three objectives of the Convention.

The Ad Hoc Open-ended Working Group on Access and Benefit-sharing met eleven times from 2005 to 2010 to negotiate an international regime on ABS. At its ninth meeting, the Working Group accepted a draft Protocol tabled by the Co-Chairs, Mr. Fernando Casas from Colombia and Mr. Timothy Hodges from Canada, as the basis for further negotiations. The group continued to negotiate on the basis of this text until its last meeting which was held on 16 October 2010, in Nagoya, Japan.

At the tenth meeting of the Conference of the Parties, the Nagoya Protocol on Access to Genetic Resources and the Fair and Equitable Sharing of Benefits Arising from their Utilization to the Convention on Biological Diversity was adopted. The Protocol aims at sharing the benefits arising from the utilization of genetic resources in a fair and equitable way, including by appropriate access to genetic resources and by appropriate transfer of relevant technologies, taking into account all rights over those resources and to technologies, and by appropriate funding, thereby contributing to the conservation of biological diversity and the sustainable use of its components. It will be open for signature from 2 February 2011 to 1 February 2012. For more information on the Nagoya Protocol on ABS, please visit the ABS home page.

ABS developments prior to the negotiations of an International Regime on ABS

ABS at COP-4

At its fourth meeting in May 1998, by decision IV/8 on access and benefit-sharing, the Conference of the Parties decided to establish a regionally balanced panel of experts appointed by Governments, composed of representatives from the private and public sectors, as well as representatives of indigenous and local communities with the following mandate:

"to draw upon all relevant sources, including legislative, policy and administrative measures, best practices and case-studies on access to genetic resources and benefit-sharing arising from the use of those genetic resources, including the whole range of biotechnology, in the development of a common understanding of basic concepts and to explore all options for access and benefit-sharing on mutually agreed terms including principles, guidelines, and codes of conduct of best practices for access and benefit-sharing arrangements."

First Expert Panel on ABS

The panel of experts held their first meeting in San Jose, Costa Rica, in October 1999, to address options for access and benefit-sharing on mutually agreed terms and reached broad conclusions on: prior informed consent, mutually agreed terms, information needs and capacity-building. For more information on this meeting, including the report of the meeting, click here.

ABS at COP-5

At its fifth meeting, in May 2000, in decision V/26 on access to genetic resources, the Conference of the Parties decided to reconvene the Panel of Experts on Access and Benefit-sharing to conduct further work on outstanding issues from its first meeting.

The COP also decided to establish an Ad Hoc Open-ended Working Group on ABS with the mandate to develop guidelines and other approaches for submission to the Conference of the Parties at its sixth meeting and to assist Parties and stakeholders in addressing the following elements, inter alia:

Terms for prior informed consent and mutually agreed terms;
Roles, responsibilities and participation of stakeholders;
Relevant aspects relating to in situ and ex situ conservation and sustainable use;
Mechanisms for benefit-sharing, for example through technology transfer and joint research and development; and
Means to ensure the respect, preservation and maintenance of knowledge, innovations and practices of indigenous and local communities embodying traditional lifestyles relevant for the conservation and sustainable use of biological diversity, taking into account work by the World Intellectual Property Organization on intellectual property rights issues.

Second Expert Panel on ABS

The Second meeting of the Panel of Experts was held in Montreal, Canada, in March 2001. As mandated by the COP, the experts discussed the following issues:

Assessment of user and provider experience in access to genetic resources and benefit-sharing and study of complementary options; and
Identification of approaches to involvement of stakeholders in access to genetic resources and benefit-sharing processes.

WG ABS 1

The First meeting of the Ad Hoc Open-ended Working Group on ABS was held in Bonn, Germany, from 22-26 October 2001, and contributed to the development of draft guidelines on access and benefit-sharing meant to assist Parties and stakeholders with the implementation of the access and benefit-sharing provisions of the Convention. For the working documents and the final report of the meeting, click here.

ABS at COP-6

At the sixth meeting of the Conference of the Parties, held in the Hague, in April 2002, access and benefit-sharing was one of the priority themes addressed by the COP. The outcomes of COP VI on ABS are included in decision VI/24.

A major achievement was the adoption of the Bonn guidelines on access to genetic resources and the fair and equitable sharing of the benefits arising from their utilization. For further information on the Bonn guidelines click here.

The COP also decided to reconvene the Ad Hoc Open-ended Working Group on Access and Benefit-sharing to examine outstanding issues and, more particularly, to advise the Conference of the Parties on:

Use of terms, definitions and/or glossary, as appropriate;
Other approaches as set out in decision VI/24 B;
Measures, including consideration of their feasibility, practicality and costs, to support compliance with prior informed consent of the Contracting Party providing such resources and mutually agreed terms on which access was granted in Contracting Parties with users of genetic resources under their jurisdiction;
Its consideration of any available reports or progress reports arising from the present decision; and
Needs for capacity-building identified by countries to implement the Guidelines.

ABS Expert Workshop on Capacity-Building

As requested by the Conference of the Parties in decision VI/24 B, an open-ended Expert Workshop on Capacity-building for access and benefit-sharing was held in December 2002 in Montreal, Canada, and developed a draft Action Plan on Capacity-building for access and benefit-sharing for consideration by COP 7. For the working documents and the final report of the workshop, click here.

International mandate to negotiate and International Regime on ABS

The World Summit on Sustainable Development

The World Summit on Sustainable Development was held in Johannesburg in September 2002. Paragraph 44 (o) of the Plan of Implementation adopted by the Summit called for action to "negotiate within the framework of the Convention on Biological Diversity, bearing in mind the Bonn Guidelines, an international regime to promote and safeguard the fair and equitable sharing of benefits arising out of the utilization of genetic resources". Paragraph 44 (n) called for action to promote "the wide implementation of and continued work by the Parties to the Convention on the Bonn Guidelines on Access to Genetic Resources and Fair and Equitable Sharing of Benefits arising out of their Utilization, as an input to assist the Parties when developing and drafting legislative, administrative or policy measures on access and benefit-sharing as well as contract and other arrangements under mutually agreed terms for access and benefit-sharing".

Meeting of the Multi-Year Programme of Work of the Conference of the Parties up to 2010

Following the developments at the World Summit on Sustainable Development, the issue of an international regime on access and benefit-sharing was addressed as a distinct agenda item by the Inter-sessional meeting on the Multi-Year Programme of Work of the Conference of the Parties up to 2010, in March 2003. The Inter-sessional meeting recommended that the Ad Hoc Open-ended Working Group on access and benefit-sharing consider the process, nature, scope, elements and modalities of such an international regime on access and benefit-sharing at its second meeting in December 2003 as specified in decision VI/24 A.

The Inter-sessional meeting also invited Parties to provide information to the Executive Secretary on experience gained in the use of the Bonn Guidelines, taking into consideration information to be provided by Parties pursuant to decision VI/24 A. It also invited Parties, other Governments, indigenous and local communities and relevant organizations to provide their views on the process, nature, scope, elements and modalities of an international regime on access to genetic resources and benefit-sharing prior to the second meeting of the Ad Hoc Open-ended Working Group on Access and Benefit-sharing.

WG ABS 2

The second meeting of the Working Group on ABS was held from 1 to 5 December 2003, in Montreal, Canada. The report of the meeting (UNEP/CBD/COP/7/6) contains recommendations submitted to the seventh meeting of the Conference of the Parties on the terms of reference for the negotiation of an international regime. Further information, including the text of these recommendations, is included in the report of the meeting (UNEP/CBD/COP/7/6) available here.

Mandate from COP to negotiate an International Regime on ABS

ABS at COP-7

The seventh meeting of the Conference of the Parties was held in February 2004, in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Decision VII/19 on access and benefit-sharing as related to genetic resources addresses the following:

The Bonn Guidelines on Access to Genetic Resources and Fair and Equitable Sharing of Benefits Arising out of their Utilization;
The use of terms and the need for definitions and/or a glossary, as appropriate, in the Bonn Guidelines;
Other approaches, complementary to the Bonn Guidelines, to assist with the implementation of the ABS provisions of the Convention;
Measures, including consideration of their feasibility, practicality and costs, to support compliance with prior informed consent of the Contracting Party providing genetic resources and mutually agreed terms on which access was granted in Contracting Parties with users of such resources under their jurisdiction;
Capacity-building for access and benefit-sharing; and,
The negotiation of an international regime on access to genetic resources and benefit-sharing.

The Conference of the Parties decided to mandate the Ad Hoc Open-ended Working Group on Access and benefit-sharing with the collaboration of the Ad Hoc Open ended Inter-sessional Working Group on Article 8(j) and related provisions, ensuring the participation of indigenous and local communities, non-governmental organizations, industry and scientific and academic institutions, as well as intergovernmental organizations, to negotiate the international regime on access and benefit-sharing with the aim of adopting an instrument/instruments to effectively implement the provisions of Article 15 and Article 8(j) of the Convention and the three objectives of the Convention.

The COP also agreed on the terms of reference for such negotiations, including the process, nature, scope and elements for consideration in the elaboration of the regime. The Executive Secretary was requested to make necessary arrangements for the Working Group on ABS to be convened twice before the eighth meeting of the Conference of the Parties and to report on progress made at this eighth meeting.

In addition, it should also be noted that the Conference of the Parties adopted the Action Plan on capacity-building for access and benefit-sharing.

Negotiations of an International Regime on ABS

Relevant documentation from the negotiations of the Protocol

WG ABS 3 and 4

The Working Group held its third meeting in Bangkok, Thailand, from 14 to 18 February 2005 and its fourth meeting in Granada, Spain, from 30 January to 3 February 2006. At these meetings, the Working Group, inter alia, began negotiations for an international regime on access to genetic resources, in accordance with decision VII/19 D of the Conference of the Parties. It also addressed other approaches as set out in decision VI/24 B, including consideration of an international certificate of origin/source/legal provenance; and, measures, including consideration of their feasibility, practicality and costs, to support compliance with prior informed consent of the Contracting Party providing such resources and mutually agreed terms on which access was granted in Contracting Parties with users of genetic resources under their jurisdiction. Consideration of the issue of use of terms, definitions and/or glossary, as appropriate, was postponed until the negotiation of the international regime on access and benefit-sharing had reached a more advanced stage. On the issue of the Strategic Plan: future evaluation of progress – the need and possible options for indicators for access to genetic resources and in particular for the fair and equitable sharing of benefits arising out from the utilization of genetic resources, it was recommended that the Working Group further address this issue at its fifth meeting. Recommendations to the eight meeting of the Conference of the Parties are included in the report of the fourth meeting. Click on the following links for the respective reports of the third and fourth meetings.

ABS at COP-8

The eighth meeting of the Conference of the Parties was held in Curitiba, Brazil, from 20 to 31 March 2006. Major outcomes related to the issue of access and benefit-sharing are set out in decision VIII/4 and include the following:

With respect to the international regime on access and benefit-sharing, the Ad Hoc Open-ended Working Group on Access and Benefit-sharing was requested to continue the elaboration and negotiation of the international regime and was instructed to complete its work at the earliest possible time before the tenth meeting of the Conference of the Parties (2010). The Executive Secretary was requested to make necessary arrangements for the Working Group to be convened twice before the ninth meeting of the Conference of the Parties. In addition, Mr. Timothy Hodges from Canada and Mr. Fernando Casas from Colombia were designated as Co-Chairs for the Working Group for the purposes of the elaboration and negotiation of the international regime.

The Conference of the Parties also decided “to establish a group of technical experts to explore and elaborate the possible options, without prejudging their desirability, for the form, intent and functioning of an internationally recognised certificate of origin/source/legal provenance and analyse its practicality, feasibility, costs and benefits, with a view to achieving the objectives of Article 15 and 8(j) of the Convention.”

In addition, the Conference of the Parties noted the progress made in the implementation of the Bonn Guidelines and invited Parties to submit reports on their experiences in implementing Article 15 at the national level. The COP requested the Working Group at its fifth and sixth meetings to further consider measures to support compliance with prior informed consent of the contracting Party providing genetic resources and mutually agreed terms on which access was granted in contracting Parties with users of such resources under their jurisdiction. It also requested the Executive Secretary to renew the application for accreditation of the Convention on Biological Diversity as an observer at the Council on Trade-related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights. Finally, in relation to the strategic plan, the COP requested the Working Group on Access and Benefit-sharing at its fifth meeting to further address the need and possible options for indicators for access to genetic resources and in particular for the fair and equitable sharing of benefits arising from the utilisation of genetic resources.

Expert Meeting on an Internationally Recognized Certificate of Origin/Source/Legal Provenance

The meeting of the group of technical experts on an internationally recognized certificate of origin/source/legal provenance, was held in Lima, Peru, from 22 to 25 January 2007. The report of the meeting provides technical input to the Working Group on Access and Benefit-sharing with respect to the issue of an internationally recognized certificate. For the final report, click here.

WG ABS 5 and 6

The Ad Hoc Open-ended Working Group on Access and Benefit-sharing held its fifth meeting in Montreal, Canada, from 8 to 12 October 2007, and its sixth meeting in Geneva, Switzerland, from 21 to 25 January 2008. In line with decision VIII/4 of the eighth meeting of the Conference of the Parties, the Working Group continued the elaboration and negotiation of the international regime on access and benefit-sharing. Recommendations to the ninth meeting of the Conference of the Parties on the way forward are included in the report of the sixth meeting. Click on the following links for the respective reports of the fifth and sixth meetings.

ABS at COP-9

At its ninth meeting in Bonn, in May 2008, in decision IX/12, paragraph 2, the COP reiterated its instruction to the Working Group to complete the elaboration and negotiation of the international regime at the earliest possible time before the tenth meeting of the Conference of the Parties. In paragraph 3, the Conference of the Parties further instructed the Working Group to finalize the international regime and to submit for consideration and adoption by the Conference of the Parties at its tenth meeting an instrument\instruments to effectively implement the provisions in Article 15 and Article 8(j) of the Convention and its three objectives, without in any way prejudging or precluding any outcome regarding the nature of such instrument\instruments. The Conference of the Parties also decided that the Ad Hoc Open-ended Working Group on Access and Benefit-sharing should meet three times prior to the tenth meeting of the Conference of the Parties, in the first quarter of 2009, the third quarter of 2009 and by the second quarter of 2010. In addition, the COP decided to establish three distinct groups of technical and legal experts to assist the Working Group.

Furthermore, the COP stressed the importance of effective participation of indigenous and local communities by encouraging Parties, other Governments, international organizations and all relevant stakeholders to support sufficient preparation and effective participation of indigenous and local communities in the ongoing negotiations. The COP invited Parties, donors and other interested bodies to financially support indigenous and local communities to hold their own national and regional workshops. Finally, as requested by the COP, the Ad Hoc Open-ended Intersessional Working Group on Article 8(j) and Related Provisions, at its sixth meeting, continued to collaborate and contribute to the fulfillment of the mandate of the Working Group on Access and Benefit-sharing by providing views on the negotiation of the international regime.

Expert Meetings between COP-9 and COP-10

As requested by Parties at COP-9, three expert meetings were held to assist the Working Group on ABS by providing legal and, as appropriate, technical advice, including, where appropriate, options and/or scenarios on issues related to (i) compliance; (ii) concepts, terms, working definitions and sectoral approaches; and (iii) traditional knowledge associated with genetic resources. The meeting of the group of legal and technical experts on concepts, terms, working definitions and sectoral approaches took place in Windhoek, Namibia, from 2 to 5 December 2008. The meeting of the group of legal and technical experts on compliance took place in Tokyo, Japan, from 27 to 30 January 2009. And, the meeting of the group of Technical and Legal Experts on Traditional Knowledge associated with Genetic Resources took place in Hyderabad, India, from 16 to 19 June 2009. Please click the respective links above for the meeting reports.

WG ABS 7

The seventh meeting of the Ad hoc Open-ended Working Group on Access and Benefit-sharing took place in Paris, France, from 1 to 8 April 2009. In line with decision IX/12 of the Conference of the Parties, the Working Group addressed objective, scope, compliance, fair and equitable benefit-sharing and access and entered into negotiations of operational text on these issues.

WG ABS 8

At its eighth meeting, in Montreal, Canada, from 9 to 15 November 2009, the Working Group addressed the components of the International Regime related to traditional knowledge associated with genetic resources, capacity-building, compliance, fair and equitable benefit-sharing, and access. For the first time, Parties agreed on a single negotiating text referred to as the “Montreal Annex” incorporating all the elements of the International Regime. Progress was also made on the nature of the International Regime.

Meetings convened by the Co-Chairs of the Working Group

At COP-9, Parties emphasized the importance of consultations to advance the negotiations of the international regime on ABS and requested the Co-Chairs of the Working Group to be instrumental in organizing and facilitating such consultations during the intersessional period.

As part of the inter-sessional work prior to WG ABS 9, the Co-Chairs convened two informal meetings:

ABS Friends of the Co-Chairs Meeting (FoCC), Montreal, Canada, 26-29 January 2010
ABS Co-Chairs Informal Inter-regional Consultation (CIIC), Cali, Colombia, 16-18 March 2010

In addition, thanks to the support of UNEP, in collaboration with the Co-Chairs and the CBD Secretariat, regional consultations in support of the negotiations of the international regime were also held prior to WG-ABS 9, as follows:

Access and Benefit-sharing Regional Consultations for Asia, Siem Reap, Cambodia, 5-6 December 2009

Access and Benefit-sharing Regional Consultations for Latin America and Caribbean Countries, Panama City, Panama, 15-16 January 2010

Access and Benefit-sharing Regional Consultations for Central and Eastern European Countries, Isle of Vilm, Germany, 9-10 February 2010

Access and Benefit-sharing Regional Consultations for the Pacific, Auckland, New Zealand, 15-16 February 2010

Access and Benefit-sharing Regional Consultations for Africa, Windhoek, Namibia, 4-6 March 2010

WG ABS 9

At the ninth meeting of the Working Group (WG-ABS 9) in Cali, Colombia, from 22 to 28 March 2010, a draft Protocol was tabled by the Co-Chairs and accepted by Parties as a basis for further negotiations. However, it was not possible to finalize the text at this session, and the Working Group therefore decided to suspend the meeting at the end of the seven days and to resume the ninth meeting of the Working Group in order for it to complete its mandate.

Resumed WG ABS 9

The first session of the resumed ninth meeting of the Working Group (WG-ABS 9 Resumed) was held in Montreal, Canada, from 10 to 16 July 2010. Following a proposal by the Co-Chairs, the Working Group convened an Interregional Negotiating Group (ING) to continue negotiations of the draft Protocol. Parties made significant progress in reaching a common understanding on core issues, such as the compliance, access, benefit-sharing including derivatives, as well as the relationship of the Protocol to other international instruments. However, the Working Group was unable to finalize the text and recognized that further work was needed in order to meet its objective of submitting a draft Protocol for adoption by the tenth Conference of the Parties. The Working Group therefore decided to reconvene the ING and that the ninth meeting of the Working Group would resume prior to COP-10, to endorse the work of the ING and forward recommendations to Parties.

Following the recommendations from the Working Group, the ING resumed its work in Montreal, Canada, from 18 to 21 September 2010, and in Nagoya, Japan, from 13 to 15 October 2010. Significant progress in the negotiations of the draft Protocol was made during both ING meetings, but the group was not able to finalize the negotiating text. The second session of the resumed ninth meeting of the Working Group was held on 16 October 2010, in Nagoya, Japan, during which it endorsed the work of the ING and forwarded a draft Protocol on ABS for the consideration of Parties at COP-10.

Adoption of the Nagoya Protocol on ABS

ABS at COP-10

At the tenth meeting of the Conference of the Parties, held in Nagoya, Japan from 18 to 29 October 2010, Parties adopted the Nagoya Protocol on Access to Genetic Resources and the Fair and Equitable Sharing of Benefits Arising from their Utilization to the Convention on Biological Diversity in decision X/1. The COP requested that the Secretary General of the United Nations be the Depositary for the Protocol and to open it for signature from 2 February 2011 to 1 February 2012. The COP also established an Open-ended Ad Hoc Intergovernmental Committee for the Nagoya Protocol on ABS (ICNP) as an interim governing body for the Nagoya Protocol until the first meeting of the Parties to the Protocol at which time it will cease to exist. Parties agreed that the ICNP should meet twice during the inter-sessional period and endorsed a work plan for the committee as contained in Annex II of decision X/1.

In decision X/1, the COP requested the Executive Secretary to conduct the following activities:

Provide technical assistance to Parties with a view to supporting the early ratification and implementation of the Protocol;

Carry out awareness-raising activities among relevant stakeholder groups, including the business community, the scientific community and others, to support the implementation of the Protocol; and

Collect and make available on the clearing-house mechanism sectoral and cross-sectoral model contractual clauses for mutually agreed terms, and existing guidelines and codes of conduct related to access and benefit-sharing.

Furthermore, the COP invited developing country Parties to make an initial identification of their needs in relation to capacity-building, capacity development and strengthening of human resources and institutional capacities in order to effectively implement the Protocol and requested that this information be made available by the Executive Secretary.

For more information on the Nagoya Protocol on ABS, please visit the ABS home page at www.cbd.int/abs

Timeline leading to the adoption of the Nagoya Protocol on ABS

29 December, 1993 The Convention on Biological Diversity enters into force
ABS developments prior to the negotiations of an International Regime on ABS
4 - 15 May 1998

Bratislava, Slovakia COP 4: Fourth Meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity Decision IV/8
1 - 5 October 1999

San José, Costa Rica First Meeting of the Panel of Experts on Access to Genetic Resources and Benefit-sharing 19 - 22 March 2001

Montreal, Canada Panel of Experts on Access and Benefit-Sharing
15 - 26 May 2000

Nairobi, Kenya COP 5: Fifth Meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity Decision V/26 22 - 26 October 2001

Bonn, Germany WGABS 1: First meeting of the Ad-Hoc Open-ended Working Group on Access and Benefit-Sharing 7 - 19 April 2002

The Hague, Netherlands COP 6: Sixth Meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity Decision VI/24 2 - 4 December 2002

Montreal, Canada Open-ended expert workshop on capacity-building for access to genetic resources and benefit-sharing

International mandate to negotiate an International Regime on ABS
September 2002

Johannesburg, South Africa World Summit on Sustainable Development Paragraph 44(n),(o) 17 – 20 March, 2003

Montreal, Canada Open-ended Inter-Sessional Meeting on the Multi-Year Programme of Work of the Conference of the Parties up to 2010 Decision VI/24

Negotiations of an International Regime on ABS 1 - 5 December 2003
Montreal, Canada

WGABS 2: Second meeting of the Ad Hoc Open-ended Working Group on Access and Benefit-Sharing 9 - 20 February 2004

Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia COP 7: Seventh Meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity Decision VII/19 14 - 18 February 2005

Bangkok, Thailand WGABS 3: Third meeting of the Ad Hoc Open-ended Working Group on Access and Benefit-Sharing 30 January – 3 February 2006

Granada, Spain WGABS 4: Fourth meeting of the Ad Hoc Open-ended Working Group on Access and Benefit-sharing 20 - 31 March 2006

Curitiba, Brazil COP 8: Eighth Meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity Decision VIII/4 22 - 25 January 2007

Lima, Peru Meeting of the Group of Technical Experts on an Internationally Recognized Certificate of Origin/Source/Legal Provenance 8 - 12 October 2007

Montreal, Canada WGABS 5: Fifth meeting of the Ad Hoc Open-ended Working Group on Access and Benefit-sharing 21 - 25 January 2008

Geneva, Switzerland WGABS 6: Sixth meeting of the Open-ended Working Group on Access and Benefit-sharing 19 - 30 May 2008

Bonn, Germany COP 9: Ninth meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity Decision IX/12 2 - 5 December 2008

Windhoek, Namibia Group of Legal and Technical Experts on Concepts, Terms, Working Definitions and Sectoral Approaches 27 - 30 January 2009

Tokyo, Japan Group of Technical and Legal Experts on Compliance in the context of the International Regime on Access and Benefit-sharing 2 - 8 April 2009

Paris, France WGABS 7: Seventh meeting of the Ad Hoc Open-ended Working Group on Access and Benefit-sharing 16 - 19 June 2009

Hyderabad, India Group of Technical and Legal Experts on Traditional Knowledge associated with Genetic Resources 9 - 15 November 2009

Montreal, Canada WGABS 8: Eighth meeting of the Ad Hoc Open-ended Working Group on Access and Benefit-sharing 5 - 6 December 2009

Siem Reap, Cambodia Access and Benefit-sharing Regional Consultations for Asia 15 - 16 January 2010

Panama City, Panama Access and Benefit-sharing Regional Consultations for Latin America and Caribbean Countries 26 - 29 January 2010

Montreal, Canada Access and Benefit-sharing Friends of the Co-Chairs Meeting 9 - 10 February 2010

Isle of Vilm, Germany Access and Benefit-sharing Regional Consultations for Central and Eastern European Countries 15 - 16 February 2010

Auckland, New Zealand Access and Benefit-sharing Regional Consultations for the Pacific 4 - 6 March 2010

Windhoek, Namibia Access and Benefit-sharing Regional Consultations for Africa 16 - 18 March 2010

Cali, Colombia Access and Benefit-sharing: Co-Chairs Informal Inter-regional Consultation (CIIC) 22 - 28 March 2010

Cali, Colombia WGABS 9: Ninth meeting of the Ad Hoc Open-ended Working Group on Access and Benefit-sharing 10 - 16 July 2010

Montreal, Canada Resumed Ninth meeting of the Ad Hoc Open-ended Working Group on Access and Benefit-sharing 18 - 21 September 2010

Montreal, Canada Interregional Negotiating Group (ING) of the Ad Hoc Open-ended Working Group on Access and Benefit-sharing 13 - 15 October 2010

Nagoya, Aichi Prefecture, Japan Interregional Negotiating Group (ING) of the Ad Hoc Open-ended Working Group on Access and Benefit-sharing 16 October 2010

Nagoya, Aichi Prefecture, Japan Resumed Ninth meeting of the Ad Hoc Open-ended Working Group on Access and Benefit-sharing 18 - 29 October 2010

Nagoya, Aichi Prefecture, Japan COP 10: Tenth meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity – Adoption of the Nagoya Protocol

For more information visit www.cbd.int