Caribbean Urged To Implement Measures To Take Full Advantage Of Nagoya Protocol

GEORGETOWN, Guyana CMC – A regional workshop on the Nagoya Protocol began here on Monday with a senior official of the Guyana-based Caribbean Community (CARICOM) Secretariat urging countries to take measures to ensure that laws, policies and programs of action are put in place to take full advantage of the economic value of their genetic resources.

CARICOM Director of Human Development, Myria Bernard said that the workshop will bring into focus the importance of integrating access and benefit-sharing measures into national legislation, policies and biodiversity strategies and action plan.

She said the workshop also represents a continuation “of our work to build the capacity of member states to reap a fair and equitable share of benefits generated from the use of their genetic resources and traditional knowledge about those resources”.

But she told delegates that as with all multilateral environmental agreements, becoming party to the Nagoya Protocol is not an end in itself.

“Parties must take measures to ensure that laws, policies and programmes of action are put in place to uphold the principles of fair and equitable benefit-sharing and to enable countries to take full advantage of the economic value of their genetic resources.

“It is opportune that this workshop has come at a time when many member states are updating their national biodiversity strategies and action plans,” she said, noting that the Secretariat has long advocated for mainstreaming the environment into national and regional strategies for economic and social development.

“The update process provides an excellent avenue for incorporating the provisions and principles of the Nagoya Protocol into national biodiversity strategies.  It is also an opportunity for countries to give serious consideration to mechanisms for increasing their share in the benefits derived from the use of their biodiversity capital.

“With creative and strategic planning, these benefits can be leveraged to contribute to economic growth, poverty alleviation, and an increase in our capacities for research, innovation and entrepreneurship,” she added.

The Nagoya Protocol on Access to Genetic Resources and the Fair and Equitable Sharing of Benefits Arising from their Utilization (ABS) to the Convention on Biological Diversity is a supplementary agreement to the Convention on Biological Diversity.

It was adopted on 29 October 2010 in Nagoya, Japan and its objective is the fair and equitable sharing of benefits arising from the utilization of genetic resources, thereby contributing to the conservation and sustainable use of biodiversity.

Bernard said in implementing the Nagoya Protocol, it is essential to keep in mind the provisions of the Convention on Biological Diversity, to which all CARICOM member states are party.

Article 15 requires parties to create conditions to facilitate access to genetic resources for environmentally sound use.

Bernard said clear and consistent legal frameworks are a vital part of these enabling conditions and that it is also important for CARICOM countries to communicate clearly to potential users of genetic resources, the procedures for obtaining access and prior informed consent, as well as for establishing mutually agreed terms.

“Transparent and clearly communicated laws and policies can work to encourage investment in bioprospecting and biotrade.  They open up opportunities for companies and organizations already working towards ethical practices in their sourcing of genetic resources. They also minimize the likelihood of unintentional violations of Access and Benefit -Sharing (ABS) legislation,” she said.

She said the European Union will be providing support for a one-day session on the Access and Benefit-Sharing Clearing House, to be held on Wednesday.

“Given the constraints faced by member states with regard to resources and capacity, information management can be quite challenging. The Clearing House will help us to organize and share information that makes clear to potential users, the relationship between rights and obligations when it comes to the use of our rich genetic resources,” she said.