14 October 2013: Held from 7-11 October 2013, in Montreal, Canada, the Working Group on Article 8(j) (traditional knowledge) and related provisions of the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) forwarded a number of recommendations to the Conference of the Parties (COP).

Recommendations included: a draft plan of action on customary sustainable use; a process for developing voluntary guidelines for the repatriation of traditional knowledge; and a process for advancing work on several tasks that will contribute to work under the Convention and the Nagoya Protocol on access and benefit-sharing (ABS), including guidelines on prior informed approval for use of traditional knowledge, fair and equitable benefit-sharing, and reporting and prevention of unlawful appropriation of traditional knowledge.

The Working Group also addressed a progress report on the implementation of the work programme on Article 8(j) and related provisions, and mechanisms to promote the effective participation of indigenous and local communities in CBD work; sui generis systems for the protection, preservation and promotion of traditional knowledge; and recommendations from the UN Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues (UNPFII).

An in-depth dialogue focused on connecting traditional knowledge systems and science, such as the Intergovernmental Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES), including gender dimensions. Delegates also discussed whether to change the terminology “indigenous and local communities” used under the Convention to “indigenous peoples and local communities” used in the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples and the Rio+20 Outcome Document, and requested the Secretariat to prepare an independent analysis, including by seeking advice from the UN Office of Legal Affairs, to facilitate further consideration of the matter at COP 12. [CBD Press Release][IISD RS meeting coverage]