The Executive Secretary of the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) and the Secretary of the International Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture (ITPGR) presented a programme of joint capacity-building activities aimed at the coherent implementation of the ITPGR and the Nagoya Protocol on Access to Genetic Resources and the Fair and Equitable Sharing of Benefits Arising from their Utilization (ABS).
30 June 2011: The Executive Secretary of the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD), Ahmed Djoghlaf, and the Secretary of the International Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture (ITPGR), Shakeel Bhatti, recently announced joint capacity-building activities for 2011 and early 2012, which will seek the coherent implementation of the ITPGR and the Nagoya Protocol on Access to Genetic Resources and the Fair and Equitable Sharing of Benefits Arising from their Utilization (ABS).
The announcement took place at an event on 30 June 2011, in Rome, Italy, during the 37th session of the conference of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the UN (FAO).
“Both the International Treaty and the Nagoya Protocol are the only legally binding international instruments on access and benefit sharing and it is imperative that they are implemented in a coherent and harmonious manner,” said Djoghlaf.
“We are aware of the enormous challenges that countries will have to face to make of the letter of these instruments a reality on the ground and we are activating and pooling as much resources as possible to support technical officers and policy makers and thus making easier for them this important task,” explained Shakeel Bhatti. [Joint CBD/ITPGR Press Release]