Biodiversity and agriculture are being discussed in several major convenings, including the meeting of the Subsidiary Body on Scientific, Technical and Technological Advice (SBSTTA) of the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) currently underway in Panama and the 11th session of the Governing Body (GB 11) of the International Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture (ITPGRFA) convening next month.

While the CBD negotiations on biodiversity and agriculture focus on activities and results from the implementation of the Plan of Action (2020-2030) for the International Initiative for the Conservation and Sustainable Use of Soil Biodiversity, the ITPGRFA Governing Body is expected to finalize years of negotiations aiming to enhance the functioning of the Treaty’s Multilateral System (MLS) of access and benefit-sharing (ABS) – the largest global exchange mechanism for plant genetic resources for food and agriculture.

The Treaty’s multilateral ABS mechanism was once unique. Now, multilateral ABS mechanisms have been agreed under the World Health Organization (WHO), in relation to pathogens with pandemic potential, under the Agreement under the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) on the Conservation and Sustainable Use of Marine Biological Diversity of Areas beyond National Jurisdiction (BBNJ Agreement), and under the CBD, which has established a global multilateral mechanism for benefit-sharing from the use of digital sequence information/genetic sequence data (DSI/GSD) on genetic resources. Therefore, as the Earth Negotiations Bulletin (ENB) analysis of the 14th meeting of the Working Group in charge of negotiating the enhancement of the MLS highlights, the Treaty needs to not only “ensure coherence and mutual supportiveness with the CBD, but also to reassure parties that it remains the best-suited space for the regulation of food and agriculture.”

While GB 11 will address a series of items related to implementation of the Treaty and its MLS, many consider the meeting particularly noteworthy because it is expected to conclude the negotiations aiming to enhance the functioning of the MLS. First initiated in 2013, these negotiations have focused on: revising the Standard Material Transfer Agreement (SMTA) used for PGRFA exchanges and benefit-sharing; expanding the list of crops in Annex I of the Treaty; and addressing other items related to the implementation and review of the new system in a draft resolution.

The most controversial issues in these talks include: DSI/GSD on PGRFA; the expansion of Annex I; and the payment structure and rates under the revised SMTA. The 14th meeting of the Working Group in July 2025 revealed ongoing principled differences on practically all major issues. GB 11 will address the outcome of the Working Group’s deliberations.

GB 11 will convene in Lima, Peru, from 24-29 November 2025. [ENB Coverage of GB 11] [ENB Coverage of 14th Meeting of the Ad Hoc Open ended Working Group to Enhance the Functioning of the ITPGRFA Multilateral System] [SDG Knowledge Hub Story on 14th Meeting of the Working Group]