UNU and Japan co-organized a symposium on domestic measures to implement the obligations under the Nagoya Protocol on Access to Genetic Resources and the Fair and Equitable Sharing of Benefits Arising from their Utilization to the Convention of Biological Diversity (CBD).
The Nagoya Protocol aims to operationalize one of the key objectives of the CBD, focusing in facilitating equitable access and sharing of benefits arising from the use of genetic resources in both user and provider countries.
8 March 2012: The UN University Institute for Sustainability and Peace (UNU-ISP) and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Japan (MOFA) co-organized an international symposium on domestic measures to implement the Nagoya Protocol on Access to Genetic Resources and the Fair and Equitable Sharing of Benefits Arising from their Utilization to the Convention of Biological Diversity (CBD).
The symposium, which took place at UNU headquarters in Tokyo, Japan, on 8 March 2012, aimed to share lessons learned among signatory countries on relevant domestic measures. In her keynote lecture, Valerie Normand, Programme Officer of the Secretariat of the CBD, provided an overview of activities since the adoption of the Nagoya Protocol in October 2010, at the tenth meeting of the Conference of the Parties (COP 10) to the CBD. She highlighted activities supporting the Protocol’s ratification and entry into force, as well as the work of the Intergovernmental Committee for the Nagoya Protocol. She described the key obligations of parties under the agreement and the challenges related to implementation. Normand stressed the need to foster exchange of information among parties with a view to learning from the respective experiences of users and providers of genetic resources.
The symposium also included presentations by representatives of signatory countries describing existing national legislation and regulations, and where legislation is absent, the current direction of domestic discussions and challenges faced. The final panel provided an opportunity for participants to voice concerns and discuss specific issues related to compliance and access.
The Nagoya Protocol aims to operationalize one of the key objectives of the CBD, focusing in facilitating equitable access and sharing of benefits arising from the use of genetic resources in both user and provider countries. [UNU Press Release]