France, Mali, the Netherlands, the Republic of Moldova and Sweden are the latest countries to ratify the Nagoya Protocol on Access to Genetic Resources and the Fair and Equitable Sharing of Benefits Arising from their Utilisation, bringing the total number of ratifications to 85.
The Nagoya Protocol is a supplementary agreement to the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) and a key element in the global framework for sustainable development.
The Protocol builds on the access and benefit-sharing provisions of the CBD by establishing predictable conditions for access to genetic resources and by helping to ensure the fair and equitable sharing of benefits arising from the utilisation of these resources. It entered into force on 12 October 2014.
“I congratulate the governments of France, Mali, the Netherlands, the Republic of Moldova and Sweden for becoming Parties to the Nagoya Protocol on Access and Benefit-sharing and count on the support of Parties to the CBD to reach 100 ratifications before the important meetings of the CBD and its Protocols in December 2016,” said Braulio Ferreira de Souza Dias, CBD Executive Secretary. “By reaching this goal the international community will demonstrate its support to the Nagoya Protocol and to making it a reality on the ground. Implementation of the Nagoya Protocol will also contribute to achieving the Sustainable Development Goals, including Target 2.5 on food security.”
France, Mali, the Netherlands, the Republic of Moldova and Sweden each deposited their instruments of ratification between 19 August and 8 September 2016. As Parties to the Protocol, they will be able to contribute to key decision-making during the second meeting of the Conference of the Parties serving as the meeting of the Parties to the Nagoya Protocol on Access and Benefit-sharing (COP-MOP 2), being held 4-17 December 2016 concurrently with the 13th meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the CBD (COP 13) and the 8th meeting of the Conference of the Parties serving as the meeting of the Parties to the Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety (COP-MOP 8).
Since the first meeting of the Parties to the Nagoya Protocol, held in 2014, membership has increased from 56 to 85 countries.
Nigeria is yet to ratify the global treaty.
Opened for signature at the Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro in 1992, and entering into force in December 1993, the Convention on Biological Diversity is an international treaty for the conservation of biodiversity, the sustainable use of the components of biodiversity and the equitable sharing of the benefits derived from the use of genetic resources. With 196 Parties so far, the Convention has near universal participation among countries.
