India Ratifies Nagoya Protocol On Biodiversity Access And Benefit-Sharing

The Union Cabinet of India has approved ratification of the Nagoya Protocol on Access and Benefit-Sharing, a measure that provides a tool against biopiracy. The 4 October action comes on the eve of the 11th Conference of Parties to the UN Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD), to be held in Hyderabad, India.

The CBD Conference of Parties runs from 8-19 October. The CBD event website is here.

India is the fifth country to ratify the 2010 protocol, the government said in a release. There are 92 countries that have signed.

India signed Nagoya, which is a protocol to the CBD, in May 2011. The country is among those considered to be “megadiverse” due to their richness in biodiversity.

“India has been a victim of misappropriation or biopiracy of our genetic resources and associated traditional knowledge, which have been patented in other countries (well known examples include neem and haldi),” the release said. “It is expected that the ABS Protocol which is a key missing pillar of the CBD, would address this concern.”

The protocol also would contribute toward conservation and sustainable use, it said.