With 51 Ratifications, Nagoya Protocol To Enter Into Force In October

The Nagoya Protocol on access and benefit-sharing of genetic resources will enter into force on 12 October, following the ratification of 12 more countries last week.

The Nagoya Protocol on Access to Genetic Resources and the Fair and Equitable Sharing of Benefits Arising from their Utilization to the Convention on Biological Diversity was agreed in October 2010 in Nagoya, Japan (IPW, United Nations, 29 October 2010).

The 12 latest countries to ratify the treaty were: Belarus, Burundi, Gambia, Madagascar, Mozambique, Niger, Peru, Sudan, Switzerland, Vanuatu, Uganda and Uruguay. The full list of signatories and ratifications is here.

The text of the Nagoya Protocol is here [pdf]. The protocol requires 50 ratifications to enter into force.

“The entry into force of the Nagoya Protocol will provide greater legal certainty and transparency for both providers and users of genetic resources, creating a framework that promotes the use of genetic resources and associated traditional knowledge while strengthening the opportunities for fair and equitable sharing of benefits from their use,” the UN Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) secretariat said in a press release.

“The Nagoya Protocol is central to unleashing the power of biodiversity for sustainable development by creating incentives for the conservation and sustainable use of biological diversity while guaranteeing equity in the sharing of benefits,” CBD Executive Secretary Braulio Ferreira de Souza Dias was quoted as saying.

The European Union will be a party to the protocol, but does not count toward the 50 instruments required for entry into force, the CBD said.

The first meeting of parties to the protocol will be held during the Conference of Parties of the CBD, which will take place from 13-17 October in Pyeongchang, South Korea.