Nagoya Protocol edges closer to reaching goal in 2016

RATIFICATIONS by Togo and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland has brought the total number of ratifications to the Nagoya Protocol on Access to Genetic Resources and the Fair and Equitable Sharing of Benefits Arising from their Utilization to 72.

“With the actions by Togo and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, we are moving closer to our goal of reaching 100 ratifications by the second meeting of the Conference of the Parties serving as the meeting of the Parties to the Nagoya Protocol (COP-MOP 2), being held in December 2016,” said Braulio Ferreira de Souza Dias, Executive Secretary of the Convention on Biological Diversity.

“I count on the support of Parties and our partners to promote ratification of the Protocol, and I encourage countries to maintain this momentum by joining this comprehensive, international agreement on access and benefit-sharing.”

Ratifying the Nagoya Protocol prior to COP-MOP 2 will enable countries to participate in decisionmaking at this meeting and to further advance the global implementation of this landmark treaty.

Considering the 90-day delay for entry into force of the Protocol, countries that wish to fully participate at COP-MOP should take measures to deposit their instrument of ratification before September 2016.

The 2010 Nagoya Protocol is a key element in the global framework for sustainable development. It builds on one of the three objectives of the Convention on Biological Diversity: the fair and equitable sharing of benefits arising from the utilization of genetic resources. The Protocol is also vital to creating value for
traditional knowledge by requiring users to obtain permission to use it, and to share any benefits that result from its use with the communities who hold it.

The Governments of Togo and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland deposited their instruments of ratification with the Secretary General of the United Nations on February 10 and February 22, 2016 respectively.

As provided for in its article 33(2), the Nagoya Protocol will enter into force
in Togo on May 10 2016. For the United Kingdom, entry into force will take place on May 22, 2016, the International Day for Biological Diversity.

With the ratification by Togo, 31 African countries have now ratified the Nagoya Protocol. The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland’s ratification follows suit with the European Union’s accession to the treaty in October 2015, and the ratification by nine other European countries. Both countries have now ratified all treaties related to the Convention on Biological Diversity.

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 adopted at the tenth meeting of the Conference of the Parties in 2010, in Nagoya, Japan, and entered into force on October 12, 2014.