ENB:09:01
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MAJOR ISSUES BEFORE THE COMMITTEE
BUREAU: The choice of a Bureau will be the first procedural matter. Regional groups will have met before this morning's session to decide whether to continue the Bureau from the INC or whether to establish a new Bureau that could be increased in size.
ISTAC: The possible establishment of an Interim Scientific and Technical Advisory Committee (ISTAC), its tasks, membership and composition will be considered.
FINANCES: An overriding concern this week will be financial issues, including the details of the voluntary funds, the choice of institutional mechanism to regulate the funds, and the development of criteria for eligible projects. Discussions regarding the interpretation of the phrase "full and incremental costs" will be critical in this regard.
INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY RIGHTS: Problems may recur over the intellectual property rights provisions of the Convention, especially over the interpretation of confusing and possibly contradictory language in Articles 15 and 16. The treaty itself does not call for the abandonment of intellectual property legal regimes. However, some are concerned that this would be the consequence of the technology transfer and benefit sharing goals of the Convention. Discussion will focus on the political compromise that is reflected in the treaty between the concepts of access to genetic resources (Article 15) and access to technology (Article 16). This scheme, with benefit sharing, is contrasted with the "common heritage/free access to resources" approach that has been used by the FAO in its undertaking on plant genetic resources.
COP: Issues to be addressed by the Conference of the Parties during the coming year must be identified. Topics may include: a biosafety protocol or some other mechanism to address this issue; the closing of loopholes in certain articles that exclude activities in areas thought to be necessary to achieving the goals of the treaty. For example, this would include expanding Article 14 on environmental impact assessments to address migratory species, site selection, and privately-owned lands. Additional work must be done on implementation of the treaty at the national level, including legislation and country reports.