ENB:09:16
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WORKING GROUP I
The Chair, Prof. S.K. Ongeri (Kenya), asked the Group to give him their blessings on the reports of the items they had considered and finally succeeded at 9.00 p.m.
SELECTION OF A COMPETENT INTERNATIONAL ORGANIZATION TO CARRY OUT THE FUNCTIONS OF THE SECRETARIAT OF THE CONVENTION and THE CLEARING-HOUSE MECHANISM FOR TECHNICAL AND SCIENTIFIC COOPERATION
The reports were contained in documents UNEP/CBD/IC/2/L.2/Add.1 and UNEP/CBD/IC/2/L.2 respectively. They were adopted.
SUBSIDIARY BODY ON SCIENTIFIC, TECHNICAL, AND TECHNOLOGICAL ADVICE (UNEP/CBD/IC/ 2/L.2/Add.2)
The Secretariat included an amendment proposed by India on Paragraph 11 : "In this connection, the provisions of Article 25 paragraph 2(c), which provide advice on the ways and means of promoting development and/or transferring such technologies, were highlighted." The report was adopted.
CONSIDERATION OF THE NEED FOR, AND MODALITIES OF, A PROTOCOL ON BIOSAFETY (UNEP/CBD/IC/2/L.2/ADD.3)
The Chair noted that Sri Lanka had made an amendment that had been omitted on three prior occasions, which was added to the end of Paragraph 3: "One representative drew attention to the possibility that in the open environment, LMOs will mutate and change with time, and raised the need to examine the question of accountability in the case of local or national disaster."
OWNERSHIP OF, AND ACCESS TO, EX SITU GENETIC RESOURCES AND ITEM 4.2.5 FARMERS' RIGHTS AND RIGHTS OF SIMILAR GROUPS AS CONTAINED IN UNEP/CBD/IC/2/L.2/ADD.4.
Discussion on this issue was arduous as delegates did not engage in an orderly paragraph-by-paragraph reading but rather jumped in an ad-hoc manner over the page. Some delegates expressed difficulty in keeping abreast of all the interventions. The Group ended its afternoon session unable to complete the issue of Farmers' Rights. "Many" hours were spent on ex situ genetic resources and "some" hours in the evening on Farmers' Rights.
EX SITU GENETIC RESOURCES: An amendment was made by the Secretariat in Item 1 to add: "As Resolution 3 recognizes the need to seek solutions to the outstanding matters on access to ex situ collections not acquired in accordance with the CBD and the question of farmers rights within the FAO global system for the conservation and sustainable use of plant genetic resources for food and sustainable agriculture."
In paragraph a Brazil wanted to replace "successful" with "multilateral" and read a statement on behalf of the G-77 and China: "In this regard, the G-77 and China understand that any multilateral agreement about ex situ collections should refer to the ex situ collections existing before the entry into force of the CBD. Such a mechanism should be in line with the provisions of the Convention and should be properly examined by Governments for their consideration." Norway noted that the implications of multilateral arrangements for FAO's arrangement with the CGIAR were significant. Several delegates sought a clarification about the term "multilateral." It was finally agreed to delete the words, "all kinds of" before the words "ex situ collections...."
There was considerable confusion on paragraph b as many delegates, including Sweden, the Netherlands, and Greece, on behalf of the EC sought to make amendments. This led the Chair to ask a small drafting group to prepare new text. The amendment resulted in two new paragraphs (b) and (c). New Paragraph b: "Many representatives supported the work of the Commission on Plant Genetic Resources, which is an intergovernmental forum established within the FAO, in addressing the issue of plant genetic resources for food and agriculture. Reference was made to the negotiations among governments for the adaptation of the international undertaking on plant genetic resources in harmony with the CBD for consideration of the issue of access on mutually agreed terms for plant genetic resources, including ex situ collections not acquired in accordance with the convention, as well as, for the issue of realization of Farmers' Rights. The COP should be continuously informed about the progress in these negotiations. It was stressed that the COP should provide guidance to the interpretation and further development of these issues, there was strong general support for the re-negotiation process of the international undertaking of plant genetic resources..."
New paragraph c: "Many representatives addressed the issue of ex situ genetic resources of food and agriculture held in trusteeship by the IARCs of the CGIAR. They strongly supported the efforts of bringing these resources under the auspices of FAO and delegates expressed strong support in finalizing the agreement between the FAO and the IARCs as soon as possible...."
Japan wanted to insert one sentence after paragraph c stating: "One representative stressed that the FAO's international undertaking on genetic resources could not become in any form, a legal instrument under this Convention because the Convention has no provision."
Mexico amended paragraph e: "Several delegations pointed out that farmers or indigenous and local communities were often the original providers of germ plasm to international collections and one delegation expressed the fact that repatriation to countries does not imply repatriation to the original suppliers. This being a complicated problem, further study should be done on the issue of repatriation." Australia replaced "the fact that" with "the view" and added the word "necessarily" before "imply repatriation." The Secretariat included a new paragraph i and the old (i) becomes paragraph j.
New paragraph i reads: "It was agreed that in order to ensure cooperation and complementarity with the work being carried out by the Commission on Plant Genetic Resources to implement Resolution 3 of the Nairobi Final Act, FAO should be invited to present a progress report on this subject to the first COP."
To the new paragraph j, the Third World Network added, "and supplied figures showing how it worked to the disadvantage of the original owners of these resources, namely the farmers, the indigenous peoples and the countries of the South, and benefited the North in the main. They proposed that the COP give priority in discussing and determining the status as to ownership, control and rights of ex situ collection of biological materials. In such determination, the rights of farmers, indigenous peoples and the countries originally providing the resources should be recognized and formally established." Brazil wanted to replace "indigenous peoples" with "indigenous people." The report was then adopted.
FARMERS' RIGHTS: Governments spent some hours in debate on the Working Group's report on this agenda item. Delegates wanted to modify certain phrases and add sentences to particular paragraphs, but unlike the debate on ex situ genetic resources, discussions tended to be principally of a procedural and editorial nature. All changes, editorial, procedural and substantive will be available in the final report.