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IMPASSES

There were some procedural issues as well as substantive ones that proved to be difficult to resolve during ICCBD-2. Some of these issues, such as the details surrounding the financial mechanism, the secretariat, and the periodicity of meetings of the Conference of Parties, will have to be dealt with by the COP without the benefit of agreed-upon recommendations from the ICCBD. Other issues, such as the need for a protocol on biosafety, ownership and access to ex situ genetic resources, farmers' rights, and the definition of "full incremental costs" are likely to be the subject of acrimonious debate for months and perhaps years to come. In spite of the fact that no agreement has been reached on these issues, the ICCBD did serve to advance the debate and has set the stage for further discussion in various intersessional meetings and at the COP itself.