ENB @ ABS-4; 30 January - 3 February 2006; Granada, Spain

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN"> ENB @ ABS-4; 30 January - 3 February 2006; Granada, Spain

Fourth meeting of the Ad hoc Open-ended Working Group on Access and Benefit-sharing of the Convention on Biological Diversity

30 January - 3 February 2006 | Granada, Spain

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Highlights for Wednesday, 1 February 2006

Delegates to the fourth meeting of the Ad Hoc Open-ended Working Group (WG) on Access and Benefit-sharing (ABS) of the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) met in a Committee of the Whole, and addressed a Chair’s text on an international regime on ABS. An informal group met in the afternoon to discuss participation of indigenous and local communities in the ABS negotiations.

Above photo: Sarah Wynn-Williams (New Zealand) (center) in informal consultation with US and Australia.

COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE

INTERNATIONAL REGIME ON ABS:



Chair Margarita Clemente (Spain) (above) invited comments on a Chair’s text on an international ABS regime.	Ethiopia, speaking for AFRICA, welcomed the document as a starting point for negotiations. Above photo: Tewolde Berhan Gerber Egzhiaber (Ethiopia)	LIKE-MINDED MEGADIVERSE COUNTRIES (LMMC) added compliance with national legislation and mandatory user measures. Above photo: Desh Deepak Verma (India on behalf of the LMMC)



MEXICO stressed the need to provide legal certainty for users and providers of biodiversity. Above photo: Hesiquio Benitez-Diaz (Mexico)		NORWAY and others stressed the need for a balance between user and provider measures. Above photo L-R: Grethe Evjen and Birthe Ivars (Norway)

Many highlighted the importance of capacity building and compliance, with SOUTH AFRICA also emphasizing technology transfer, KENYA access to justice, PERU and ECUADOR monitoring, COSTA RICA, NIGER and ANTIGUA AND BARBUDA a financial mechanism, and VENEZUELA training of indigenous and local communities to ensure their effective participation.

Above photos L-R: Maria Mbengashe (South Africa); Parkinson Ndoye, Consolata Kiragu, and Ann Angwenyi (Kenya); Hassane Saley (Niger); César Molina and Jesús Ramos (Venezuela)



ARGENTINA called for strengthening the benefit-sharing components. Above photo: Claudio Gutierrez (Argentina) reading the ENB.	LIBERIA requested more clarity in the administrative structure and role of national authorities. Above photo: Jonathan Davies (Liberia)	THAILAND highlighted that many countries lack ABS national legislation. Above photo: Vithet Srinetr and Vanida Khumnirdpetch (Thailand)



The INTERNATIONAL INDIGENOUS FORUM ON BIODIVERSITY (IIFB) said the document fails to recognize the rights of indigenous and local communities on lands, territories and resources. Above photo: Lucy Mulenkei (IIFB)	The INTERNATIONAL TREATY ON PLANT GENETIC RESOURCES FOR FOOD AND AGRICULTURE called for formal mechanisms for cooperation between relevant institutions on the ABS regime. Above photo: Clive Stannard and Álvarro Toledo Chávarri (FAO)	The ACCÍON ECOLOGICA expressed concern over biopiracy, noting that facilitated access is one of its causes. Above photo: Luciá Gallardo (Accíon Ecologica)

Ownership:

SWITZERLAND proposed to delete a section on ownership.

Above photo: François Pythoud (Switzerland)

MALAWI called for retaining the section on ownership.

Above photo: James Seyani (Malawi)

EL SALVADOR suggested refining the language drawing upon the Bonn Guidelines.

Above photo: Jorge Ernesto Quezada Diaz (El Salvador)

Accessing genetic resources:



MEXICO proposed deleting the entire section on access. Above photo L-R: Jose Carlos Fernandez and Jesus Vega Herrera (Mexico)	CANADA stressed that without text on access there will be no agreement on text on benefit-sharing. Above photo L-R: Nathalie Dault, Timothy Hodges and Anne Daniel (Canada)	Noting that countries’ regulation of access must be in line with CBD provisions, MALAYSIA proposed reference to “regulation” rather than “facilitation” of access. Above photo L-R: Gurdial Singh Nijar and Kangayatkarasu Nagulendran (Malaysia)

Benefit-sharing:

NEW ZEALAND suggested that conditions of benefit-sharing, including MAT, be determined in the context of national ABS regimes.

Above photo: Felicity Buchanan (New Zealand)

BRAZIL suggested that parties establish measures to ensure benefit-sharing from results of research and development.

Above photo: Hadil Fontes Da Rocha Vianna and Henrique Choer and Adriana Tescari (Brazil)

INDONESIA proposed that conditions of benefit-sharing arising from the use of genetic resources, their derivatives and products be stipulated in MAT that ensure the equitable and fair benefit-sharing between users and providers.

Above photo: Parulian Silalahi (Indonesia)