Earth Equity News

Nagoya Protocol: A Breakthrough in Protecting Biodiversity. By Julio Godoy, IPS, 11/11/10. “An international agreement reached in the Japanese city of Nagoya constitutes a great step forward towards protecting biodiversity from decimation, but also represents an enormous legislative and administrative task, environment experts say. The Nagoya Protocol, signed in late October by the 193 member states of the U.N. Convention on Biological Diversity, includes more than 40 measures aimed at fighting bio-piracy and preventing misappropriation of genetic resources. The agreement outlines a strategic plan for implementation of the measures to halt the loss of biodiversity within the next 10 years, and foresees benefits for developing countries from sustainable industrial and commercial use of biogenetic resources. But to fulfil these tasks, most developing countries must carry out an enormous amount of legislative and administrative work in identifying and cataloguing biogenetic resources to prove their origin and claim international property rights, the experts warned.”