India looking to ensure swift enforcement of Nagoya Protocol

With a view to ensuring that the Nagoya Protocol comes into force during India's presidency of the Eleventh Conference of Parties (CoP-11) to the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD), Environment Minister Prakash Javadekar has taken a detailed briefing on issues related to biodiversity from the senior officials of his ministry.

Javadekar, as the Environment Minister, is the president of the Eleventh Conference of Parties (CoP-11) to the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD).

The meeting with the officials was held yesterday by Javadekar, who is said to be taking a personal interest in getting the ratification of the Nagoya Protocol on Access and Benefit Sharing expedited.

The Nagoya Protocol is an international agreement, which aims at sharing the benefits arising from the utilisation of genetic resources in a fair and equitable way.

It was adopted by the Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity at its 10th meeting in 2010 in Nagoya, Japan.

So far, 44 countries and the European Union have ratified the Protocol. It is expected that six more countries will ratify it by July 7 in order to bring the Protocol into force in time.

Highlighting the significance of the Nagoya Protocol coming into force as soon as possible, Javadekar had recently urged the parties to ratify it at the earliest in a video message for the Ad Hoc open-ended Working Group on Review of Implementation of the Convention (WGRI5) held in Montreal, Canada last month.

According to Javadekar, the protocol is meant for creating incentives to conserve and sustainably use biodiversity to enhance contribution to sustainable development and human well being.

Having successfully hosted the CoP-11 to the CBD in Hyderabad in October 2012, India will continue as the President of CoP till the next CoP is held in Pyeongchang, South Korea in October this year.