Ghana to rectify protocol on genetic resources by December 2013

Ghana flagsGhana intends to join 20 other countries that have rectified the Nagoya Protocol on Access to Genetic Resources, Fair and Equitable sharing of benefits arising from utilization to the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) by December 2013.

Currently the Ministry of Environment, Science, Technology and Innovation (MESTI), is preparing draft legislation on the Protocol to Cabinet to seek the approval of the Executive and ratification by Parliament.

Mr Eric Amaning Okoree, a Deputy Director at MESTI told the Ghana News Agency on Monday that if Parliament approves the legislation the Ministry of Foreign Affairs will process the instrument of ratification and submit to the United Nations.

The Nagoya Protocol, which was adopted at the tenth meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity in 2010, in Nagoya, Japan, is aimed at advancing the fair and equitable sharing of benefits arising from the utilization of genetic resources by providing greater legal certainty and transparency for both providers and users of genetic resources.

It also seeks to promote the use of genetic resources and associated traditional knowledge, by strengthening the opportunities for fair and equitable sharing of benefits from their use, to create incentives to conserve biodiversity, sustainable use of its components, and further enhance the contribution of biodiversity to sustainable development and human well-being.

A statement from the CBD headquarters in Montreal, Canada signed by Mr David Ainsworth, information officer of CBD and copied to the Ghana News Agency, said Honduras and Tajikistan were the most recent countries to ratify the Nagoya Protocol, which brought the total number of ratifications of the Nagoya Protocol to 20.

It said the two countries joined Albania, Botswana, Comoros, Ethiopia, Fiji, Gabon, India, Jordan, Lao People’s Democratic Republic and Mauritius.

The rest are; Mexico, the Federated States of Micronesia, Mongolia, Panama, Rwanda, Seychelles, South Africa and the Syrian Arab Republic, as countries that have ratified or acceded to the landmark treaty, while Honduras is the second Central American country and Tajikistan the sixth Asian country to ratify the treaty.

According to the Executive Secretary of the Convention, Dr. Braulio Ferreira de Souza Dias, “The ratifications of Honduras and Tajikistan adds to the momentum towards the entry into force of the Protocol in time for the twelfth meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the Convention, to be hosted by the Republic of Korea in October 2014”.

UN Secretary-General Ban-Ki-moon, as part of his message for the 2013 International Day for Biological Diversity, called “on all Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity, who have not already done so, to ratify the Nagoya Protocol on Access to Genetic Resources and the Fair and Equitable Sharing of Benefits Arising from their Utilization, and therefore help the world to work towards the future we want.”

His statement of support follows on his recent letter to all Heads of States and Governments, highlighting the valuable contribution that the Protocol can make to sustainable development and urging ratification at the earliest opportunity so that the international community can move to the implementation phase.

At the Trondheim Conference on Biodiversity, which took place from 27th to 31st May 2013, the Ministers of Environment of Norway and India, as well as the CBD Executive Secretary encouraged Parties to the Convention to expedite their national processes towards the ratification of the Nagoya Protocol.

Ratification would enable countries to participate as Parties in the first meeting of the Protocol and would play an important role in the decision-making process to support its implementation.

Source: GNA

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