Phl may sign Nagoya Protocol by Feb nxt yr

MANILA, Philippines -  The Philippines may be ready to finally sign by February 2012 the Nagoya Protocol on Access to Genetic Resources and the Fair and Equitable Sharing of Benefits Arising from their Utilization.

The Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) is preparing a request to the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) to endorse to the United Nations the Philippines’ position.

The Access and Benefit-Sharing (ABS) provision is important to the Philippines because it defines how benefits are to be shared with resource countries for genetic materials obtained from that country for products, such as pharmaceutics and cosmetics, that are eventually developed and commercialized from the genetic material.

The Nagoya Protocol, which was negotiated in October 2010 in Nagoya, Japan during the 10th meeting of the Conference of the Parties, was opened for signature on Feb. 2, 2011 in New York, USA, by Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity.

The Philippines did not immediately sign the agreement as it had to conduct a series of consultations with affected sectors.

According to Protected Areas and Wildlife Bureau (PAWB) director Mundita Lim, who was part of the Philippine negotiating team for the Nagoya Protocol, the Philippines held off on signing the agreement as it had to hold a series of consultations on certain unsatisfactory provisions of the agreement.

The Philippines, Lim said, feels that some of the provisions are still disadvantageous to genetic source countries such as the Philippines and that immediately acceding to the Nagoya Protocol could restrict any future opportunity to get further benefits.

Some of the unsatisfactory provisions concern the non-inclusion of derivatives and the retroactivity of the ABS coverage.

With the Philippines assuming the chairmanship of the “like-minded group” of countries seeking further concession on ABS, the Philippines is hoping for an opportunity to push for a few more amendments to the Nagoya Protocol.

After six years of negotiations, the 10th meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity adopted the Nagoya Protocol on Oct. 29, 2010 in Nagoya, Japan.

The protocol builds on the convention and supports the further implementation of one of its three objectives: the fair and equitable sharing of benefits arising out of the utilization of genetic resources.

Genetic resources, whether from plant, animal or micro-organisms, are used for various purposes, ranging from basic research to the development of products.

Users of genetic resources include research institutes, universities and private companies operating in various sectors such as pharmaceuticals, agriculture, horticulture, cosmetics and biotechnology.