Biodiversity talks in Nagoya focus on targets, genetic resource use

+

NAGOYA, Oct. 18 Kyodo -
Delegates began talks Monday in central Japan to try to set new international
targets for conserving biodiversity and conclude a pact stipulating how to
share benefits derived from genetic resources, amid continued degradation of
habitats around the world.
Leading and developing countries, however, are split over some of the major
issues at the 10th meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the Convention
on Biological Diversity, or COP10, which is scheduled to run through Oct. 29 in
Nagoya.
''We are approaching a point of being unable to reverse (the loss) in
biodiversity,'' Japanese Environment Minister Ryu Matsumoto, who serves as
chairman of the talks, said at the opening ceremony. ''Let us take concerted
action as an international community by agreeing to ambitious and realistic
goals.''
A key issue on the table is setting new targets for reinforcing the
safeguarding of biodiversity -- or the presence of diverse plant and animal
species in ecosystems -- after 2010.
The United Nations says the world failed to reach the goal set in 2002 to
''achieve by 2010 a significant reduction'' of the speed of biodiversity loss,
and the Nagoya conference aims to come up with new targets toward 2020 and
2050. But countries are divided over how ambitious the targets should be.
The European Union is calling for setting a target ''to halt'' the loss of
biodiversity by 2020, while developing nations say this is unrealistic and are
instead advocating the goal of taking action ''toward halting'' such losses.
They are also demanding the provision of sufficient funds to enable them to
achieve this.
Concerning the targets for 2020, the participating countries are discussing
details of a 20-point plan to protect biodiversity, including minimizing
pressures on fragile ecosystems such as coral reefs, reducing pollution and
setting numerical goals for conserving land and sea areas.
Another major topic taken up at the meeting is how to share the benefits
derived from genetic resources between the countries where the resources
originate and the firms that develop them into products such as medicine.
Developing countries with abundant natural resources want to secure a greater
share of the benefits through a new protocol on access and benefit-sharing that
is being worked out by member countries of the Convention on Biological
Diversity, an international treaty aimed at sustaining the diversity of life on
Earth.
But advanced nations, whose industries frequently use the resources in
developing medicines and other products, want to share as little of the profits
with the countries of origin as they can without jeopardizing access.
Host Japan faces the intricate task of narrowing the gap between the two sides,
as developing nations are threatening to boycott the adoption of a strategic
plan covering the post-2010 biodiversity conservation targets unless the access
and benefit-sharing protocol sufficiently reflects their opinions.
Intensive talks began, also Monday, at an informal consultative group to
facilitate debate on the protocol, with participants exchanging opinions on one
of the unresolved points -- a framework to check the appropriateness of
procedures for moving genetic resources out of a country, Japanese government
officials said at a press briefing.
''I'm not aware of any concrete progress'' made in Monday's discussions about
the access and benefit-sharing protocol, one of the officials said.
At a news conference, Environment Minister Matsumoto expressed hope about
achieving results, saying, ''The meeting runs for two weeks, so I'm looking
forward to parties sealing (agreements).''
But some developing nations are also seeking to make the protocol hold
retroactive power to enable them to obtain shares of benefits from resources
taken by colonizers while the countries were under colonial rule.
Other sticking points include whether to cover viruses under the pact as they
could be used as a genetic resource in developing vaccines.
Developing countries have so far rejected calls by advanced nations to be
flexible in giving firms access to viruses in case of emergencies, such as the
outbreak of an avian influenza epidemic.
Not much progress was made on the key issues in preparatory talks held from
Wednesday through Saturday in Nagoya, indicating that the negotiations could
drag on through the ministerial segment of the conference scheduled from Oct.
27.
==Kyodo