Biotech Updates

Australia: 76th Signatory of the Nagoya Protocol

January 27, 2012

Australia is now the latest signatory of the Nagoya Protocol on Access to Generic Resources and the Fair and Equitable Sharing of Benefits Arising from Their Utilization to the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD). Australia joined as the 76th signatory last January 20, 2012. The Nagoya Protocol will be implemented 90 days after the submission of the 50th instrument of ratification.

CBD Executive Secretary, Ahmed Djoghlaf, said: "As we approach the eleventh meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity, Australia's signature is yet another sign of the growing international commitment to this unique legal instrument. During this historic year, I urge all signatories to expedite the ratification process so as to allow the Nagoya Protocol to enter into force in 2012, as a contribution to the United Nations Decade on Biodiversity, the Rio +20 meeting and the eleventh meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the Convention that will take place during a year that will see the twentieth anniversary of the Convention itself."

The Protocol aims to provide legal certainty and transparency for providers and users of genetic resources while conserving biodiversity for sustainable development and human well-being.

Read the press release at http://www.cbd.int/doc/press/2012/pr-2012-01-23-abs-en.pdf.