Draft decision presented at int'l biodiversity talks
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Ryu Matsumoto, minister of the Environment of Japan, submitted a draft decision concerning access to genetic resources and the fair and equitable sharing of the benefits to an ongoing international biodiversity conference in Japan on Friday.
The document states that a global multilateral benefit-sharing mechanism should be considered to address the fair and equitable sharing of the benefits derived from the use of genetic sources and traditional knowledge associated with genetic sources.
It proposes that the Parties shall encourage users and providers to direct benefits arising from the use of genetic resources toward the conservation of biological diversity and the sustainable use of its components.
Japan's draft protocol also said access to the resources shall be conducted after gaining prior informed consent of the country of origin and mutually agreed terms should be established regarding sharing of monetary and non-monetary benefits.
Matsumoto, who is also the president of the 10th meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity, known as COP10, said the move had taken account of the participants' thoughts and was aimed to realize them.
The meeting, which began on Oct. 18, is set to produce a protocol on access to genetic resources such as medicinal plants and benefit-sharing for the countries concerned. But developing and developed countries had remained at odds over the issue during the talks, which shadowed the passage of Japan's draft protocol.
A three-day ministerial meeting, which was the highlight of the event, kicked off Wednesday. The high-level meeting has made concrete progress, but it is still not clear whether the negotiators can shelve their differences and compromise on thorny issues including access and benefit sharing.
The Japanese minister had urged the envoys to agree on a protocol at the meeting in the central Japanese city of Nagoya.
A record number of 17,000 people representing the 193 Parties and their partners took part in the meeting. It is scheduled to end on Friday.
