Decision COP XI/1

A.Further work in preparation for the first meeting of the Conference of the Parties serving as the meeting of the Parties to the Nagoya Protocol 

The Conference of the Parties,

Recalling the mandate of the Open-ended Ad Hoc Intergovernmental Committee for the Nagoya Protocol on Access to Genetic Resources and the Fair and Equitable Sharing of Benefits Arising from their Utilization to undertake the preparations necessary for the first meeting of the Conference of the Parties serving as the meeting of the Parties to the Nagoya Protocol, in accordance with decision X/1 of the Conference of the Parties, 

Recalling also the work plan set out in annex II to decision X/1 of the Conference of the Parties,

Taking note that substantive progress has been made on several issues identified in its work plan,

Noting that some issues of the work plan require further consideration with a view to facilitating decision-making by the first meeting of the Conference of the Parties serving as the meeting of the Parties to the Protocol,

1.Welcomes the reports of the first and second meetings of the Intergovernmental Committee for the Nagoya Protocol on Access to Genetic Resources and the Fair and Equitable Sharing of Benefits Arising from their Utilization; 

2.Decides to reconvene the Intergovernmental Committee for a third meeting to address outstanding issues in its workplan, in preparation for the first meeting of the Conference of the Parties serving as the meeting of the Parties to the Protocol;

3.Calls upon Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity that have not yet done so to initiate and expedite their internal processes leading to ratification, approval or acceptance of or accession to the Nagoya Protocol;

4.Invites Parties, other Governments, relevant international organizations, indigenous and local communities and all interested stakeholders to submit information to the Executive Secretary on model contractual clauses, codes of conduct, guidelines and best practices and/or standards;

5.Requests the Executive Secretary to make the information referred to in paragraph 4 above available through the pilot phase of the Access and Benefit-sharing Clearing-House and to compile, analyse and structure this information for consideration by the third meeting of the Intergovernmental Committee; 

B.The need for and modalities of a global multilateral benefit-sharing mechanism (Article 10)

The Conference of the Parties,

1.Requests the Executive Secretary to conduct a broad consultation on Article 10 of the Nagoya Protocol on Access to Genetic Resources and the Fair and Equitable Sharing of Benefits Arising from their Utilization; 

2.Invites Parties, other Governments, relevant international organizations, indigenous and local communities, and all interested stakeholders to contribute to the consultation referred to in paragraph 1 above by submitting their views with respect to Article 10, bearing in mind the indicative list of questions in part A of annex I below, as well as other perspectives on the matter, in particular the additional questions contained in part B of annex I; 

3. Requests the Executive Secretary to prepare and distribute a synthesis of the views provided in the broad consultation;

4. Further requests the Executive Secretary, subject to the availability of funds, to convene a meeting of a regionally balanced expert group, including representatives from indigenous and local communities, to: (i) review the synthesis referred to in paragraph 3 above, taking into account the views provided; (ii) identify potential areas of common understanding with respect to Article 10; and (iii) identify areas that could be further examined. The expert group shall submit the outcomes of its work for consideration by the third meeting of the Intergovernmental Committee, following the holding of the expert group meeting. Based on the conclusions of the work of the expert group, the third meeting of the Intergovernmental Committee should consider the need for an additional study, including on nonmarket-based approaches;

5. Invites Parties, other Governments and relevant organizations to provide financial support to convene the meeting of the expert group.

C. Modalities of operation of the Access and Benefit-sharing Clearing-House

The Conference of the Parties,

1. Welcomes the pilot phase of the Access and Benefit-sharing Clearing-House and establishes an informal advisory committee in order to assist the Executive Secretary with the implementation of the Access and Benefit-sharing Clearing-House pilot phase and to provide technical guidance with respect to the resolution of technical issues arising from the ongoing development of the pilot phase of the Access and Benefit-sharing Clearing-House until the first meeting of the Conference of the Parties serving as the meeting of the Parties to the Protocol. The informal advisory committee shall be regionally balanced and composed of fifteen experts selected on the basis of nominations provided by Parties;

2. Endorses the indicative work plan and timeline for activities to take place until the first meeting of the Conference of the Parties serving as the meeting of the Parties to the Protocol, as contained in document UNEP/CBD/COP/11/11;

3. Decides that the informal advisory committee will hold one meeting, subject to the availability of financial resources, and informal online discussions, as needed, and report on the outcomes of its work to the third meeting of the Intergovernmental Committee;

4. Invites Parties, other Governments and relevant organizations to provide financial support for the organization of a meeting of the informal advisory committee;

5. Requests the Executive Secretary to report to the Intergovernmental Committee, at its third meeting, on progress in the implementation of the pilot phase of the Access and Benefit-sharing Clearing-House, including on the registration of information related to national permits or their equivalents and on technical issues concerning the establishment of the internationally recognized certificate of compliance;

6. Also requests the Executive Secretary to further refine the draft modalities of operation2 once further progress is made on the implementation of the pilot phase of the Access and Benefit-sharing Clearing-House, taking into account the views expressed at the second meeting of the Intergovernmental Committee, and submit them for the consideration by the Parties at the third meeting of the Intergovernmental Committee and the first meeting of the Conference of the Parties serving as the meeting of the Parties to the Protocol.

D. Measures to assist in capacity-building, capacity development and strengthening of human resources and institutional capacities in developing country Parties, in particular the least developed countries and small island developing States among them, and Parties with economies in transition, including those that are most environmentally vulnerable

The Conference of the Parties,

1. Requests the Executive Secretary, in collaboration with relevant organizations, and subject to the availability of financial resources, to continue supporting capacity-building and development initiatives to support the ratification, early entry into force and implementation of the Protocol;

2. Invites Parties, other Governments, international organizations, the Global Environment Facility, regional development banks and other financial institutions to provide financial resources to support capacity-building and development initiatives to support the ratification, early entry into force and implementation of the Protocol;

3. Invites Parties, other Governments and relevant organizations to undertake and provide support for capacity-building and development initiatives to support the ratification, early entry into force and implementation of the Protocol, taking into account the domestic needs and priorities of Parties and indigenous and local communities contained in annex II to this decision;

4. Requests the Executive Secretary, subject to the availability of funds, to organize an expert meeting to develop a draft strategic framework, taking into account the synthesis of views and information on domestic needs and priorities and on the proposed elements of the strategic framework for capacity-building and development under the Nagoya Protocol contained in document UNEP/CBD/ICNP/2/10, the wealth of experiences and lessons learned from existing capacity-building and development initiatives related to access and benefit-sharing and bilateral cooperation related to access and benefit-sharing, as well as the summary of views expressed at the second meeting of the Intergovernmental Committee, as contained in annex III below, in accordance with the following terms of reference:

5. Invites Parties, other Governments and relevant organizations to provide financial support for the organization of the expert meeting.

E. Measures to raise awareness of the importance of genetic resources and associated traditional knowledge, and related access and benefit-sharing issues

The Conference of the Parties,

Recognizing the importance of awareness-raising in supporting the ratification, early entry into force and implementation of the Nagoya Protocol on Access to Genetic Resources and the Fair and Equitable Sharing of Benefits Arising from Their Utilization,

1. Requests the Executive Secretary, in collaboration with relevant organizations, as appropriate, and subject to the availability of financial resources, and taking advantage of activities and resources developed under other programmes of work of the Convention, notably under the communication, education and public awareness (CEPA) programme, to carry out awareness-raising activities to support the ratification, early entry into force and implementation of the Protocol;

2. Invites Parties, other Governments, international organizations, the Global Environment Facility, regional development banks and other financial institutions to provide financial resources to support awareness-raising initiatives in support of the ratification, early entry into force and implementation of the Nagoya Protocol;

3. Also invites Parties, other Governments, international organizations and other relevant actors to carry out awareness-raising activities to support the ratification, early entry into force and implementation of the Protocol, taking into account the draft awareness-raising strategy set out in recommendation 2/6 of the Intergovernmental Committee;

F. Cooperative procedures and institutional mechanisms to promote compliance with the Nagoya Protocol and address cases of non-compliance

The Conference of the Parties,

Decides to forward the draft “Cooperative Procedures and Institutional Mechanisms to Promote Compliance with the Protocol and to Address Cases of Non-compliance”, as contained in annex IV to this decision, to the third meeting of the Intergovernmental Committee, to enable the first meeting of the Conference of the Parties serving as the meeting of the Parties to the Protocol to consider and approve them.