Decision COP XI/14
Article 8(j) and related provisions
A. Progress in the implementation of Article 8(j) and related provisions and its integration into the various areas of work under the Convention on Biological Diversity
2. Requests the Executive Secretary to continue to report on progress in the implementation of Article 8(j) and related provisions, based on information submitted in national reports, and on the integration of the relevant tasks of the programme of work on Article 8(j) and related provisions into the thematic areas of work under the Convention, to the eighth meeting of the Ad Hoc Open-ended Inter-sessional Working Group on Article 8(j) and Related Provisions;
3. Requests Parties, and especially those that have not yet done so, to submit, with the participation of indigenous and local communities, information regarding the implementation of the programme of work on Article 8(j) and related provisions of the Convention, both directly to the Secretariat and through their fifth national reports, where possible, and in time for the eighth meeting of the Working Group on Article 8(j) and Related Provisions, and requests the Executive Secretary to analyse and summarize this information and make it available to the eighth meeting of the Working Group on Article 8(j) and Related Provisions, in order to take this matter forward;
4. Calls upon Parties to fully integrate Aichi Biodiversity Target 18 into their revised and updated national biodiversity strategies and action plans and into other relevant local and regional plans, respecting traditional knowledge and customary practices that are of interest for the conservation and sustainable use of biological diversity, and to report progress in their fifth national reports, using relevant indicators;
5. Requests the Executive Secretary, in consultation with Parties, indigenous and local communities and others, to examine the fourth and fifth national reports with a view to compiling a geographically balanced set of good practices, in order to benefit from them and understand difficulties encountered in other geographical areas concerning the implementation of Articles 8(j) and 10(c) and related provisions, and to make such case studies and examples available in the form of a CBD Technical Series report, as a resource for Parties, indigenous and local communities and interested stakeholders;
8. Noting the apparent lack of financial support for indigenous and local communities in their efforts to develop their own community plans, including community protocols, urges Parties, including in their requests to the Global Environment Facility (GEF), including through the GEF Small Grants programme, and invites other donors, to support, as appropriate, indigenous and local communities to organize themselves, in order to ensure that they can effectively develop their own community plans and protocols and participate in national and international dialogues concerning the Convention;
9. Also urges Parties, including in their requests to the Global Environment Facility, including through the GEF Small Grants programme, and invites other donors, to support, as appropriate, indigenous and local communities to document, map and register their indigenous and community conserved areas, in accordance with national legislation, and to prepare and implement their community conservation plans. Furthermore, support should be provided to countries to strengthen their recognition of such areas;
10. Notes the potential contribution that the International Indigenous Peoples and Local Communities Land and Sea Managers Network, announced at the United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development (Rio+20) could make to linking indigenous expertise and modern technology and encourages participation in the associated conference, to be held from 27 to 31 May 2013 in Darwin, Australia, in order to further develop the Network
B. Participatory mechanisms for indigenous and local communities in the work of the Convention
Welcoming with appreciation the recent focus on integrating indigenous and local community representatives into other capacity-building efforts of the Secretariat, including in respect to the Nagoya Protocol on Access to Genetic Resources and the Fair and Equitable Sharing of Benefits Arising from their Utilization, the revision of national biodiversity strategies and action plans, and subregional workshops on capacity-building for implementing the programme of work on protected areas under the Convention on Biological Diversity,
Welcoming the regional and subregional workshop series aimed at capacity-building for indigenous and local communities through web-based technologies, with a view to supporting the implementation of the Convention’s Guidelines on Biodiversity and Tourism Development and strengthening indigenous and local initiatives in this area,
1. Requests the Executive Secretary to continue his efforts to ensure the effective implementation of decisions X/40 A, paragraphs 3, 4 and 5, and IX/13 D and E, concerning capacitybuilding, taking into account decisions VIII/5 B and C, VII/16, annex, and V/16, annex II, task 4, including through the development of appropriate methodologies and mechanisms, including new electronic means, didactic materials, and culturally appropriate tools and instruments, developed with the full and effective participation of indigenous and local communities and their organizations, with a view to increasing the participation of indigenous and local community representatives, particularly women, who are familiar with Convention processes and participate in the work of the Convention, including its implementation at national and local level, and invites donors to continue their support for indigenous and local community capacity-building workshops and the aforementioned tools and methodologies, at regional and subregional level;
2. Requests Parties, Governments, international organizations and indigenous and local community organizations to consider collaborating with the Secretariat to facilitate workshops specific to indigenous and local communities, including through the development of appropriate methodologies and mechanisms, including new electronic means, didactic materials, and culturally appropriate tools and instruments, developed with the full and effective participation of indigenous and local communities and their organizations, and in particular, where possible, and subject to the availability of funding, to develop medium- and long-term strategies to raise awareness of Convention processes among indigenous and local communities and to facilitate their full and effective participation in those processes, including the revised programme of work on Article 8(j) and related provisions and the recently adopted new element of the programme of work concerning customary sustainable use (Article 10(c)), and also their participation in the implementation of the Strategic Plan for Biodiversity 2011–2020 and its Aichi Biodiversity Targets, particularly Target 18;
3. Requests the Executive Secretary to continue to convene, subject to the availability of financial resources, the series of regional and subregional workshops aimed at capacity-building for indigenous and local communities to support the implementation of the Guidelines on Biodiversity and Tourism Development through enhanced marketing strategies and web-based technologies;
5. Requests the Executive Secretary to ensure the full and effective participation of indigenous and local community representatives in developing a communication, education and public awareness strategy for the United Nations Decade on Biodiversity 2011–2020, and to continue to develop a variety of communication, education and public awareness activities and products in the six United Nations languages, making use of contributions from indigenous and local communities, in order to inform indigenous and local communities about the work of the Convention and raise awareness among the general public about the role of indigenous and local communities, and their traditional knowledge and customary use, in the conservation and sustainable use of biodiversity
6. Notes with appreciation the ongoing work by the Secretariat concerning electronic mechanisms, such as the Article 8(j) home page and the Traditional Knowledge Information Portal, and related initiatives, including partnerships with www.indigenousportal.com, and requests the Executive Secretary to maintain an ongoing partnership with www.indigenousportal.com and to report on the advancement of this work to the eighth meeting of the Working Group on Article 8(j) and Related Provisions;
7. Requests the Executive Secretary, subject to the availability of financial resources, to continue to develop a variety of electronic and traditional materials for communication, education and public awareness, and to ensure that such materials are well publicized through high-profile events in collaboration with Parties, international organizations, indigenous and local communities and other stakeholders;
8. Invites Parties, Governments, donors, civil society, the private sector, and relevant funding institutions and mechanisms to provide indigenous and local communities with the resources needed for, and partner them in the development and implementation of, “indigenous to indigenous” and “community to community” training projects that focus on the role of traditional knowledge and customary sustainable use of biodiversity, including “elders and youth” and “women and children” initiatives that are rooted in indigenous languages, cultures and traditional knowledge and that are fundamental in validating and affirming the self-esteem and identity of indigenous and local communities;
10. Also requests the Executive Secretary, subject to the availability of financial resources, to continue to develop, update and translate the various electronic communication mechanisms, including the Article 8(j) home page and the Traditional Knowledge Information Portal, and to report on progress to the next meeting of the Working Group on Article 8(j) and Related Provisions, and urges Parties and invites Governments to support the translation of essential Convention documents into national and local languages, with a view to supporting the Executive Secretary in these tasks;
11. Further requests the Executive Secretary: (i) to continue to monitor the use of the Convention website, and in particular the Article 8(j) home page and the Traditional Knowledge Information Portal; (ii) to consult indigenous and local communities participating in the work of the Convention so as to ensure that interactive media are being adapted to the actual needs of indigenous and local communities and are provided in a language and a format that are readily understandable; and (iii) to identify any gaps or shortcomings and to report thereon to the eighth meeting of the Working Group on Article 8(j) and Related Provisions;
12. Invites Parties to share information on national laws, policies, programmes and other initiatives, actions and, as appropriate, protocols on the implementation of Article 8(j) and related provisions, along with their experiences of implementation, and requests the Executive Secretary to make such information available through the Traditional Knowledge Information Portal;
13. Notes with appreciation the ongoing efforts by the Secretariat to promote the Voluntary Fund to Facilitate the Participation of Indigenous and Local Communities in the Convention process (VB Trust Fund), and requests the Executive Secretary to continue his efforts, and to report on results and provide relevant statistical data concerning the full and effective participation of indigenous and local communities, including by using information given in national reports, to the Working Group on Article 8(j) and Related Provisions at its eighth meeting;
16. Welcomes with appreciation creative initiatives and partnerships between indigenous and local communities and stakeholders in pursuit of the goals of the Convention, and requests the Executive Secretary to continue such efforts and to report on progress made to the eighth meeting of the Working Group on Article 8(j) and Related Provisions;
18. Takes note with appreciation of the report of the Expert Group Meeting of Local Communities Representatives (UNEP/CBD/WG8J/7/8/Add.1) and encourages Parties to consider this report as a potentially useful input to promoting full and effective participation by local communities in the work of the Convention;
20. Requests the Executive Secretary to take practical steps to ensure that representatives of local communities have equitable access to the Voluntary Fund for the Participation of Indigenous and Local Communities the Work of the Convention, as well as capacity-building workshops; to commence disaggregation of data and statistics on local community representatives; and to report on these measures to the eighth meeting of the Working Group on Article 8(j) and Related Provisions for its consideration;
21. Takes note with appreciation of sections II and III of the annex to the report of the Expert Group Meeting as potentially useful advice for developing measures and mechanisms to assist in the implementation of the Convention and the achievements of its goals, and for developing targeted outreach activities for local communities through communication, education and public awareness so as to more effectively encourage their participation in the work of the Convention, including at national and subnational levels.
C. Tasks 7, 10 and 12 of the revised Multi-Year Programme of Work
Taking into account the adoption of the Nagoya Protocol on Access to Genetic Resources and the Fair and Equitable Sharing of Benefits Arising from their Utilization (decision X/1, annex I), the Strategic Plan for Biodiversity 2011–2020 (decision X/2, annex) and the Tkarihwaié:ri Code of Ethical Conduct to Ensure Respect for the Cultural and Intellectual Heritage of Indigenous and Local Communities, while building on the work of the Convention concerning sui generis systems for the protection of traditional knowledge,
Taking also into account the work of other relevant international bodies, in particular the Intergovernmental Committee on Intellectual Property and Genetic Resources, Traditional Knowledge and Folklore of the World Intellectual Property Organization, the United Nations Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues and the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization,
2. Requests the Executive Secretary to commission three studies, on tasks 7, 10 and 12, respectively, subject to the availability of financial resources, to identify how the implementation of these tasks could best contribute to work under the Convention and the Nagoya Protocol, taking into account, as appropriate, the work of other relevant bodies such as the Intergovernmental Committee on Intellectual Property and Genetic Resources, Traditional Knowledge and Folklore of the World Intellectual Property Organization, the United Nations Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues and the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization. The studies will consider all relevant information, including the views referred to in paragraph 3 below;
4. Further requests the Executive Secretary to make these studies available to the eighth meeting of the Working Group on Article 8(j) and Related Provisions for its consideration, with a view to the Working Group making a recommendation to the Conference of the Parties to the Convention on further implementation of tasks 7, 10 and 12, including the possibility of convening an expert meeting;
5. Requests the Working Group on Article 8(j) and Related Provisions to inform 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, or the Conference of the Parties serving as the meeting of the Parties to the Protocol, about the progress of work under tasks 7, 10 and 12 of relevance to the implementation of the Nagoya Protocol.
2. Emphasizes that task 15 is:
5. Recognizing that cultural property and heritage is within the mandate of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, its treaties and programmes, while the Convention on Biological Diversity and its Parties seek to facilitate the exchange of information, from all publicly available sources, relevant to the conservation and sustainable use of biological diversity, including the repatriation of indigenous and traditional knowledge relevant to the conservation and sustainable use of biological diversity, also requests the Executive Secretary to seek cooperation with the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization in analysing whether and how the different international legal instruments that address cultural property and heritage of indigenous and local communities contribute to the repatriation of indigenous and traditional knowledge relevant to the conservation and sustainable use of biodiversity;
6. Further requests the Executive Secretary, based on an analysis of the information received pursuant to paragraph 3 above and on the analysis prepared in cooperation with the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, to develop draft best-practice guidelines for the repatriation of indigenous and traditional knowledge relevant to the conservation and sustainable use of biological diversity, including of indigenous and traditional knowledge associated with cultural property, in accordance with Articles 8(j) and 17, paragraph 2, of the Convention, in order to facilitate the recovery of traditional knowledge of biological diversity;
2. Invites Parties, Governments, international organizations, non-governmental organizations and indigenous and local communities to communicate to the Secretariat their experiences, case studies and views regarding a broad range of sui generis systems and their mechanisms, including community protocols, policy, and administrative or legislative measures, which have contributed to respect for and protection, preservation and promotion of the wider application of traditional knowledge, in order to assist countries to evaluate which mechanisms may be applicable in their national context;
3. Requests the Executive Secretary, in the light of the input received, to compile and analyse that input, and to revise and complement his note on elements of sui generis systems for the protection, preservation and promotion of traditional knowledge, innovations and practices (UNEP/CBD/WG8J/7/3) for consideration by the eighth meeting of the Working Group on Article 8(j) and Related Provisions;
4. Invites Parties and Governments, in the light of the adoption of the Nagoya Protocol on Access to Genetic Resources and the Fair and Equitable Sharing of Benefits Arising from their Utilization, to report on any regional measures that have been taken to protect traditional knowledge, innovations and practices of indigenous and local communities relevant to biological diversity held across national and international boundaries, including sui generis systems that are being developed or have been developed and/or implemented, including evidence regarding the effectiveness of such measures, and requests the Executive Secretary to compile and analyse information received and to include it as a new element on regional measures in the revision of his note (UNEP/CBD/WG8J/7/3), for consideration by the eighth meeting of the Working Group on Article 8(j) and Related Provisions;
8. Also requests the Executive Secretary to facilitate capacity-building activities for indigenous and local community representatives, where possible back-to-back with other meetings under the Convention, with the aim of strengthening the capacity of indigenous and local communities to communicate their experiences and views, as called for by this decision, and urges Parties to support these activities;
9. Encourages Parties and Governments to support and promote the development of local sui generis systems for the protection, preservation and promotion of traditional knowledge related to the conservation and sustainable use of biological diversity by indigenous and local communities, including through the development of community protocols, and to report on these initiatives through the national reporting process and the Traditional Knowledge Information Portal and to the eighth meeting of the Working Group on Article 8(j) and Related Provisions;
10. Invites Parties to consider the terms and definitions developed in response to decision VII/16 H, paragraph 4, and to submit views, including additional terms and definitions for possible inclusion, to the Executive Secretary, and requests the Executive Secretary to compile these views and, based on information received, to revise the terms and definitions, to include additional terms and definitions proposed, and to propose a draft glossary of terms for consideration by the eighth meeting of the Working Group on Article 8(j) and Related Provisions;
12. Welcomes the successful negotiation, by the Working Group on Access and Benefit-sharing, and adoption, by the tenth meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the Convention, of the Nagoya Protocol, and acknowledges that the Protocol provides a favourable framework for the development of sui generis systems and for access to and sharing benefits from the use of traditional knowledge associated with genetic resources.
Recalling decision X/43, which decided to include a new major component of work on Article 10, with a focus on Article 10(c), in the programme of work on Article 8(j) and related provisions, building on the Addis Ababa Principles and Guidelines for the Sustainable Use of Biodiversity (decision VII/12, annex II),
4. Requests the Executive Secretary to develop a draft plan of action for customary sustainable use, building on the Addis Ababa Principles and Guidelines, the ecosystem approach and relevant materials, in particular from other multilateral environmental agreements and relevant instruments of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, based on the priority tasks indicated in paragraph 10 below, submissions, and other relevant information, including a gap analysis;
5. Also requests the Executive Secretary, when developing the draft plan of action, to include a proposal for phased implementation of the plan of action, based on the priority tasks indicated in paragraph 10 below, submissions and other relevant information, including a gap analysis and consideration of funding and technical support for developing and least developed countries;
7. Further requests the Executive Secretary to integrate customary sustainable use into the programme of work on protected areas, inter alia by including specific guidance in the web-based e-modules of the programme of work, with the full and effective participation of indigenous and local communities;
9. Mandates the Ad Hoc Open-ended Inter-sessional Working Group on Article 8(j) and Related Provisions to provide views and advice on matters relevant both to traditional knowledge and to the conservation and sustainable use of biological diversity directly to the Subsidiary Body on Scientific, Technical and Technological Advice on a regular basis, with a view to integrating considerations relating to Articles 8(j) and 10(c) into the thematic programmes of the Convention as cross-cutting issues, including by transmitting the views and advice derived from in-depth dialogues initiated under the standing agenda item of the Working Group, pursuant to paragraph 12 of decision X/43 of the Conference of the Parties, to the thematic areas of the Convention, commencing with the programme of work on protected areas
10. Decides that the initial tasks for the first phase of the major component of work on Article 10 with a focus on 10(c) shall be:
(a) To incorporate customary sustainable use practices or policy, as appropriate, with the full and effective participation of indigenous and local communities, into national biodiversity strategies and action plans, as a strategic way to maintain biocultural values and achieve human well-being, and to report on this in national reports;
(c) To identify best practices (e.g. case studies, mechanisms, legislation and other appropriate initiatives) to:
(i) Promote, in accordance with national legislation and applicable international obligations, the full and effective participation of indigenous and local communities, and also their prior and informed consent to or approval of, and involvement in, the establishment, expansion, governance and management of protected areas, including marine protected areas, that may affect indigenous and local communities;
11. Decides to transmit the list of indicative tasks18 contained in the annex to the present decision (XI/14 F) to the next meeting of the Working Group on Article 8(j) and Related Provisions for future consideration, after the review of the first phase of the plan of action on customary sustainable use.
- Body
- Conference of the Parties (COP)
- Meeting
- COP-118 - 19 October, 2012Hyderabad, India
- Decision document
- Article 8(j) and related provisions