Decision COP V/5

1.Welcomes the assessment of ongoing activities and instruments (UNEP/CBD/SBSTTA/5/INF/10) and its main findings as presented in the note by the Executive Secretary on agricultural biological diversity:  review of phase I of the programme of work and adoption of a multi-year programme of work (UNEP/CBD/COP/5/11);

2.Takes note of the decision on agriculture adopted by the Commission on Sustainable Development at its eighth session, held in New York from 24 April to 5 May 2000;

3.Endorses the programme of work on agricultural biological diversity contained in the annex to the present decision, contributing to the implementation of decision III/11;

4.Urges Parties, Governments, international and regional organizations, civil-society organizations and other relevant bodies to promote and, as appropriate, carry out the programme of work and to promote regional and thematic cooperation within this framework; 

5.Recognizes the contribution of farmers, indigenous and local communities to the conservation and sustainable use of agricultural biodiversity and the importance of agricultural biodiversity to their livelihoods, emphasizes the importance of their participation in the implementation of the programme of work, and recognizes the need for incentives, in accordance with Article 11 of the Convention on Biological Diversity and consistent with its Article 22, and support for capacity-building and information exchange to benefit farmers, indigenous and local communities; 

6.Recalling decision III/11, requests the Executive Secretary to invite the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations to support the development and implementation of the programme of work, and also to expand cooperation by inviting other relevant organizations (such as the United Nations Development Programme, the United Nations Environment Programme, the World Bank, regional development banks, the centres of the Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research and other international agricultural research centres, and IUCN-The World Conservation Union), in supporting the implementation of the programme of work, and to avoid duplication of activities;

7.Requests the Executive Secretary to undertake the necessary steps for the full implementation of the programme of work;

9.Invites Parties, in accordance with Article 20 of the Convention, and bilateral and international funding agencies to provide support for the implementation of the activities of the programme of work on agricultural biological diversity, in particular, for capacity-building and case-studies in developing countries and countries with economies in transition;

10.Invites Parties, Governments and relevant organizations to support actions to raise public awareness in support of sustainable farming and food production systems that maintain agricultural biodiversity; 

11.Recognizes the potential contribution that the revised International Undertaking on Plant Genetic Resources, in harmony with the Convention, would have to assist in the implementation of this programme of work;

12.While noting the report of the Chairman of the Commission on Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (UNEP/CBD/COP/5/INF/12), urges the Commission to finalize its work as soon as possible.  The International Undertaking is envisaged to play a crucial role in the implementation of the Convention on Biological Diversity.  The Conference of the Parties affirms its willingness to consider a decision by the Conference of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations that the International Undertaking become a legally binding instrument with strong links to both the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations and the Convention on Biological Diversity, and calls upon Parties to coordinate their positions in both forums;

13.Welcomes the adoption of the Rotterdam Convention on the Prior Informed Consent Procedure for Certain Hazardous Chemicals and Pesticides in International Trade, and urges Parties and Governments to ratify this Convention;

14.Encourages Parties and Governments to support the application of the Executive Secretary of the Convention on Biological Diversity for observer status in the Committee on Agriculture of the World Trade Organization, in line with paragraph 9 of decision IV/6 of the Conference of Parties;

Considering decision III/11, in which the Conference of the Parties established the programme of work on agricultural biodiversity, and called for priority attention to components of biological diversity responsible for the maintenance of ecosystem services important for the sustainability of agriculture, including pollinators,

Considering the recommendations of the Sao Paulo Declaration on Pollinators, based on the results of the Workshop on the Conservation and Sustainable Use of Pollinators in Agriculture, with an Emphasis on Bees, held in Sao Paulo, Brazil, from 7 to 9 October 1998, presented by the Brazilian Government at the fifth meeting of the Subsidiary Body on Scientific, Technical and Technological Advice,

Considering the urgent need to address the issue of worldwide decline of pollinator diversity, and considering recommendation V/9 of the Subsidiary Body on Scientific, Technical and Technological Advice,

16.Requests the Executive Secretary to invite the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations to facilitate and coordinate the Initiative in close cooperation with other relevant organizations and to consider establishing a coordination mechanism, with geographical balance and with leading relevant organizations, to prepare a proposal for a plan of action taking into account the recommendations in the Sao Paulo Declaration on Pollinators, as well as on contributions submitted by countries and relevant organizations, for submission to and review by the Subsidiary Body on Scientific, Technical and Technological Advice and consideration by the Conference of the Parties at its sixth meeting;

17.Invites leading relevant organizations, such as IUCN-The World Conservation Union, the International Bee Research Association and the International Commission for Plant-Bee Relationships, the International Centre of Insect Physiology and Ecology, the international agriculture research centres of the Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research and other relevant regional and international bodies, to collaborate in supporting actions in Parties and countries subject to pollinator decline;

18.Requests the Executive Secretary, the Subsidiary Body on Scientific, Technical and Technological Advice and the financial mechanism to support the development and implementation of the Initiative and invites Parties and Governments to collaborate and compile case-studies and implement pilot projects, making use of the clearing-house mechanism, and to report to the Conference of the Parties at its sixth meeting.

19.Decides to continue the work on genetic use restriction technologies under the umbrella of, and integrated into, each of the four elements of the programme of work on agricultural biological diversity and invites the Subsidiary Body on Scientific, Technical and Technological Advice to report to the Conference of the Parties at its sixth meeting;

20.Desiring to make the most efficient use of resources by avoiding duplication of effort and being cognizant of the work being undertaken and the expertise available in different forums, in particular, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations and its Commission on Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture, invites the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, in close collaboration with the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, the United Nations Environment Programme and other member organizations of the Ecosystem Conservation Group, and other competent organizations and research bodies, to further study the potential implications of genetic use restriction technologies for the conservation and sustainable use of agricultural biological diversity and the range of agricultural production systems in different countries, and identify relevant policy questions and socio-economic issues that may need to be addressed; 

21.Invites the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations and its Commission on Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture and other competent organizations to inform the Conference of the Parties at its sixth meeting of their initiatives in this area;

22.Recognizing the need to better understand the intellectual property-rights implications of genetic use restriction technologies, invites relevant organizations to study the impact of technologies on the protection of intellectual property in the agriculture sector, and its appropriateness for the agricultural sector, and to make assessments of the technologies concerned available through the clearing-house mechanism;

23.Recommends that, in the current absence of reliable data on genetic use restriction technologies, without which there is an inadequate basis on which to assess their potential risks, and in accordance with the precautionary approach, products incorporating such technologies should not be approved by Parties for field testing until appropriate scientific data can justify such testing, and for commercial use until appropriate, authorized and strictly controlled scientific assessments with regard to, inter alia, their ecological and socio-economic impacts and any adverse effects for biological diversity, food security and human health have been carried out in a transparent manner and the conditions for their safe and beneficial use validated.  In order to enhance the capacity of all countries to address these issues, Parties should widely disseminate information on scientific assessments, including through the clearing house mechanism, and share their expertise in this regard.

24.Encourages Parties and Governments to consider how to address generic concerns regarding such technologies as genetic use restriction technologies under international and national approaches to the safe and sustainable use of germplasm; 

26.Further encourages Parties and Governments to identify ways and means to address the potential impacts of genetic use restriction technologies on the in situ and ex situ conservation and sustainable use, including food security, of agricultural biological diversity; 

27.Urges Parties and Governments to assess whether there is a need to develop, and how to ensure the application of, effective regulations at national level which take into account, inter alia, the specific nature of variety-specific and trait-specific genetic use restriction technologies, in order to ensure the safety of human health, the environment, food security and the conservation and sustainable use of biological diversity and to make this information available through, inter alia, the clearing-house mechanism;

28.Requests the Executive Secretary to prepare a report, to be considered by the Subsidiary Body on Scientific, Technical and Technological Advice at a future meeting prior to the sixth meeting of the Conference of the Parties, on the status of development of genetic use restriction technologies and of relevant initiatives at international, regional and national levels on the basis of information provided by organizations, Parties and Governments;