Decision COP V/26

The Conference of the Parties

1. Requests Parties to designate a national focal point and one or more competent national authorities, as appropriate, to be responsible for access and benefit-sharing arrangements or to provide information on such arrangements within its jurisdiction;

2. Requests Parties to notify the Executive Secretary of the names and addresses of its focal points and competent authorities;

3. Urges Parties to ensure that national biodiversity strategies as well as legislative, administrative or policy measures on access and benefit-sharing contribute to conservation and sustainable-use objectives;

4. Recognizing the importance for Parties to promote trust building and transparency in order to facilitate the exchange of genetic resources, particularly with regard to the implementation of Article 15 of the Convention:

5. Notes that the promotion of a comprehensive legal and administrative system may facilitate access to and use of genetic resources and contribute to mutually agreed terms in line with the aims of the Convention;

6. Notes that, in the absence of comprehensive legislation and national strategies for access and benefit-sharing, voluntary measures, including guidelines, may help ensure realization of the objectives of the Convention, and to that end invites the Parties to consider promotion of their use;

7. Stresses that it is important that, in developing national legislation on access, Parties take into account and allow for the development of a multilateral system to facilitate access and benefit-sharing in the context of the International Undertaking on Plant Genetic Resources, which is currently being revised;

8. Notes 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) and 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;

9. Notes the common understandings of the Panel of Experts on Access and Benefit-sharing with respect to prior informed consent and mutually agreed terms as contained in paragraphs 156 to 165 of its report (UNEP/CBD/COP/5/8);

10. Decides to reconvene the Panel of Experts on Access and Benefit-sharing with a concrete mandate and agenda.  The Panel will conduct further work on outstanding issues from its first meeting, especially:

11. Decides to establish an Ad Hoc Open-ended Working Group, composed of representatives, including experts, nominated by Governments and regional economic integration organizations, with the mandate to develop guidelines and other approaches for submission to the Conference of the Parties and to assist Parties and stakeholders in addressing the following elements as relevant to access to genetic resources and benefit-sharing, inter alia:  terms for prior informed consent and mutually agreed terms; roles, responsibilities and participation of stakeholders; relevant aspects relating to in situ and ex situ conservation and sustainable use; mechanisms for benefit-sharing, for example through technology transfer and joint research and development; and means to ensure the respect, preservation and maintenance of knowledge, innovations and practices of indigenous and local communities embodying traditional lifestyles relevant for the conservation and sustainable use of biological diversity, taking into account, inter alia, work by the World Intellectual Property Organization on intellectual property rights issues. 

12. Notes that information is a critical aspect of providing the necessary parity of bargaining power for stakeholders in access and benefit-sharing arrangements, and that, in this respect, there is a particular need for more information regarding:

13. Requests the Executive Secretary to compile the information referred to in paragraph 12 above and disseminate it through the clearing house mechanism and relevant meetings, and requests Parties and organizations to provide such information to assist the Executive Secretary; 

14. Notes that further development of capacities regarding all aspects of access and benefit-sharing arrangements is required for all stakeholders, including local governments, academic institutions, and indigenous and local communities, and that key capacity-building needs include:

15. Noting that the Panel of Experts on Access and Benefit-sharing was not able to come to any conclusions about the role of intellectual property rights in the implementation of access and benefit-sharing arrangements, and that the Panel developed a list of specific issues that require further study (UNEP/CBD/COP/5/8, paras. 127 138):

The Conference of the Parties,

Noting recommendation 3 of the Inter-Sessional Meeting on the Operations of the Convention, concerning the relationship between intellectual property rights and the relevant provisions of the Agreement on Trade-related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights and the Convention,

1. Reaffirms the importance of systems such as sui generis and others for the protection of traditional knowledge of indigenous and local communities and the equitable sharing of benefits arising from its use to meet the provisions of the Convention, taking into account the ongoing work on Article 8(j) and related provisions;

2. Invites the World Trade Organization to acknowledge relevant provisions of the Convention and to take into account the fact that the provisions of the Agreement on Trade-related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights and the Convention on Biological Diversity are interrelated and to further explore this interrelationship;

3. Requests the Executive Secretary to transmit the present decision to the secretariats of the World Trade Organization and the World Intellectual Property Organization, for use by appropriate bodies of these organizations, and to endeavour to undertake further cooperation and consultation with these organizations;

4. Renews its request to the Executive Secretary of the Convention to apply for observer status on the Council for the Trade-related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights, and requests him to report back to the Conference of the Parties on his efforts.

The Conference of the Parties

1. Decides to continue the information-gathering exercise on ex situ collections acquired prior to the entry into force of the Convention and not addressed by the Commission on Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations initiated by decision IV/8;

2. Requests the Executive Secretary to gather available information of the type described in the annexes to the present decision, as appropriate, from Parties, Governments and relevant organizations and forums through questionnaires;

3. Invites relevant organizations and forums already involved in consideration of these issues to provide this information to the Executive Secretary;

4. Invites Parties, Governments and other organizations to provide capacity-building and technology development and transfer for the maintenance and utilization of ex situ collections;

5. Requests the Executive Secretary to report to the Conference of the Parties at its sixth meeting on the implementation of the present decision.