Decision COP IX/13

The Conference of the Parties

1. Encourages further progress in the integration of the objectives of Article 8(j) and related provisions, including Articles 10(c), 17, paragraph 2 and 18, paragraph 4, into the thematic programmes of the Convention and other important scientific and cross-sectional issues and notes the progress made in integrating Article 8(j) tasks as reflected through the national reports;

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 objectives of Article 8(j) and related provisions, including Article 10(c), into the thematic areas, for the sixth meeting of the Ad Hoc Open-ended Intersessional Working Group on Article 8(j) and Related Provisions;

3. Requests Parties, and especially Parties that have not yet submitted information regarding the implementation of the programme of work for Article 8(j) and related provisions, including information on national participation of indigenous and local communities to do so through, inter alia, the fourth national reports, where possible, and in time for the sixth meeting of the Working Group on Article 8(j) and requests the Executive Secretary to summarize and compile this information in a framework of best conservation and sustainable-use practices at the national, regional and community levels and make it available to the Working Group on Article 8(j) and Related Provisions at its sixth meeting;

4. Requests the Executive Secretary to continue to compile case‑studies, analyse and report on work concerning related provisions, focusing on Article 10(c), and to provide advice to the Working Group at its sixth meeting on how this related provision may be further advanced and implemented as a  priority;

5. Decides that one meeting of the Working Group on Article 8(j) and Related Provisions be organized back to back with an appropriate meeting, prior to the eighth meeting of the Ad Hoc Open-ended Working Group on Access and Benefit-sharing; 

6. Decides to continue work on the tasks of the first phase of the programme of work that have not yet been completed or are ongoing, namely  tasks 1, 2, and 4;

7. Decides to initiate tasks 7, 10 and 12 and for that purpose invites Parties, Governments, indigenous peoples and local communities, and other relevant organizations to provide submissions on how to take these tasks forward, identifying the effective contribution of the Working Group on Article 8(j) and Related Provisions to ongoing work, in particular concerning sui generis systems, the code of ethical conduct and the international regime on access and benefit-sharing, and requests the Executive Secretary to compile these views and make them available to the sixth meeting of the Working Group on Article 8(j) and Related Provisions for its consideration;

8. Decides to initiate task 15 of the programme of work for Article 8(j) and related provisions, in accordance with Article 17, paragraph 2, of the Convention on Biological Diversity in order to facilitate the recovery of traditional knowledge of biological diversity; and invites Parties, Governments and international organizations, indigenous peoples and local communities and other stakeholders to provide to the Secretariat their views and requests the Executive Secretary to compile these views and make them available to the Working Group on Article 8(j) and Related Provisions at its sixth meeting for its consideration and the development of terms of reference in order to address this issue;

9. Requests the Executive Secretary for the purpose of initiating task 15 to cooperate with the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization and other relevant organizations in order to enhance synergies, avoid duplication, and respect the work of these organizations; 

10. Encourages Parties, indigenous and local communities to provide submissions on the desirability and the potential elements of a strategy for conservation and sustainable use, including customary use, of biodiversity by indigenous and local communities aimed at empowering and strengthening the role of indigenous peoples and local communities in decision-making processes at local, national and international levels, and requests the Executive Secretary to compile these submissions and make them available to of the Working Group on Article 8(j) at its sixth meeting for its consideration;

11. Decides to undertake at its tenth meeting an in-depth review of the tasks in the programme of work of Article 8(j) and related provisions of the Convention on Biological Diversity with the purpose of continuing the work of the Working Group on Article 8(j), and with a view to placing greater focus on the interlinkages between the protection of traditional knowledge, innovations and practices and the conservation and sustainable use of biological diversity and, the fair and equitable sharing of the benefits arising from the utilization of traditional knowledge, innovations and practices;

12. Requests that the Ad Hoc Open-ended Working Group on Article 8(j) to continue to collaborate and contribute to the fulfilment of the mandate of the Ad Hoc Open-ended Working Group on Access and Benefit-sharing by providing views on the elaboration and negotiation of the international regime on access and benefit-sharing relevant to traditional knowledge, innovations and practices associated with genetic resources and to the fair and equitable sharing of benefits arising from their utilization.

The Conference of the Parties,

Recalling the mandate of the Convention on Biological Diversity, while being mindful of the mandate of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change,

Recognizing the need to respect, preserve and maintain the traditional knowledge, innovations and practices of indigenous and local communities relevant for the conservation and sustainable use of biological diversity and to promote their wider application with the approval and involvement of holders of such knowledge, innovations and practices and encourage the equitable sharing of benefits arising from the utilization of such knowledge, innovations and practices,

Concerned by the impacts of climate change and adaptation and mitigation activities on indigenous and local communities and their knowledge, innovations and practices relevant for the conservation and sustainable use of biological diversity,

Mindful of the cultural diversity of indigenous and local communities, including those in voluntary isolation, and the role played by their knowledge, innovations and practices in the conservation and sustainable use of biological diversity,

Noting the research made available by the Secretariat, concerning: guidelines for documenting traditional knowledge; indigenous and local communities highly vulnerable to climate change; and protecting the rights of indigenous and local communities living in voluntary isolation,

1. Takes note with appreciation of the completion of phase two of the composite report concerning the identification of national processes that may threaten the maintenance, preservation and application of traditional knowledge and the identification of processes at the local‑community level that may threaten the maintenance, preservation and application of traditional knowledge;

2. Invites Parties and Governments and relevant international organizations to assist indigenous and local communities to address the underlying and community-specific causes of the decline of traditional knowledge, innovations and practices relevant to the conservation and sustainable use of biological diversity through capacity-building and practical measures to develop community action plans for its preservation, maintenance and respect;

3. Notes with concern the specific vulnerabilities of indigenous and local communities to the impacts of climate change and of activities aimed at the mitigation and adaptation to the impacts of climate change, including resulting accelerated threats to traditional knowledge;

4. Notes also the unique value of biodiversity related traditional knowledge, innovations and practices of indigenous and local communities, especially those of women, in contributing to the understanding and evaluation of impacts of climate change, including vulnerabilities and adaptation options and other forms of environmental degradation, and encourages Parties, Governments, and relevant international organizations, with the full and effective participation and prior informed consent of indigenous and local communities, to document, analyse and apply, as far as possible and where appropriate, and in accordance with Article 8(j) of the Convention, such knowledge in ways that complement science-based knowledge;

5. Invites the Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change to take note of the implications of climate change on biodiversity‑related traditional knowledge, innovations and practices of indigenous and local communities;

6. Encourages Parties to the Convention to consider, as far as possible and as appropriate, introducing necessary measures, administrative as well as legislative, for ensuring the full and effective participation of indigenous and local communities in formulating, implementing and monitoring of activities aimed at mitigation and adaptation to the impacts of climate change where this could effect biological diversity and biodiversity-related traditional knowledge, innovations and practices of indigenous and local communities;

7. Further encourages Parties to make such information available to the Executive Secretary for dissemination through the most appropriate mechanism for exchange of information and sharing of experiences and requests the Executive Secretary to explore the usefulness of the Convention’s clearing-house mechanism and the Traditional Knowledge Information Portal in this respect, as well as opportunities for cooperation with the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change;

8. Notes the report on possible measures to ensure respect for the rights of unprotected and voluntarily isolated communities taking into account their traditional knowledge (UNEP/CBD/WG8J/5/INF/17);

9. Invites Parties to develop appropriate policies that ensure the respect for the rights of voluntarily isolated peoples living within the protected areas, reserves and parks, and proposed areas for protection, including their choice to live in isolation.

The Conference of the Parties,

Recalling decision VIII/5 B, paragraph 5, in which it requested the Working Group on Article 8(j) and Related Provisions to explore the possibility of developing technical guidelines for recording and documenting traditional knowledge, innovations and practices, and to analyse the potential threats of documentation to the rights of the holders of traditional knowledge, innovations and practices, with the full and effective participation of indigenous and local communities,

Affirming the central role of traditional knowledge in the cultures of indigenous and local communities and rights of indigenous and local communities to their knowledge, innovations and practices,

Recognizing that the documentation and recording of traditional knowledge should primarily benefit indigenous and local communities and that their participation in such schemes should be voluntary and not a prerequisite for the protection of traditional knowledge,

1. Urges Parties and Governments and international organizations to support and assist indigenous and local communities to retain control and ownership of their traditional knowledge, innovations and practices including through:

2. Recalling decision VI/10 F, paragraphs 35-38, requests the Executive Secretary to collaborate with the United Nations Forum on Indigenous Issues, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, and the World Intellectual Property Organization, to address both the potential benefits and threats of the documentation of traditional knowledge to make the results available to the Working Group on Article 8(j) and Related Provisions at its sixth meeting. 

The Conference of the Parties

1. Notes with appreciation the advancement of the elements of the plan of action for the retention of traditional knowledge and, in particular, elements B and D, and decides that the priority for future work on the plan of action should focus on section E, on capacity-building;

2. Urges Parties and Governments to develop their own toolkit of measures and mechanisms to address the underlying causes for the decline of traditional knowledge, innovations and practices based on their own unique national circumstances and diversity of indigenous and local communities, with the full and effective participation of indigenous and local communities and to report on experiences, emphasising positive measures, through the national reporting process and through the clearing‑house mechanism and the Traditional Knowledge Information Portal; 

3. Invites the financial mechanism of the Convention and other possible donors to provide funding for the development of national action plans for the retention of traditional knowledge relevant to the conservation and sustainable use of biological diversity;

4. Invites Parties and Governments, with the input of indigenous and local communities, to report on positive measures for the retention of traditional knowledge in areas relevant for the conservation and the sustainable use of biological diversity, such as those contained in but not limited to the annex hereto.