Decision COP VII/19

The Conference of the Parties,

Recalling the evolutionary character of the Bonn Guidelines on Access to Genetic Resources and Fair and Equitable Sharing of Benefits Arising out of their Utilization and the need to keep their implementation under review,

Recognizing that the Guidelines are making a useful contribution to the development of national regimes and contractual arrangements for access and benefit-sharing and to the implementation of the objectives of the Convention,

Recognizing further that some developing countries have encountered some constraints due to inadequate capacity to fully utilize the guidelines in the formulation of their national legislation of access and benefit sharing and related arrangements,

1. Notes the progress already accomplished and the need for further experience in the implementation of the Guidelines;

2. Invites Parties, Governments, indigenous and local communities and all relevant stakeholders to continue to promote the wide implementation of the voluntary Bonn Guidelines;

3. Encourages Parties, Governments, indigenous and local communities and all relevant stakeholders to further submit information on relevant experience and lessons learned, including successes and constraints, in the implementation of the Guidelines;

4. Requests the Executive Secretary to make this information available through appropriate means, including the clearing-house mechanism of the Convention.

The Conference of the Parties

Recalling the voluntary nature of the Bonn Guidelines,

Noting that the terms as defined in Article 2 of the Convention shall apply to the Bonn Guidelines on Access and Benefit Sharing in accordance with paragraph 8 of the Bonn Guidelines,

Noting further that a number of other relevant terms not defined in the Convention may need to be examined,

Bearing in mind the difficulties faced by some developing countries with respect to information technology and related infrastructure,

1. Invites Parties, Governments, relevant organizations, indigenous and local communities, and all relevant stakeholders, according to a format provided by the Secretariat, to submit to the Executive Secretary:

2. Requests access and benefit-sharing national focal points within Governments to facilitate the process of gathering and submitting relevant information to the Secretariat, taking into account the need to consult widely, including with indigenous and local communities;

3. Requests the Executive Secretary to gather and compile the information referred to above and distribute this information through available means, including through the clearing-house mechanism of the Convention;

4. Requests the Executive Secretary to submit this compilation to the next meeting of the Ad Hoc Open Ended Working Group on Access and Benefit-sharing for its consideration and requests the Working Group to further examine the issue of use of terms not defined in the Convention including the possible establishment of an expert group to determine the need for definitions or a glossary, and to report back to the Conference of the Parties.

The Conference of the Parties

Recognizing that a package of measures may be necessary to address the different needs of Parties, Governments, relevant organizations, indigenous and local communities and all relevant stakeholders in the implementation of access and benefit-sharing arrangements,

Acknowledging that existing other approaches could be considered to complement the Bonn Guidelines and are useful tools in assisting implementation of access and benefit-sharing provisions of the Convention,

Stressing the need to further examine other approaches set out in decision VI/24 B, and  additional approaches such as interregional and bilateral arrangements as well as an international certificate of legal provenance/origin/source, in particular the operational functionality and cost effectiveness of such an international certificate,

1. Invites Parties, Governments, relevant organizations, indigenous and local communities and all relevant stakeholders, to submit to the Secretariat their views and relevant information on additional approaches as well as regional, national and local experiences on existing approaches, including on codes of ethics;

2. Requests the Executive Secretary to further compile information on existing complementary measures and approaches, and experiences with their implementation, and to disseminate such information to Parties, Governments, relevant organizations, indigenous and local communities and all relevant stakeholders through, inter alia, the clearing-house mechanisms of the Convention;

3. Requests the Open-ended Working Group on Access and Benefit-sharing to further consider the issue of additional approaches, in a cost effective way at an appropriate time, and, to this end, requests the Executive Secretary to prepare a report on the basis of the submissions received.

The Conference of the Parties,

Reaffirming that the fair and equitable sharing of the benefits arising out of the utilization of genetic resources is one of the objectives of the Convention on Biological Diversity, in accordance with Article 1 of the Convention,

Reaffirming the sovereign rights of States over their natural resources and that the authority to determine access to genetic resources rests with the national Governments and is subject to national legislation, in accordance with Article 3 and Article 15, paragraph 1, of the Convention,

Reaffirming the commitment of Parties in Article 15, paragraph 2 of the Convention to “endeavour to create conditions to facilitate access to genetic resources for environmentally sound uses by other Contracting Parties and not to impose restrictions that run counter to the objectives of this Convention”,

Recalling paragraph 44 (o) of the Plan of Implementation of the World Summit on Sustainable Development, which calls for action to “negotiate within the framework of the Convention on Biological Diversity, bearing in mind the Bonn Guidelines, an international regime to promote and safeguard the fair and equitable sharing of benefits arising out of the utilization of genetic resources”,

Further recalling resolution 57/260 of 20 December 2002, adopted by the United Nations General Assembly at its fifty-seventh session, inviting the Conference of the Parties to take appropriate steps with regard to the commitment made at the World Summit on Sustainable Development “to negotiate within the framework of the Convention on Biological Diversity, bearing in mind the Bonn Guidelines, an international regime to promote and safeguard the fair and equitable sharing of benefits arising out of the utilization of genetic resources”, 

Recalling the recommendation of the Inter-Sessional Meeting on the Multi-Year Programme of Work of the Conference of the Parties up to 2010 inviting the Ad Hoc Open-ended Working Group on Access and Benefit-sharing “to consider the process, nature, scope, elements and modalities of an international regime on access to genetic resources and benefit-sharing and to provide advice to the Conference of the Parties at its seventh meeting on this issue”, 

Noting  the Bonn Guidelines on Access to Genetic Resources and the Fair and Equitable Sharing of Benefits Arising from their Utilization, adopted at the sixth meeting of the Conference of the Parties, “as a useful first step of an evolutionary process in the implementation of relevant provisions of the Convention related to access to genetic resources and benefit-sharing”,

Recalling also paragraph 44 (n) of the Plan of Implementation of the World Summit on Sustainable Development which calls for action to promote the wide implementation of and continued work on the Bonn Guidelines on Access to Genetic Resources and Fair and Equitable Sharing of Benefits arising out of their Utilization, as an input to assist the Parties when developing and drafting legislative, administrative or policy measures on access and benefit‑sharing as well as contract and other arrangements under mutually agreed terms for access and benefit-sharing”,

Recalling further the Millennium Development Goals and the potential role of access and benefit-sharing in poverty eradication and environmental sustainability, 

Taking into account Articles 8(j), 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, paragraphs 1 and 2, 20, 21 and 22 of the Convention on Biological Diversity, 

Reaffirming the commitment by Parties, subject to national legislation, to respect, preserve and maintain knowledge, innovations and practices of indigenous and local communities embodying traditional lifestyles relevant for conservation and sustainable use of biological diversity and promote their wider application with the approval and involvement of the holders of such knowledge, innovations and practices and encourage the equitable sharing of the benefits arising from their utilization, 

Noting the work being carried out under the framework of the Convention by the Working Group on Article 8(j) and Related Provisions of the Convention,

Recognizing that the Convention is the key instrument for the conservation, sustainable use and fair and equitable sharing of benefits arising out of the utilization of genetic resources and bearing in mind the work related to access to genetic resources and benefit‑sharing carried out in other relevant international intergovernmental organizations,

Recognizing also the important contribution of the FAO International Treaty for Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture that was negotiated in harmony with the Convention on Biological Diversity, 

Recognizing that Parties that are countries of origin of genetic resources may be both users and providers and that Parties that have acquired these genetic resources in accordance with the Convention on Biological Diversity may also be both users and providers,

Recalling that the Bonn Guidelines indicate that Parties and stakeholders may be both users and providers, noting that these terms may still need to be examined and clarified, 

Recognizing that the regime should be practicable, transparent, and efficient and avoid arbitrary treatment, consistent with the provisions of the Convention, 

Recalling that the international regime should recognize and shall respect the rights of indigenous and local communities, 

Noting that there is a need for further analysis of existing national, regional and international legal instruments and regimes relating to access and benefit-sharing and experience gained in their implementation, including gaps and their consequences,

Noting that the Ad Hoc Open-ended Working Group on Access and Benefit-sharing has identified possible components of an international regime, without prejudging the outcome,

2. Recommends that the Ad Hoc Open-ended Working Group on Access and Benefit-sharing should operate in accordance with the terms of reference contained in the annex to this decision;

3. Request the Executive Secretary to make the necessary arrangements for the Ad Hoc Open-ended Working Group on Access and Benefit-sharing to be convened twice before the eighth meeting of the Conference of the Parties with one meeting from the core budget back to back with the Ad Hoc Open-ended Inter-Sessional Working Group on Article 8(j) and Related Provisions and the other from voluntary contributions;

4. Requests the Ad Hoc Open-ended Working Group on ABS to report on progress to the Conference of the Parties at its eighth meeting;

5. Invites the United Nations Environment Programme, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, the World Trade Organization, the World Intellectual Property Organization, the International Union for the Protection of New Varieties of Plants, to cooperate with the Ad Hoc Open-ended Working Group on Access and Benefit-sharing in elaborating the international regime;

6. Encourages Parties, Governments, international organizations and all relevant stakeholders to provide the ways and means to allow for sufficient preparation and to facilitate effective participation of indigenous and local communities in the process of the negotiation and elaboration of an international regime;

7. Recommends the promotion of the participation of all relevant stakeholders, including non‑governmental organizations and the private sector, and indigenous and local communities; 

8. Invites Parties, Governments, international organisations, indigenous and local communities and all relevant stakeholders, to submit to the Executive Secretary their views, information and analysis on the elements of the international regime as soon as possible;

9. Requests the Executive Secretary to compile the submissions received and to make them available through the clearing-house mechanism and other means for the Ad Hoc Open-ended Working Group on Access and Benefit-sharing.

The Conference of the Parties,

Recalling paragraph 8 of its decision VI/24 A, 

Recalling also Article 8(j), Article 15, paragraphs 1, 3 and 7, Article 16, paragraph 3, and Article 19, paragraphs 1 and 2, of the Convention, 

Recalling further paragraph 16 (d) of the Bonn Guidelines on Access to Genetic Resources and Equitable Sharing of Benefits Arising out of their Utilization, which identifies a number of measures that could be taken by Contracting Parties with users of genetic resources under their jurisdiction, to support compliance with prior informed consent of the Contracting Party providing such resources and with mutually agreed terms on which access was granted,

Noting that a number of Governments have taken initiatives at the national and regional levels to establish measures to support compliance with prior informed consent of the Contracting Parties providing such resources, including countries of origin, in accordance with Article 2 and Article 15, paragraph 3, of the Convention, and of the indigenous and local communities providing associated traditional knowledge, and with mutually agreed terms on which access was granted,

Noting further the ongoing activities and processes in relevant international forums such as the World Intellectual Property Organization, the TRIPs Council of the World Trade Organization, and the Commission on Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations acting as the Interim Committee for the International Treaty on Plant and Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture, regarding measures to support compliance with prior informed consent,

Aware that further work is required on a number of issues, including analysis of:  (i) specific measures to support compliance, in accordance with the sovereign rights of the country of origin of genetic resources, with the prior informed consent of the Contracting Parties providing such resources, including countries of origin, in accordance with Article 2 and Article 15, paragraph 3, of the Convention, and of the indigenous and local communities providing associated traditional knowledge;  (ii) compliance measures existing in national laws; (iii) the extent and level of unauthorized access and misappropriation of genetic resources and traditional knowledge; and (iv) availability of remedies in user countries relating to non-compliance, 

Recognizing that a number of critical issues, such as an international certificate of origin/source/legal provenance, and disclosure of origin of genetic resources and associated traditional knowledge, need to be addressed to support compliance with national legislation of countries of origin and prior informed consent of the Contracting Parties providing such resources, including countries of origin, in accordance with Article 2 and Article 15, paragraph 3, of the Convention, and of the indigenous and local communities providing associated traditional knowledge, and with mutually agreed terms on which access was granted,

Recognizing further the need to ensure transparency in the international exchange of genetic resources and associated traditional knowledge, 

Recalling paragraph 35 of decision VI/20 in which the Conference of the Parties recognized the leading role of the Convention on Biological Diversity in international biological diversity issues,

Noting with appreciation the Technical Study on Disclosure Requirements Concerning Genetic Resources and Traditional Knowledge prepared by World Intellectual Property Organization at the request of the Conference of the Parties in decision VI/24 C and considering the contents of the Technical Study to be helpful in the consideration of intellectual property-related aspects of user measures,

1. Takes note of ongoing initiatives at national, regional and international levels regarding measures to support compliance with national legislation, including prior informed consent of the Contracting Parties providing such resources, including countries of origin, in accordance with Article 2 and Article 15, paragraph 3, of the Convention, and of the indigenous and local communities providing associated traditional knowledge, and with mutually agreed terms on which access was granted;

2. Invites Parties and Governments to continue taking appropriate and practical measures to support compliance with prior informed consent of the Contracting Parties providing such resources, including countries of origin, in accordance with Article 2 and Article 15, paragraph 3, of the Convention, and of the indigenous and local communities providing associated traditional knowledge, and with mutually agreed terms on which access was granted.  Such measures may include:

3. Invites Parties to recognize that traditional knowledge, whether written or oral, may constitute prior art;

4. Invites Parties to establish national mechanisms to ensure compliance, when required by domestic law, with the obtaining of prior informed consent of indigenous and local communities regarding access to genetic resources and associated traditional knowledge;

5. Invites Parties to put in place mechanisms to ensure fair and equitable benefit‑sharing at the national level with relevant stakeholders and indigenous and local communities;

6. Requests the Ad Hoc Open-ended Working Group on Access and Benefit‑Sharing to address issues related to an international certificate of origin/source/legal provenance, taking into account multilateral approaches to access to genetic resources and benefit‑sharing, including issues such as feasibility, practicality and costs;

7. Requests the Ad hoc Open-ended Working Group on Access and Benefit-Sharing to identify issues related to the disclosure of origin of genetic resources and associated traditional knowledge in applications for intellectual property rights, including those raised by a proposed international certificate of origin/source/legal provenance, and transmit the results of this examination to the World Intellectual Property Organization and other relevant forums;

8. Invites the World Intellectual Property Organization to examine, and where appropriate address, taking into account the need to ensure that this work is supportive of and does not run counter to the objectives of the Convention on Biological Diversity, issues regarding the interrelation of access to genetic resources and disclosure requirements in intellectual property rights applications, including, inter alia:

9. Invites the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development and other relevant international organisations to examine the issues in, and related to, the matters specified in paragraphs 7 and 8 in a manner supportive of the objectives of the Convention on Biological Diversity and prepare a report for submission to the on-going process of the work of the Convention on Biological Diversity on access and benefit sharing;

10. Requests the Executive Secretary to gather information, with the assistance of Parties, Governments and relevant international organizations, and undertake further analysis relating to:

11. Requests the Ad Hoc Open-ended Working Group on Access and Benefit-sharing to analyse the compilation prepared by the Executive Secretary in accordance with the preceding paragraph, and recommend to the Conference of the Parties at its eighth meeting further measures to support and ensure compliance with prior informed consent of the Contracting Parties providing such resources, including countries of origin, in accordance with Article 2 and Article 15, paragraph 3, of the Convention, and of the indigenous and local communities providing associated traditional knowledge, and with mutually agreed terms on which access was granted.

The Conference of the Parties 

Recalling decision VI/24 A, paragraph 8, in which the Conference of the Parties requested, the Ad Hoc Open-ended Working Group on Access and Benefit-Sharing to advise the Conference of the Parties on needs for capacity-building identified by countries to implement the Bonn Guidelines on Access to Genetic Resources and Fair and Equitable Sharing of Benefits Arising out of their Utilization,

Mindful that capacity-building activities related to access and benefit-sharing are a crucial element in achieving the fair and equitable sharing of the benefits arising out of the utilization of genetic resources, as well as the other two objectives of the Convention and the target to significantly reduce the rate of biodiversity loss by 2010,

Having considered the Action Plan on Capacity-building for Access to Genetic Resources and Benefit-sharing developed by the Open-ended Expert Workshop on Capacity‑building for Access to Genetic Resources and Benefit-sharing further to decision VI/24 B, paragraph 1,

Having considered the work done during the ninth meeting of the Subsidiary Body on Scientific, Technical and Technological Advice, held in Montreal from 10 to 14 November 2003, in preparing a programme of work on technology transfer and cooperation for consideration by the Conference of the Parties at its seventh meeting,

Recognizing that the Action Plan represents an important framework for the identification of capacity needs, priority areas requiring capacity-building, sources of funding and implementation of the identified needs and priorities,

Underlining that capacity-building should be a flexible, demand- and country-driven process requiring international and regional cooperation, as appropriate, involving indigenous and local communities as well as all relevant stakeholders,

Underlining also that the implementation of an international regime on access and benefit sharing and of national legislation on access and benefit-sharing could require additional activities to build capacity,

Taking note with appreciation of the report of the Open-ended Expert Workshop on Capacity-building for Access to Genetic Resources and Benefit-sharing and its work;

1. Adopts the Action Plan on Capacity-building for Access to Genetic Resources and Benefit-sharing annexed to this decision;

2. Invites Parties and Governments and relevant organizations to use the Action Plan when designing and implementing national, regional and subregional plans and strategies to build capacities for access and benefit-sharing of genetic resources and related traditional knowledge;

3. Urges Parties and relevant organizations to provide financial and technical assistance to support developing countries, in particular, least developed countries, small island developing States, as well as countries with economies in transition, in implementing the Action Plan and the resulting national, regional and subregional plans and strategies;

4. Encourages Parties and Governments to provide for the full and effective involvement and participation of indigenous and local communities and all relevant stakeholders in the development and implementation of national capacity-building plans and strategies;

5. Requests Parties and Governments to make information available through the clearing-house mechanism and to include information in national reports regarding their implementation of capacity-building measures on access to genetic resources and related traditional knowledge, and benefit-sharing;

6. Requests the Executive Secretary to facilitate, including through the clearing-house mechanism, the sharing of relevant information among donor Parties and organizations to assist coordination, reduce duplication and identify gaps relevant to the implementation of the Action Plan.