Outcomes of the first assessment and review of the Protocol
The Conference of the Parties serving as the meeting of the Parties to the Protocol (COP-MOP), at its third meeting, adopted decision NP-3/1 on the first assessment and review of the effectiveness of the Nagoya Protocol four years after its entry into force. The outcomes from the first assessment and review, including its key findings contained in annex I of this decision, can assist in advancing the implementation of the Protocol and provide guidance for future work to ensure the fair and equitable sharing of benefits from the utilization of genetic resources and associated traditional knowledge.
Elements included in the first assessment and review of the Protocol and sources of information
At its second meeting, the COP-MOP considered the methodology proposed by the Executive Secretary to conduct the first assessment and review of the effectiveness of the Protocol, in accordance with Article 31, and adopted decision NP-2/4 in which it decided on the elements to be included in the assessment and the sources of information to be used for assessing each element. The elements and sources of information were as follows:
| Element | Source of information |
| (a) Extent of implementation of the provisions of the Protocol and related obligations of Parties, including assessment of progress by Parties in establishing institutional structures and access and benefit-sharing measures to implement the Protocol | Interim national reports Access and Benefit-sharing Clearing-House National reports under the Convention National biodiversity strategies and action plans Possible targeted survey of focal points and/or users |
| (b) Establishment of a reference point to measure effectiveness | Interim national reports (questions 13, 15, 16, 18, 24, 35, 46) Access and Benefit-sharing Clearing-House |
| (c) Establishment of a reference point on support available for implementation | Interim national reports (questions 56, 57, 61, 62, 63) Access and Benefit-sharing Clearing-House Information on capacity-building projects and resources |
| (d) Assessment of effectiveness of Article 18 (extent of implementation) | Interim national reports (questions 31-34) |
| (e) Assessment of implementation of Article 16 in light of developments in other relevant international organizations, including, inter alia, the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) | Interim national reports (question 25) Reports of, inter alia, the WIPO Intergovernmental Committee on Intellectual Property and Genetic Resources, Traditional Knowledge and Folklore |
| (f) Stock-taking of the use of model contractual clauses, codes of conduct, guidelines, best practices and standards as well as indigenous peoples and local communities’ customary laws, community protocols and procedures | Interim national reports (questions 42 and 51-53) Access and Benefit-sharing Clearing-House Possible targeted survey of focal points and/or users |
| (g) Review of implementation and operation of the Access and Benefit-sharing Clearing-House, including number of ABS measures made available; number of countries that have published information on their competent national authorities; number of internationally recognized certificates of compliance that have been constituted and number of checkpoint communiqués published | Interim national reports (question 3) Access and Benefit-sharing Clearing-House, including information on the use of the help function/dialogue box Reports of meetings of the informal advisory committee on the Access and Benefit-sharing Clearing-House Possible targeted survey of focal points and/or users |
In line with decision NP-2/4, the Executive Secretary prepared an analysis and synthesis of relevant information for the first assessment and review of the Protocol and a draft framework of indicators as a basis for measuring progress for the consideration of the Subsidiary Body on Implementation at its second meeting. The Executive Secretary also issued notification 2017-104 to invite relevant stakeholders and indigenous peoples and local communities to provide information on the development, update and use of model contractual clauses, codes of conduct, guidelines, best practices and/or standards in relation to access and benefit-sharing and on customary laws and the development of community protocols and procedures in relation to access to traditional knowledge associated with genetic resources and the fair and equitable sharing of benefits arising out of the utilization of such knowledge, respectively. The submissions can be found here.