Last month, after 18 years of negotiations and more than 2 weeks of tense discussions in Nagoya, Japan, the world finally struck a deal on access to genetic resources and benefit sharing. The agreement — the Nagoya Protocol on Access to Genetic Resources and Equitable Sharing of Benefits — was, for many developing countries, a pre-requisite to any broader biodiversity pact. The Group of 77 and China had repeatedly said they would not sign any deal on financing or a strategic plan for the UN Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) unless a protocol on benefit sharing was established first.
