Nagoya protocol

When a big UN conference ends, the real work is only just beginning. Last month representatives of nearly 200 nations met in Hyderabad, India, for the 11th Conference of Parties (COP11) to the UN Convention on Biological Diversity. Now they are back at home working to implement the decisions they reached. In this Q & A Richard Benyon MP, the Parliamentary under-Secretary for Natural Environment, Water and Rural Affairs, highlights some key outcomes and explains when the government plans to ratify the Nagoya Protocol.

Announcement on the future of the PLA series

The Participatory Learning and Action (PLA) series is 25 years old this year. At this important milestone, IIED is taking stock of PLA to look at its legacy and its future direction.

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.