I bring you greetings and warm wishes on behalf of the Secretary-General of the Caribbean Community, Ambassador Irwin LaRocque. The CARICOM Secretariat is very pleased to be a collaborative partner in this workshop, which represents a continuation of our work to build the capacity of member states to reap a fair and equitable share of benefits generated from the use of their genetic resources and traditional knowledge about those resources.
I also take this opportunity to express appreciation to the Government of Guyana for co-hosting this Workshop which will bring into focus the importance of integrating access and benefit-sharing measures into national legislation, policies and biodiversity strategies and action plans. In addition I offer my congratulations to the Government of Guyana for its recent accession to the Nagoya Protocol on Access and Benefit-Sharing. On April 22, 2014, Guyana became the first CARICOM Party to the Nagoya Protocol, and for this they are to be highly commended. I know that Guyana’s accession to the Protocol is the result of a great deal of careful planning and consultation. I am confident that at this workshop, our Guyanese colleagues will share their strategies, experiences and lessons learned, so that their accomplishment can serve as an exemplar for other CARICOM Member States.
I must emphasize that, as with all multilateral environmental agreements, becoming Party to the Nagoya Protocol is not an end in itself. Parties must take measures to ensure that laws, policies and programmes of action are put in place to uphold the principles of fair and equitable benefit-sharing and to enable countries to take full advantage of the economic value of their genetic resources.
It is opportune that this workshop has come at a time when many Member States are updating their national biodiversity strategies and action plans. The CARICOM Secretariat, through its Sustainable Development programme, has long advocated for mainstreaming the environment into national and regional strategies for economic and social development. The update process provides an excellent avenue for incorporating the provisions and principles of the Nagoya Protocol into national biodiversity strategies. It is also an opportunity for countries to give serious consideration to mechanisms for increasing their share in the benefits derived from the use of their biodiversity capital. With creative and strategic planning, these benefits can be leveraged to contribute to economic growth, poverty alleviation, and an increase in our capacities for research, innovation and entrepreneurship.
In implementing the Nagoya Protocol, it is essential to keep in mind the provisions in its parent Agreement, the Convention on Biological Diversity, to which all CARICOM Member States are Party. Article 15 of this convention requires Parties to create conditions to facilitate access to genetic resources for environmentally sound use. Clear and consistent legal frameworks are a vital part of these enabling conditions. It is also important for Member States to communicate clearly to potential users of genetic resources, the procedures for obtaining access and prior informed consent, as well as for establishing mutually agreed terms. Transparent and clearly communicated laws and policies can work to encourage investment in bioprospecting and biotrade. They open up opportunities for companies and organizations already working towards ethical practices in their sourcing of genetic resources. They also minimize the likelihood of unintentional violations of Access and Benefit -Sharing (ABS) legislation.
It is against this background that the CARICOM Secretariat greatly appreciates the support of the European Union for the one-day training session on the Access and Benefit-Sharing Clearing House, to be held on Wednesday. Given the constraints faced by Member States with regard to resources and capacity, information management can be quite challenging. The Clearing House will help us to organize and share information that makes clear to potential users, the relationship between rights and obligations when it comes to the use of our rich genetic resources. Thank you to the CBD Secretariat and the European Union for providing training on the pilot-phase of the ABS Clearing House.
Aichi Biodiversity Target number 16 sets the goal of having the Nagoya Protocol come into force and be operational by 2015. It is likely that the first part of this goal will be achieved soon, as the Protocol is projected to come into force within a year. It will be the continued responsibility of Parties to the Protocol to ensure that the second part of the goal is also achieved. This will involve taking action to operationalize the Protocol at the national level through appropriate laws, policies and institutions. It is my hope that CARICOM Member States will follow Guyana’s example in this regard.
At the Community level, the CARICOM Secretariat has undertaken a series of activities to build Member States’ capacity to implement the Protocol. In cooperation with the Access and Benefit-Sharing Initiative and with support from the European Union, the Secretariat has co-hosted two previous Caribbean regional ABS workshops. We have delivered training in the drafting of legislation for Protocol implementation. We have compiled and disseminated a list of qualified consultants who could assist Member States in the legislative and policy process.
In an effort to widen awareness and deepen the understanding of the opportunities and benefits that could arise from participation in the global ABS framework, the Secretariat has also formally brought the Nagoya Protocol and its implications for the Region to the attention of the Council for Trade and Economic Development (COTED) – Ministers of Agriculture and the COTED – Ministers of Environment. We are committed to supporting the Region’s participation in the global ABS framework which we believe could be a means for us to transform our biological capital into goods and services for national and regional development.
In closing, I would like to extend my sincere thanks, to the Secretariat of the Convention on Biological Diversity and the Government of Guyana for organizing, supporting and hosting this workshop and for partnering with the CARICOM Secretariat in its delivery. Over the next week you will be working towards the goal of regional cooperation in the implementation of the Nagoya Protocol. I assure you of the CARICOM Secretariat’s commitment to working with, and supporting Member States towards this goal, and I wish you a fruitful and productive workshop.
I thank you
