09.00 – 09.20

Setting the Scene

• Illustrated walk through the programme
  Claus-Michael Falkenberg, GTZ-Cameroon (facilitator)

Mr. Falkenberg introduced himself and outlined how he will be facilitating the sessions. He also presented the different stakeholders in the room (each country delegation included the minister+ country focal point) and added that Cameroon and Ethiopia were unable to attend. But on the whole we have 11 delegations who are present here (some of them will be here tomorrow). We have the co-chairs here and international and local resource persons and the francophony.

The first part of the session will be an introduction to ABS, the national delegations will speak of the constraints and challenges, then we move on to 3 examples of ABS. The first will refer to our excursion in the afternoon to Praslin island. Here we go to the Valle de Mai where we will discuss the issues relating to coco de mer and bioprospecting by the Venter Institute.

There will be a gala dinner in the evening hosted by the Govt of Seychelles.

Tomorrow we will discuss other two case studies- Novozymes from Kenya and Teff from Ethiopia. After this we will have an update by the co-chairs on the current state of play regarding ABS negotiations. Soon after we will have an expert panel that will deal with the difficult issues in the negotiations based on the case studies. Finally there will be an African co-ordination meeting to prepare for the High-level Segment of the 9th COP.

• Objectives of the meeting and the format of the High-level Segment of COP 9
  Jochen Flasbarth, Germany

Germany is honoured that we will be the hosts of COP 9 in Bonn. The time pressure is mounting if we need to have an international regime on ABS by 2010. 16 years after Rio all the three objectives of the CBD are yet to be adequately met. Countries have agreed that there is a need for an international regime on ABS. This implies that we need a very concrete Bonn mandate for legal negotiation for the next 2 years. The German chancellor has stated that she would like to see a regime on ABS with legally binding parts. She said everybody in the world knows that ethically we cannot go into any country and access barrels of oil from there. Likewise pharmaceutical companies must be aware that they cannot go into countries and access genetic resources without any sharing of benefits. For the first time in COP we want to invite ministers into the negotiations to push the parties to find solutions to some of the complex areas since it is the ministers who have the authority to have the final say.

This is no longer a Dutch German Initiative but also an African initiative since so many African countries have taken ownership of this initiative by participating in and collaborating with it so whole heartedly.

Speech-flasbarth.doc Speech of Dr. Flasbarth

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House rules

Please switch your cell phones off and please try to be brief in your interventions since we have very limited time. So as a moderator I would have to remind you that time is limited when your interventions are too long.

Technical announcements

Microphones have to be switched off if you aren’t speaking into them.

9.20 - 10.00

The Context of Access and Benefit-sharing (ABS)

• Why the CBD needs ABS – the third objective as key factor for the success of the CBD
  Dr. Ahmed Djoghlaf, SCBD

Seychelles as a country clearly demonstrates why CBD needs ABS. It has marked over 40% of its land as protected. The thousands of species of fish and the coco de mer here demonstrate the complexity and interrelatedness of life. IPCC has demonstrated that 30% of all known species will disappear by the end of the century and those countries and islands that have done very little to negatively impact the climate will unfairly suffer the most. Every minute 20 hectares of forest is disappearing. The first scientific study carried out in Seychelles in 1798 stated that every species and minerals on the land is worthy of attention.

If 2010 MDG targets have not been achieved there are reasons for it. And one of it would be the lack of an ABS international regime. But there are examples of good ABS such as the Novozymes case. Green companies are the future of the market and a number of companies are investing heavily into this. The consumers of the world are using their power to demand green and fair trade products. Some companies hesitate to indulge in biopiracy because it would lead to negative publicity and turn ethically aware consumers away from its products.

African countries have begun to fully participate and collaborate with the Dutch German Initiative and I have seen the results of this in the current ABS negotiations. I therefore pay tribute to the Initiative. I also thank the Co-Chairs for being here and ensuring that the participants will benefit from their experience. Germany has been deeply involved in aiding the development of a legally binding ABS regime and the German parliament yesterday has called for a day long session to discuss ABS in the context of COP 9 which is unprecedented.

I therefore strongly believe considering Germany’s historical involvement in environmental issues there will be a new era after COP 9 in accordance with the motto of COP 9- One Nature, One Future, Our World.

• Why the rest of the world also needs ABS: Genetic resources, business and development
  Sem Shikongo, Namibia, and Dr. Andreas Drews, Germany

Moderator: Why is GTZ so interested and involved in this process?

AD: We have heard a lot on the loss and uneven distribution of biodiversity. Most of the hotspots of biodiversity are in developing countries and we know that it is crucial for sustaining the livelihoods of rural populations in Africa especially in the context of food security (agricultural diversity), medicines etc. At the same time biodiversity is important to develop medicines for everyone in the world.

SS: I agree with Andreas, in Namibia we are blessed with a biodiversity that is adapted to harsh climatic conditions. We have also a rich culture that is adapted to the use of biodiversity in the form of traditional knowledge that will contribute to the livelihoods and the development of medicines.

Moderator: Could you be more specific on the specific role of genetic resources?

AD: If we look at agricultural biodiversity its just wheat, maize and rice that supply most of the world’s food supply, but we also know more than 30,000 of plant species that are used as food. So why should we restrict ourselves. The traditional farmers with land races are most adaptable to a changing world with the need for little external inputs. The value of the wild genetic coffee resources in Ethiopia goes from 450 million USD to 1.5 billion USD if it is adversely affected by loss of biodiversity and climate change.

SS: Namibia is a very dry country with a variable rain fall. We have only 8% of arable land and the problem of monoculture would imply crop failure in such a climate. The greater the diversity of genetic resources the greater the guarantee of food security in countries with climates such as Namibia.

Moderator: In terms of economics could you give us the value of these genetic resources in ABS?

AD: Though more than 35000 plant species are used worldwide for medicinal purposes but only 2000 species are being used in European markets. Over 70% of the pharmaceutical products based on plants. So obviously there is a great likelihood of benefits reaching developing countries.

SS: Unfortunately developing countries see very little of that money considering that we export these material in raw form and don’t really get a share of the profits made from the end products. So the question for ABS is how we remedy this inequity. The Hoodia plant is an example of this where the problem is-how do we ensure that in the sales of the Hoodia, the San whose traditional knowledge is used get a share of the benefits considering that they have little knowledge of the development of products and international markets.

GRvalue_utilization.ppt Genetic resources, business and development

2.9 MB

• The ABS principles of the CBD, Valerie Normand, SCBD

It is the equitable sharing of genetic resources that is of concern here. Art 15 of the CBD recognises the sovereignty of states. This implies that any access to GR must require PIC and MAT. Art 15 requires user countries to ensure equitable sharing of benefits stemming from research and use of these GRs.

Art 16 in the CBD deals with access to and transfer of technology stating that parties must take measures to ensure countries providing GRs have access to benefits.

Art 19 speaks of participation of countries providing GR in research and sharing of non-monetary benefits of GR.

Art 8 j states that countries must respect and preserve the knowledge and cultures and innovations and practises of indigenous and traditional communities by sharing the benefits of the use of such knowledge.

Ms. Normand also gave a history of the COPs leading to COP 9

The Bonn Guidelines are guidelines for states in developing national ABS regimes. It requires the participation of indigenous and local communities where the GRs are found in the process of access and benefit sharing. It provides for the different steps and stages for the development of such a system. It also provides a list of non monetary and monetary benefits that could be shared with providers of GR and associated TK when this is used by user countries.

Competent national authorities need to be designated who will authorise access to GR.

The guidelines also give process for the participation of indigenous and traditional stakeholders. Different countries are at different stages in developing ABS legislation and regulations. At present there are around 60 countries that are at various stages in development of ABS legislation. 93 countries have designated focal points of which 28 are African countries.

Capacity building was adopted by COP 7. Ms. Normand listed the capacity building measures that have been undertaken since.

 

Valerie_Normand_1.ppt The ABS principles of the CBD

447 kB

10.00 - 10.30

Coffee break

10.30 - 11.30

• Brief statements by the Ministers

Algeria: We convey the regret of our Minister of Environment who is unable to be here. Africa through NEPAD needs to support the ABS process. We need an international binding regime on ABS. Algeria’s situation is similar to that of other countries in terms of biopiracy. Algeria has set up a national center that is doing an inventory of our resources. We also have a draft law on these biological resources that is under review.

Ivory Coast: We convey the regret of our minister who is unable to attend this meeting. At the national level we have no legislation or provisions regarding ABS. We have a law concerning national parks but not with ABS. So we are open to biopiracy as in the case of Taumatin (sweetener). We have begun a project with the Dutch German project that applies ABS to our national parks. We feel that ABS could give us an opportunity to provide for the long term funding of these parks. We are drawing lessons from experience on which to base our legal text for ABS. We have currently developed a legal text for ABS in the Teae national park and we want to develop legal texts for the other national parks.

Egypt: In Egypt we have an ancient civilisation. We also have rock art that indicates the origins of a variety of genetic resources. We have drafted the first law for regulating ABS in Egypt which was based on a participatory process that included indigenous and local communities, NPOs etc. We have also begun development initiatives with indigenous and local communities and have in turn documented their traditional knowledge.

Kenya: Kenya would like to propose that we go to Bonn in May to conclude some of the negotiations. Any ABS arrangements must be meaningful for local and indigenous communities. The concept of community participation in NRM has been with us for some time but it is yet to be translated into practice. Kenya already has a national ABS regime but we need capacity for this to be translated into action at the local level. We now have ‘green lodges’ in Kenya which is the result of the involvement of local communities.

Madagascar: 80% of Madagascar’s population is rural and is dependant on natural resources. We have many users of traditional medicine who rely on natural resources. In 2002 the Malagasy vision was developed by the president of the republic. The action plan gives protection of the environment the pride of place. The goals 1 and 2 of the CBD have been met by Madagascar. But the 3rd goal has been neglected due to the lack of capacity and interest. We are currently developing a national policy concerning ABS.

Namibia: Namibia stands to lose millions of dollars from the lack of an international ABS regime to check the uncontrolled exploitation of genetic resources and traditional knowledge. The question we ask ourselves is whether we can use these resources in a way to generate profits? We cannot do this by ourselves, which is why we need to enter into agreements with those interests who have such resources and develop ourselves through technology transfer, research collaboration and capacity building. We therefore have a Namibian ABS bill that is due to be passed this year. Since this may take some time, in the meantime we have set up the Committee on Bioprospecting. We have also co-operated with other Southern African countries to jointly work towards conservation.

Senegal: We come to the negotiation with specific objectives and we need benefit sharing for the use of products. Climate change is the result of irrational exploitation of biodiversity. This environment has given both Europe and Africa an opportunity to co-operate as equals.

Seychelles: Seychelles is at its final stage for having its ABS law approved. We are proposing an Act with objectives: 1) facilitated access 2) limited access 3) benefit sharing. Seychelles is a prime location for bioprospecting which is why we have developed a precautionary approach to ABS. We welcome interest in our biodiversity but we have placed a moratorium on export of our GR until the act is passed in Parliament. The only exception is when we are clear of the use of the GR and the identity of the researcher. An example is the Busy Lizzy for which we have an ABS agreement. Seychelles has a single instrument (the current act) that includes both agricultural biodiversity and ecological biodiversity. Because we are small we are looking towards having a simple and easily implementable legislation. Nevertheless we do not have adequate capacity to monitor despite an ABS legislation which is why we need an international regime on ABS.

Tanzania: Currently Tanzania does not have an ABS legislation in place. The Environment Management Act however has a provision for the conservation and fair and equitable sharing of benefits arising from use of genetic diversity. The Minister is responsible to put guidelines in place to further this. In Tanzania we have an example of biopiracy from the Masaai’s. The root of a particular tree is used for perfumes but no benefits flow to the community. The challenges of ABS are there is inadequate awareness, absence of regulations, lack of capacity, lack of harmonisation between countries when it comes to transboundary resources. Areas of support includes a capacity needs assessment and the development of an inventory on all the known indigenous species and knowledge, a need for an information sharing system and the development of an awareness program on resources with economic value.

Uganda: Uganda has a set of regulations that provides for a competent authority (National Council of Science and Technology) that will oversee ABS. This authority will ensure that adequate PIC and MAT are met. The regulations provide for benefit sharing defining different types of benefits, conditions for revocation of permit and prohibition of transfer of resources to third parties. Challenges: 1) inability to distinguish between pure research and commercial research 2) lack of capacity 3) inability to enforce legislation beyond national borders 4) problem of ensuring how benefits trickle to local communities 5) cultural barriers since indigenous communities are not interested in what the government is offering as benefits 6) inability to track and monitor resources that have left the country (this is an area where the international regime can provide a possible solution) We feel that a massive sensitization process must take place across Africa on the issue of ABS. This depends on how we report the proceedings to the people in our countries. Uganda looks forward to a tracking system for genetic resources under the international regime. We need an effective enforcement system of the regime in case of breach of contract. ABS related judgement given in one country should be enforced in other countries. Certificate of origin is crucial and finally we need technology transfer in the form of research centers within the continent.

11.30 - 13.00

Departure to the airport and transfer to Restaurant “Tante Mimi” on Praslin Island

 

13.00 - 14.00

Lunch

14.00 - 14.30

Bioprospecting experiences by the Seychelles

• The examples of Coco-de-Mer and marine bioprospecting
  Denis Matatiken, Seychelles

Marine Bioprospecting: The Venter Institute from the US had undertaken an expedition to collect and map marine micro-organisms. They collected samples off the coast of Seychelles and now the results of their expedition are on a public database that has open access. The Venter Institute acquired a permit to access samples of marine micro-organisms in Seychelles water through the influence exerted by the US State Department on the Seychelles foreign ministry who in turn pressured the Seychelles ministry for the environment to provide Venter Institute with a permit. The problem however is that Seychelles currently lacks the capacity to monitor and track the use of its resources which implies that if information from the Venter database is used for commercial purposes then Seychelles wouldn’t be able to gain any benefits from it.

Coco de Mer: The coco-de- mer kernels are currently exported to Singapore not as biotrade but to convert it into specific products (possibly as an aphrodisiac in Chinese medicine) and there is no clear information as to what it is being used for and hence no benefit sharing. In 2007 4800 kgs of coco-de-mer kernels was exported by a businessman from Seychelles. Coco-de-mer is also claimed to be used by Molton Brown a UK based company in manufacturing a moisturising lotion. Though the packaging of the lotion advertises that coco-de-mer is used in the lotion, the ingredients write up says that cocos nucifera is what is used. If the company is actually using coco-de-mer in its lotion then there is a clear case of benefit sharing. Seychelles however has not received any share of these benefits.

The name coco-de-mer is also used by the UK based company manufacturing women’s erotica as a brand-name. This raises the question of whether such a move would prevent local Seychelles companies from being able to use ‘coco-de-mer’ as a brand name to sell their coco-de-mer products.

• Lessons learnt and national measures undertaken
  Didier Dogley, Seychelles

Seychelles currently has a moratorium on the outflow of GR from the country until national legislation is in place. There are however a few exceptions where MTAs have been entered into with trusted partners. The process for developing ABS legislation in Seychelles began in 2004 and included all the different stakeholders. The drafters of the Seychelles draft ABS legislation differed from the various model laws that are in existence by excluding conventional use of GR by locals from ABS requirements. The Seychelles draft ABS law has relied on the CBD and the Bonn Guidelines and is currently before the parliament for approval.

The main problem confronted by Seychelles however is the inability to track and monitor the use of its GR in the absence of user country compliance legislation thereby making implementation of national legislation difficult beyond Seychelles borders difficult if not impossible. Seychelles therefore strongly supports a legally binding international regime on ABS. The unique aspect of Seychelles ABS legislation is that if a GR is found on private land then benefits from any ABS agreement regarding the commercial use of the said GR will be shared with the land owner.

• Questions and answers

14.30 - 14.45

Transfer to the Vallée de Mai

Praslin-final.ppt

5.2 MB

14.45 - 16.00

Guided tour through the Coco-de-Mer palm tree forest and talk to the park authorities of the UNESCO World Heritage Site “Vallée de Mai”

16.00 - 16.15

<h3<Transfer to the Lemuria Resort</h6>

16.15 - 17.30

• Refreshments
• Informal exchange: Flip-flop talks at the pool side / beach

17.30 - 20.00

Departure to the airport and transfer to the hotels

From 20.00

Gala Dinner by the Government of the Seychelles at the Le Méridien Barbarons