Sunday, 6th December 2009
09.00
Setting the Scene
Introduction (Andreas Drews, ABS Africa Initiative, Germany)
Dr. Drews welcomed the participants, introduced the ABS Initiative for Africa team and outlined the objectives of the workshop.
- Technical remarks (moderators)
- Getting acquainted (moderators)
10.00
Updates from the sub-regions
Central African Forests Commission (COMIFAC)
Emmanuel Bayani, Groupe de Travail Biodiversité d'Afrique Central (GTBAC), Gabon
Chouaibou Nchoutpouen (speaking instead of Emmanuel Bayani):
Progress report on what is happening in the Congo Basin
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1.4 MB |
Discussion:
Chouaibou highlighted that they started out with a study in the subregion that sought to look at whether ABS was integrated in the forest policy of the Central Africa. They soon discovered that there was no such integration and the result of their study pushed the Forests Commission into greater involvement in ABS strategy. Currently efforts are being undertaken to work at the subregional and will then move into national strategies and legislation
Chouaibou also noted that Central Africa has huge problems with deforestation. There is also extensive poverty in the region and people want to use natural resources as much as possible to survive. Chouaibou felt that thanks to ABS Central Africa can benefit from the genetic resources without having to engage in deforestation.
Regarding whether this ABS strategy was accepted by the heads of states and its implications for national ABS law making Chouaibou pointed out that the national ABS focal points are involved in the GTBAC along with other key stakeholders. In December 2010 they will be organizing a sub regional conference on ABS involving the ministers to get political buy in on their ABS strategy.
Western Africa and the Maghreb
Samuel Diemé, Direction des Parcs Nationaux, Senegal
Below: Samuel Diemé, left, Ossama El-Tayeb, right
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Eastern and Southern Africa
Dr. Ossama El-Tayeb, EEAA, Egypt
Discussion:
The discussion that ensued highlighted the process of government consultation in Egypt with ILCs in the development of ABS law and policy. Egypt is also engaged in planning strategy for both regional (Maghreb) countries and at a national level. There was an understanding amongst Western Africa and the Maghreb countries of the need to develop national legislation to support the IRABS and merely relying on the IRABS without having concomitant national legislation may be futile.
Focal points have recognized the importance of the need to update their ministers to develop national legislation before they go to the ministerial conference in Windhoek before Nagoya. The region also emphasized the importantance of national champions who try and highlight the importance of ABS in the subregion.
10.30
Coffee Break
11.00
Communication Education and Public Awareness (CEPA) Workshop, Nairobi, 9-12 March 2009:
Prof. Ossama al Tayyeb, provided a brief report of the CEPA Workshop in Nairobi that involved both ABS experts and media and communication experts. Pierre du Plessis also provided a brief report back on the CEPA discussion at Eastern and Southern African Workshop in Addis Ababa. Prof Ossama pointed out that when we have different kinds of stakeholders, we have different kinds of interests. So communicators need to bear this in mind. Also for most people the basic priority is survival, and the challenge is to make biodiversity relevant to them. It has to answer the most pressing needs.
PANEL DISCUSSION: ABS and Forests, TK, CEPA
CEPA for ABS: Suhel al-Janabi, ABS Africa Initiative, Germany
ABS and forests: Olivier Rukundo, CISDL, Canada
ABS and traditional knowledge: Kabir Bavikatte, Natural Justice, South Africa
Business and ABS: Pierre du Plessis, CRIAA SADC, Namibia
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Pierre du Plessis: Business and ABS
Business has the capacity to take GR and actually generate benefits from it. Business is a very powerful lobby in developed countries, so African negotiators need to engage with them. Most importantly we need to talk to and listen to business because when the IRABS is finalized we need to work closely with them since they are the sector that will generate benefits. Key African ABS negotiators had a meeting recently with business in Hammanskraal (South Africa) with business representatives under Chatham house rules and we finished on a positive note that both business and the ABS negotiators have points of convergence and can work well together. The commonalities that are emerging with business are now with the scope of the IRABS- so there is an agreement that we will not include commodities. The real issue is derivatives- specifically metabolites. There is also an understanding that everyone needs legal certainty.
Olivier Rukundo: ABS and Forests
There is a need to ensure that the IRABS is in harmony with other international processes in the UN Forum on Forests. In Central Africa, GTBAC seeks to work with a network of ILCs. When they draw up the position of the Central African subregion, they include the representatives of ILCs. One of the recommendations from the ABS and forests workshops is that there should be more sustained dialogue and coordination- so a study is being conducted on this.
Suhel al-Janabi: CEPA for ABS
Most stakeholders do not understand ABS processes and we need to work on our communication strategies. Good communication implies identification of the different target stakeholders and the ways to communicate to them
Kabir Bavikatte: ABS and TK
Knowledge is publicly available. But at a community level they are used according to certain customary rules and values. The challenge- How do you deal with shared traditional knowledge, how will you distribute benefits. There are concerns about level of engagement of communities in developing countries. Protection of TK is linked to both Forest management and CEPA. Law makers need to ask what is the community’s history, what are their challenges, what are their most important concerns and tailor capacity building accordingly. The other pressing issue is leaders who represent communities – how genuine are they? Regarding CEPA with local communities, we can identify the local channels of communication, use shared local languages.
12.30
Lunch
14.00
ABS – Where do we come from, where do we go to:
Process, challenges and mile stones
Valerie Normand, SCBD
The Secretariat expressed appreciation for the association with the Initiative. It was pointed out that the various workshops and events organised across Africa by the Initiative contribute to fostering clear links between the local and the international, and raise a number of important issues which in turn helps in articulating policies and ensuring the effective participation of African delegates during the negotiations.
It was stated that more focus be given to the issues surrounding ABS on the legal and technical policy fronts, particularly as it must be ensured that the ABS regime at international level is negotiated to the benefit of all countries, particularly developing nations.
It was noted that deadlines are tight to arrive at COP 10 where the international regime will be adopted. Furthermore, it was noted that the ABS Capacity Building Initiative has played a significant role in aiding the development of the African position, which role has been recognized in the ongoing negotiations on the international regime.
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2.9 MB |
Discussion:
The deadline for the notification for the adoption of a protocol is 6 months before COP. We would need to develop a draft IRABS at ABSWG9 so we can adopt it at COP10 in Nagoya. It does not have to be a final protocol, but something that can be adopted in COP, and then we can continue to negotiate it further. Regarding the content of the IRABS, what came out of the last meeting will be streamlined in ABSWG 9. The 2 intersessional groups were set up to help this streamlining.
ABS experiences in Benin
ABS in Benin between practice and legislation
Dr. Ahokanou Fernand Gbaguidi, Laboratoire National de Pharmacognosie/CBRST, Benin
Bienvenu Bossou, National ABS Focal Point, Benin
Natalie Poupaert, Catholic University of Leuwen, Belgium
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2.3 MB |
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7.8 MB |
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420 kB |
Discussion:
- The lab has two parts- it works with Belgium for logistical purposes- we have research exchanges. The work we do in the lab, follows anti-malarial plants- we almost finished this research. We work in partnership with others. The OAPI is also represented- there is a center in Benin, to get a patent, we have to maintain some standards.
- There is a 50% sharing of benefits- what modalities do you have to share benefits with the local community- 50-50 part deals with the ownership of the results. Regarding the share of benefits- in the contract there is a provision that the Benin University should share with the local practitioner. The university does not have a direct contact with the local practitioners, but the professors do and they will ensure a sharing.
- We try to assess all the different groups, we identify the different bodies- to convert their different activities to income generating activities. When we realized that the local communities play a role in developing TK, we based our negotiations in a way that they too could participate
15.30
Coffee Break
16.00
ABS and traditional knowledge – linking up with the local level
presentations followed by discussion
Novel approaches towards involving local communities in conservation, management and sustainable use of biological resources and associated traditional knowledge to enhance their livelihood: the experience from the five year GEF/UNDP Medicinal Plants Conservation Project (MPCP)
Dr. Omar Abdeldayem, Project Manager MPCP
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6.1 MB |
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2.1 MB |
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4.5 MB |
Developing necessary guarantees for preserving rights of local communities to benefits: best practices & lessons learned.
Hajj Jameel Ateya, Chairman of the Medicinal Plants Association St. Catherine and Dr. Omar Abdeldayem, Project Manager MPCP
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Traditional knowledge data collection program – experiences of the MPCP
Hajj Ahmad Mansour, traditional healer and herbalist and
Adel Soliman Tageldeen, Assistant Manager MPCP
17.30
End of Day
