Brazil joins Nagoya Protocol on biodiversity
Brazil has deposited with the United Nations (UN) its ratification letter for the Nagoya Protocol—a multilateral agreement laying out the rules for access and distribution of benefits, monetary and otherwise, of genetic resources of biodiversity. Signed by President Jair Bolsonaro, the document was sent yesterday (Mar. 4) to the UN, as per the joint note released by the Foreign and Environment Ministries.
The protocol is accessory to the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD), created during the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development (ECO-92), held in Rio de Janeiro in 1992. It was concluded during the 10th Conference of the Parties of the Convention (COP-10), in 2010, in Nagoya, Japan, and signed by Brazil in New York the following year.
The document aims to promote the fair and equitable sharing of benefits stemming from the use of genetic resources of biological diversity, like plants, animals, and micro-organisms, as well as the traditional knowledge associated with them. The treaty encompasses issues like royalties, joint ventures, research financing, result sharing, and the transfer of technology and training services.
Since this is an international pact, Congress approval was required before it became effective in Brazil. In August last year, the document was approved by the lower house and the Senate, and promulgated through a legislative decree. “The submission of the ratification letter marks the end of the debates that dragged for years at the federal government and the Legislative. The government’s engagement and the commitment established by both representatives from agribusiness and environmental officials brought about the conclusion of the ratification process,” the joint note reads.
According to the government, Brazil will now be able to take part in the protocol’s future deliberations, which should start at the next CBD Conference of the Parties, “in the position of a country with advanced legislation about biodiversity and the sharing of benefits, with a modern agricultural sector, with invaluable genetic resources from its environmental heritage.”
The admission of the country into the Nagoya Protocol, representatives from the ministry argue, will contribute to bringing legal security to users and suppliers of genetic material and may play a key role in valuing Brazil’s environmental assets, especially in the payment for environmental services and the development of bioeconomy.
“Brazil restates its commitment with sustainable development and its engagement to the multilateral system as it pursues technological and economic autonomy and the strengthening of the sovereignty over the natural resources in its territory,” the end of the note says.
