Nagoya Protocol to help conserve biodiversity: Javadekar

New Delhi: The Nagoya Protocol, which will create incentives to conserve biodiversity, has received the required 50th instrument of ratification on July 14, India today said.

India, having hosted CoP-11 to the Convention on Biodiversity (CBD) in Hyderabad in October 2012, is currently the President of CoP till CoP-12 to be held in Pyeongchang, South Korea in October this year. Making a suo motu statement in Parliament, Environment Minister Prakash Javadekar said the Protocol on access and benefit sharing will enter into force on 90th day -- October 12, 2014. He said facilitating early entry into force of this landmark international treaty has been a priority of India as CoP president. "India has made significant efforts in the last 21 months through political and diplomatic channels. After assuming the charge of Minister, I have taken personal interest in the matter, and addressed the CBD meeting in Montreal via video on June 16. "I had also made a statement at the UN Environment Assembly in Nairobi on June 26 urging countries to ratify the Protocol soon. I also met my couterparts of concerned countries for early ratification, on the sidelines of the Nairobi meeting," Javadekar said. He said ratification of the Nagoya Protocol by 51 parties to the CBD is also a "major step towards achieving the first of the global Aichi Biodiversity Targets (Target 16 that by 2015, the Nagoya Protocol is in force and operational), and that too more than a year before its target date, which is quite remarkable." "The pivotal role played by India in achieving this remarkable feat once again showcases India`s leadership in biodiversity in the global arena," he said. India had signed the Protocol on May 11, 2011, and ratified it on October 9, 2012. Javadekar said the Nagoya Protocol would be implemented at the national level through the Biological Diversity Act. The protocol on access and benefit sharing has been negotiated under the aegis of CBD, and adopted by the tenth Conference of Parties (CoP) held in Nagoya, Japan in October 2010. The protocol significantly advances the objective of the Convention on the fair and equitable sharing of benefits arising from the utilisation of generic resources by providing greater legal certainty and transparency for both providers and users of genetic resources including researchers and industry. The Minister said by promoting the use of genetic resources and associated traditional knowledge, and by strengthening the opportunities for fair and equitable sharing of benefits from their use, the Protocol will create incentives to conserve biodiversity, sustainable use its components and further enhance the contribution of biodiversity to sustainable development and human well-being. "The entry into force of the Nagoya Protocol is therefore of strategic importance," Javadekar added.