Brussels, 03/11/2010 (Agence Europe) - The impact of the Nagoya biodiversity conference has been overshadowed in Brussels by the 19 October European Council and terror threats in Europe. EU Environment Commissioner Janez Potoènik is aware of this but determined not to go along with this assessment. Returning from Japan, he spoke enthusiastically at a European press conference on Wednesday 3 November about the success of Nagoya and the scope of the agreement reached by the 193 parties to the United Nations convention on biodiversity (see EUROPE 10248). The results will help the European Commission draw up the EU's post-2010 biodiversity strategy, to which it is currently putting the finishing touches.
The commissioner said that 193 countries reached agreement in Nagoya on Saturday morning on how to preserve global biodiversity, mobilise resources and adopt the APA Protocol on access to genetic resources and sharing the benefits of their use. He said he was delighted to have been able to attend the historic conference, where the negotiations were long and difficult but the success shows that the international community is capable of working together to deal with global challenges.
The European Union will respect the terms of the agreement, he said, adding that this would be shown at the end of the year, when the European Commission unveils its post-2010 biodiversity strategy as a tangible response to the promises made by Europe. He said that biodiversity was too important to disappear from the agenda.
It was expected that the EU would await the results of Nagoya before publishing the details of its own strategy but the objectives have already been endorsed, namely a vision for 2050 with the mid-term objective of halting the loss of biodiversity and the degradation of ecosystems and restoring damaged ecosystems where possible by 2020. The commissioner said that key to this strategy would be the inclusion of biodiversity in all relevant EU policies.
The 20-point strategic plan agreed upon in Nagoya aims, said Janez Potoènik, to create a world that lives in harmony with nature by 2050, to promote a healthy and sustainable planet that everyone can enjoy and for parties to pledge to take the effective action needed to ensure ecosystems can survive beyond 2020. Funding to help developing countries preserve their biodiversity should make it possible for all partners to assess needs and come up with figures in time for the next meeting of the parties in 2012.
The commissioner said that the signing of the APA Protocol was the main achievement of Nagoya because it sets rules for cooperation in assessing genetic resources and sharing the benefits of use of plants. Potoènik was pleased that the binding but not retroactive agreement includes compensation for the use of genetic material and the collection of patentable and sellable knowledge. He said he was doubly pleased because this is extremely important for developing countries and creates a stable and reliable environment for research. (A.N./transl.fl)