Brussels, 13/09/2013 (Agence Europe) - The European Parliament backs a fair and sustainable use of biodiversity and the sharing of resources between the developing countries and rich countries. The draft European regulation which will transpose into EU law the Nagoya Protocol on access to genetic resources and the fair sharing-out of the benefits from their use (Access and Benefit-Sharing, or ABS Protocol) received the support of the MEPs in Strasbourg on Thursday 12 September. The European Parliament has also given its rapporteur, Sandrine Bélier (Greens/EFA), a mandate to start trialogue negotiations in the hope of reaching a first-reading agreement on the regulation in the near future, thereby allowing the EU to ratify this protocol to the United Nations Convention on Biodiversity in good time. The aim of the draft regulation is to protect the rights of the countries and of local and indigenous communities who authorise the use of their genetic resources and associated traditional knowledge, and to give European researchers more reliable access to quality samples of genetic resources at attractive prices.
In their vote, the MEPs agreed to a reinforcement of the benefit-sharing from the use of genetic resources and better traceability throughout the entire length of the usage chain, from research to the market. They also set in place a mechanism to fight biopiracy, by preventing any use of illegally acquired genetic resources within the European Union. Illegally acquired resources include: “genetic resources or traditional knowledge associated with them acquired in violation of the national and international law applicable, in the country of origin, regarding access and benefit-sharing”, the Parliament clarifies. Bélier welcomed the vote as a real step forward. “One year ahead of the next international conference on biodiversity in Seoul, the European Parliament has sent a strong signal to the EU and the global community that we must respect our international obligations”, she said.
Janez Potocnik, European Commissioner for the Environment, also welcomed this step forward, which will allow the protocol to be ratified by the EU. “The deadline for ratifying the protocol is next July, and as ratification is a complex process, we need to work quickly towards an agreement with the other institutions involved in finalising the text of the regulation”, he stressed. The ABS Protocol was approved in late 2010 by the parties to the United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity (COP 10). (AN/transl.fl)