CBD has announced that the EU and twelve member states have signed the Nagoya Protocol on ABS, bringing the number of signatories up to 37. Austria, Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, Germany, Hungary, Italy, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Sweden and the UK have signed. Entry into force comes with 50 signatories.
The first meeting of the Intergovernmental Committee on the Nagoya Protocol on Access to Genetic Resources and the Fair and Equitable Sharing of Benefits Arising from their Utilization (ICNP-1) has finished - an unofficial report is available and some resources on the CBD site including a more formal report. Discussions on the ABS clearing house, capacity building, compliance and awareness-raising. Most of the discussions are about developing next steps, clarifying interpretation and making proposals for development: a lot of work still to come.
The Nagoya protocol on Access and Benefit Sharing was opened for signature on 2 February - CBD press release. It will enter into force 90 days after the 50th instrument of ratification is deposited with the UN: they hope by October 2012/...more
.../ The aim is to achieve entry into force in time for the October 2012 CBD Conference of the Parties in Delhi. The progress to this goal is going to be different in different countries, so achieving the deadline will be interesting. Some countries may ratify only when able to enforce the requirements, while others may ratify before they have full capacity.
