All countries urged to ratify biodiversity pact
All countries urged to ratify biodiversity pact
JAKARTA (JP): An international conference on biodiversity
opened yesterday with an appeal to the United States and 34 other
countries to ratify the Convention on Biodiversity.
"My first message must be to urge those lagging behind to
ratify this important convention as soon as possible," Sarwono
Kusumaatmadja of Indonesia said as soon as he assumed the
chairmanship of the Second Conference of Parties to the
Convention on Biodiversity.
To date 130 countries have ratified the convention, which
commits governments to conservation and recognition of
sovereignty over natural resources.
The conference is a follow up to the issuance of the
convention at the 1992 Earth Summit in Brazil. The first
conference was held in 1994 in the Bahamas.
Representatives of about 120 countries are attending the
conference which runs to Nov. 17.
The convention's executive secretary, Calestous Juma, said the
rapid increase in the number of contracting parties reflected
"strong commitment" to the convention's call for the fair sharing
of benefits of the use of genetic resources.
In Asia, Thailand is among those which have not ratified the
convention. United States President Bill Clinton has signed, but
Congress has not yet passed it. Observers cite strong U.S.
corporate interests against equal sharing of resources from
developing countries.
"The U.S. will not likely ratify the convention in the near
future," said noted Indian environmentalist Vandana Shiva, on the
sidelines of the conference.
Vandana, an advisor to the Malaysia-based Third World Network,
criticized the agenda of the conference which she said was
largely influenced by multinational corporations investing in
biotechnology.
The agenda includes discussions on intellectual property
rights and access to genetic resources. The conference and other
forums, she said, should maintain and progress on the major
achievements of the convention and its following meetings.
These are: the recognition of sovereignty over natural
resources; and efforts towards issuing safety measures on genetic
engineering, called the "biosafety protocols."
"What is missing on the agenda is biopiracy," she told The
Jakarta Post, referring to the piracy of biological and
intellectual heritage by rich countries.
In her book entitled Biodiversity, A Third World Perspective,
she estimated that the value of raw materials collected for free
from the South, for pharmaceutical industries of the North, could
reach US$47 billion by the year 2000.
Local non-governmental organizations also distributed copies
of A Statement of Concern on the Hegemony of the North in the
Biodiversity Issues.
The agendas, they said, "do not accommodate the facts of life
faced by southern countries."
Vandana raised fears that the convention's focus would be
diverted towards commercial interests and away from conservation
measures.
There is outrage among environmentalists on this issue, she
said. "Instead of using the convention to protect biodiversity
and the rights of the Third World people, the convention is being
turned into what we call a GATT for Genes."
Vandana was referring to the General Agreement on Tariffs and
Trade, which set requirements to ensure free global trade.
She also criticized the organizers' decision to postpone
discussions on collective rights of traditional communities until
next year.
Intellectual property rights and collective rights of
traditional communities are "two sides of one issue", she said,
adding that to ensure biodiversity for the equitable welfare of
all people, the issues need to be discussed together.
Executive Secretary Juma, however, argued that it is
preferable to discuss the issues separately, as they come under
different rules. Traditional rights will also be addressed under
access to genetic resources, he said.
Sarwono commented that "new paradigms" are needed to solve the
"complicated" issues of private and communal ownership.
"This could take a whole generation," he told reporters. (anr)