Biodiversity talks end, making little progress
Biodiversity talks end, making little progress
JAKARTA (JP): A United Nations meeting on the environment ended here yesterday with a mixture of success and continuing challenges.
The participants in the UN Conference of Parties to the Convention on Biodiversity agreed to enhance cooperation in conservation and sustainable development, although the forms that the cooperation will have yet to be spelled out.
The conference, which started on Nov. 6, also agreed to promote recognition of traditional knowledge in the face of rapid advances in biotechnology.
Another decision of the 117 attending parties was that a new post for indigenous peoples be established in the Convention Secretariat.
The convention has been ratified by 134 countries.
The post is meant as a forum to address such problems as protecting traditional knowledge and "prior informed consent" in the taking of natural resources from a local community.
This measure was a response to the demands of some government delegates as well as representatives of indigenous peoples that a formal representation of indigenous communities be established.
On intellectual property rights, delegates decided to work with the World Trade Organization to study the impact on such rights of biodiversity conservation and use.
Another step agreed upon is the holding of consultations with all stakeholders in natural resources - the private sector, local and indigenous peoples - to ensure "equal sharing" in the use of genetic resources.
"Equal sharing" has yet to be defined.
Private sector
The initial conference document only mentioned consultation with the private sector.
Another result of the conference is the Jakarta Mandate on Coastal and Marine Biodiversity. This states that Indonesia is the world center of expert meetings on coastal and marine biodiversity.
The meeting, however, could not decide on the question of new funding for developing countries' environmental programs. This particular issue pitted developed countries against developing ones during the conference.
A permanent source of funding will be decided at the next conference, to be held next year in Argentina.
The convention, which states governments' commitment to conservation and equal sharing of benefits of natural resources, was issued at the 1992 Earth Summit in Brazil.
Observers said the slow pace of progress in Jakarta reflected difficulties in reconciling economic interests with less tangible environmental benefits.
NGOs blamed developed countries for holding back progress at the conference.
Trade interests held up talks on conservation measures for forest, marine and coastal biodiversity. But an informal agreement among 11 equatorial countries was eventually reached after days of negotiations.
"The talks have been very tough because countries have been grouped in ways that make them uncomfortable," said the conference chairman Sarwono Kusumaatmadja.
The countries which reached the informal agreement are Colombia, Ecuador, Brazil, Kenya, Uganda, Zaire, Equatorial Guinea, Rwanda, Maldivez, Kiribati and Indonesia.
Yesterday Indonesia received aid from the World Wide Fund for Nature to increase its ability to live up to the convention. (anr)