Environment ministers seek to thrash out biodiversity deal
Environment ministers seek to thrash out biodiversity deal
Eileen Ng
Agence France-Presse
Kuala Lumpur
Environment ministers from 74 countries opened a two-day United
Nations meeting on Wednesday seeking to curb the extinction rate
of threatened species and to map out regulations to ensure
developing nations benefit from the commercialization of their
biological resources.
The ministers are expected to thrash out differences over
plans for a legally-binding framework for what is known as
"access and benefit-sharing" (ABS), after earlier deadlock among
senior officials attending the conference of parties to the
Convention on Biological Diversity.
Rich countries are seeking a non-binding agreement, but
developing countries, home to the bulk of the world's pristine
habitats, are pressing for it to be binding to ensure that they
do not lose out from the commercialization of the resources and
to combat bio-piracy.
At stake are billions of dollars in medicinal and other
products developed by rich countries through the use of the
genetic resources and traditional knowledge of indigenous peoples
in the developing world.
The head of a working group on the issue, India's Desh Deepak
Verma, told AFP that delegates had agreed to negotiate the scope
of the international regime on ABS on the basis that it would be
non-binding.
Verma said this was "a move in the right direction" as
developed countries had previously rejected the idea of any
regulations at all.
But Brazilian Environment Minister Marina Silva told reporters
that a legally binding framework that allowed technology transfer
and recognized the autonomy of the indigenous peoples and their
rights was the only way to ensure a fair share of benefits and
compensation.
"The regime should be legally binding. This is the only
effective way to combat bio-piracy," she said.
Malaysia's Environment Minister Law Hieng Ding told AFP: "What
developing countries want is a binding instrument on ABS. We
will not give up, we will continue the fight."
Malaysian Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, in an opening
speech read by his deputy, Najib Razak, said that a legal regime
on ABS was vital because companies from developed countries
reaped the harvest but were unwilling to share the benefits with
countries that owned the resources.
"Developed countries with their vast financial resources and
advanced biotechnologies continue to exploit and convert these
resources into valuable commercial products," he said.
Abdullah also noted that a recent study by the Malaysian
Nature Society showed that species were disappearing at the rate
of three per hour and called for immediate action.
He urged rich countries to increase financial and technical
resources to help developing countries in their conservation
efforts and achieve goals to significantly reduce biodiversity
losses by 2010.
Apart from the ministers, the conference has drawn some 2,000
government officials, scientists and activists to Kuala Lumpur.