Third World Network | May 23, 2000 | Lim Li Lin and Cecilia Oh
Nairobi - Kenya made history on 15 May by being the first country to sign the Cartagena Biosafety Protocol. The Kenyan President, Daniel Arap Moi, was the first head of state to put his signature to the Protocol.
President Arap Moi opened the Fifth Conference of Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity, which is meeting from 15 to 26 May to address issues related to biological diversity, including biosafety, access and benefit sharing and sustainable use of biological resources.
The Biosafety Protocol is an international agreement, which regulates the transboundary movement of genetically modified organisms (referred to in the Protocol as living modified organisms or LMOs). Negotiations for the Protocol was concluded in January this year in Montreal, after nearly five years of negotiations. The Protocol will open for signature on May 24, in a special ceremony chaired by the Colombian Minister of Environment, Mr Juan Mayr Maldonado. Mr Maldonado was also the chair of the final stage of negotiations of the Protocol.
Other countries are also expected to sign the Protocol, including many of the developing country members of the Convention on Biological Diversity. Most of the developing countries had negotiated the Protocol as a bloc, known as the Like-Minded Group (LMG). The LMG had pushed for strong international regulation on the movement of genetically modified organisms (GMOs). These countries had fought for the use of the precautionary principle in decisions relating to the import of genetically modified organisms. Most genetically modified organisms are exported from countries of the North, particularly from Canada and the US.
During the negotiations, the LMG had faced opposition from the The US-led Miami group of countries (comprising also Canada, Australia, Argentina, Chile and Uruguay). The Miami Group is the main exporter of genetically modified commodities (around 90%). The biotechnology industry lobby of these countries had played a lead role in opposing any international regulation of GMOs.
During this meeting of the Conference of Parties, the implementation of the Biosafety Protocol is expected to be discussed. Among the key issues of implementation will be capacity building and technology transfer. Ministers of Environment attending the Conference have been invited to a roundtable session to consider these issues and draw up a plan of action for adoption by the Conference of Parties.
"It will be vital for developing countries to build capacity for the development of national biosafety laws and scientific expertise, particularly for risk assessment and risk management. In addition, capacity for monitoring and enforcement will have to be built up", said a civil society representative from the Third World.
Among the contentious issues to be discussed here are the issues related to the access to genetic resources and the sharing of benefits arising from the use of genetic resources. Related to this is the patenting of biological materials. Countries are expected to debate on the implications of patenting of such materials, also a topic of debate in the World Trade Organisation (WTO).
The WTO Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS) requires patenting of certain biological materials. Article 27.3(b) of the TRIPS Agreement obliges countries to allow for the patenting of microorganisms, microbiological and non-biological processes.
Developing country delegates at this meeting have expressed the need for the Conference of Parties to consider the implications of the TRIPS Agreement for the CBD. There is concern that the patenting requirement of the TRIPS Agreement will undermine the objectives of the CBD.Third World Network:
