Abstract:

The first meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity served as the meeting of the parties of the Nagoya Protocol on Access to Genetic Resources and Equitable Sharing of the Benefits Arising from Their Utilization (COP-MOP1) was held at Pyeongchang city, Republic of Korea, after it had been legally functioned in October 12, 2014. The draft decision on the compliance mechanism of the Protocol, access and benefit-sharing clearing-house, resource mobilization and financial mechanism, capacity-building and awareness raising, and the need for and modalities of the global multilateral benefit-sharing mechanism, were discussed by the parties and non-parties governments, non-governmental organizations and representatives of indigenous and local communities, during this meeting. Parties finally agreed by consensus to: set up Protocol compliance mechanisms; adopt the modalities of operation of the access and benefit-sharing clearing-house; reach financial arrangement for implementation of the Protocol; carry out the strategy framework for capacity-building and awareness raising; and trigger the development process of a global multilateral benefit-sharing mechanism. Some significant impacts of the Protocol are emerging on the legislative, administrative and policy measures related to the protection, utilization and benefit-sharing of genetic resources and associated traditional knowledge in China. It is necessary for China to ratify the Protocol and become a member of its parties. China should focus more attention on improving domestic laws and regulations relevant to genetic resources as soon as possible, drawing up a national action plan for access to and benefit-sharing of genetic resources, establish a fund of access and benefit sharing, and carry out several studies on the follow-up negotiation of the Protocol.

Key words: Nagoya Protocol, genetic resources, traditional knowledge, negotiation