On Thu, 27 Oct 2011 15:17:16 +0530 wrote
Dear friends,
As you might be aware, India is hosting the next meeting of the Conference of Parties (CoP) to the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) at Hyderabad on 1-19 October 2012. http://www.cbd.int/doc/press/2011/pr-2011-10-11-india-en.pdf The CoP serves as the Meeting of Parties to the Cartegena Protocol on Biosafety from 1 to 5 Oct, and 8-19 Oct are the meet of the CoP to CBD. The first Meeting of Parties to the Nagoya Protocol on Access and Benefit Sharing is also expected to take place around this time, though it has not been scheduled yet (the Protocol has still to come into force after the required no of Ratifications).
The CBD process encourages serious civil society participation in the CoP meets. NGOs, Indigenous Peoples groups, trade unions, academic institutions, etc can participate in the event as Observers, and use relevant opportunities for providing input, including the conduct of sideline meetings. The process for civil society registration for participation is fairly simple and can be done through the CBD website www.cbd.int at a later time. The annotated agenda and all conference documents will also be available on this site.
The business of the meeting is conducted based on the Rules of Procedure which can be found at http://www.cbd.int/doc/legal/cbd-rules-procedure.pdf . In preparing to provide your input to the CoP in the most effective way, it would be useful to familiarize yourself (for those who are not already into it) with how multilateral meeting proceeds are conducted. A good guide to this, produced by UNEP, can be found at:
http://www.unep.org/DEC/docs/Guide%20for%20Negotiators%20of%20MEAs.pdf
The most effective way to contribute to the CoP is to work through networks of like-minded groups, especially since opportunities for observer interventions are quite limited. CBD Alliance serves as an international platform of civil society organisations working on CBD issues www.cbdalliance.org (I also serve on its board). It also maintains a listserv, those who are interested to join it may write to jessicaannedempsey@gmail.com . You may also forge or join national or international thematic networks on issues of concern to your group.
As a negotiator in the INC that negotiated the CBD text during 1990-92, I recall the hope we had invested in CBD in terms of stemming the tide of biopiracy, securing biosafety, recognising the Indigenous People and local communities due role in biodiversity management, and sustainable biodiversity use besides conservation. However, the past two decades of implementation of CBD did not very much live up to these hopes. Indeed the CBD has to be treated as the legally binding treaty that it is. And the CoP is the right opportunity to press hard to bring home the fact that Parties have a legal obligation to implement the provisions of the treaty- a point that cannot be overemphasized. The CoP should be asked to review how Parties have fulfilled (or failed in fulfilling) their obligations under the treaty even as the CoP makes new decisions and programs.
A slew of activities in preparing for the CoP are planned by different civil society groups in the country. Some of these initiatives are led by BNHS, CEM/IUCN, Indian Biodiversity Forum, Indian Science Congress, Salim Ali Centre for Ornithology (SACON), etc. And more initiatives are emerging. This is also a great opportunity for Indias indigenous people to tell the world of its legacy of sustainable living and to gather support for the enforcement of the Forest Rights Act.
Best regards
S.Faizi
biodiversity@rediffmail.com
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