Costa Rica becomes the 38th Signatory of the Nagoya Protocol

Montreal, 11 July 2011

– On 6 July 2011, Costa Rica became the 38th Party to the Convention on Biological Diversity to sign the Nagoya Protocol on Access to Genetic Resources and the Fair and Equitable Sharing of Benefits Arising from Their Utilization. Thirty-seven Governments and the European Union have now signed the new international treaty.

Ahmed Djoghlaf, Executive Secretary of the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD), said: “It is fitting that while the Central American countries are actively engaged in preparing a regional meeting on the implementation of the Nagoya biodiversity compact that Costa Rica, as the host, demonstrates its leadership by becoming the 38th Party to sign the historic Nagoya Protocol.”

The list of signatories to the Protocol is available on the Convention on Biological Diversity website at: www.cbd.int/abs/nagoya-protocol/signatories/.