Honduras and Tajikistan ratify Nagoya Protocol

Montreal, 5 September 2013 – Honduras and Tajikistan became the most recent countries to ratify the Nagoya Protocol on Access to Genetic Resources and the Fair and Equitable Sharing of Benefits Arising from their Utilization to the Convention on Biological Diversity.

This brings the total number of ratifications of the Nagoya Protocol to 20. These two countries join Albania, Botswana, Comoros, Ethiopia, Fiji, Gabon, India, Jordan, Lao People’s Democratic Republic, Mauritius, Mexico, the Federated States of Micronesia, Mongolia, Panama, Rwanda, the Seychelles, South Africa and the Syrian Arab Republic as countries that have ratified or acceded to the landmark treaty.

Honduras is the second Central American country, and Tajikistan the sixth Asian country, to ratify the treaty. The Nagoya Protocol will enter into force on the 90th day after the date of deposit of the 50th instrument of ratification, acceptance, approval or accession.

“The ratifications of Honduras and Tajikistan add to the momentum towards the entry into force of the Protocol in time for the twelfth meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the Convention, to be hosted by the Republic of Korea in October 2014”, said Braulio Ferreira de Souza Dias, Executive Secretary of the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD).

United Nations Secretary-General Ban-Ki-moon, as part of his message for the 2013 International Day for Biological Diversity called “on all Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity who have not already done so, to ratify the Nagoya Protocol on Access to Genetic Resources and the Fair and Equitable Sharing of Benefits Arising from their Utilization, and therefore help us all to work toward the future we want.”

His statement of support follows on his recent letter to all Heads of State/Government highlighting the valuable contribution that the Protocol can make to sustainable development and urging ratification at the earliest opportunity so that the international community can move to the implementation phase.

At the Trondheim Conference on Biodiversity which took place from 27 to 31 May 2013, the Ministers of Environment of Norway and India as well as the CBD Executive Secretary encouraged Parties to the Convention to expedite their national processes towards the ratification of the Nagoya Protocol and recalled that ratifying would enable countries to participate as Parties in the first meeting of the Parties to the Protocol and to play an important role in the decision-making process to support its implementation.

Countries wishing to obtain further information on how to become a Party to the Protocol can consult the following website: www.cbd.int/abs/becoming-party/