The Acting Executive Secretary, United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity, David Cooper has constituted an Informal Advisory Committee on Capacity-Building for the implementation of the Nagoya Protocol.
This was contained in a letter made public and signed by the Convention on Biological Diversity, which headquarters is based in Montreal, Canada and dated 14 April, 2023.
According to Cooper, the letter is to provide information regarding the composition of the Informal Advisory Committee on Capacity-building for the implementation of the Nagoya Protocol.
He said: “The Informal Advisory Committee was established by the first meeting of the Conference of the Parties serving as the meeting of the Parties to the Nagoya Protocol on access and benefit-sharing (COPMOP) to provide advice to the Executive Secretary on matters of relevance to the assessment of the effectiveness of the strategic framework for capacity-building and development to support the effective implementation of the Nagoya Protocol.
“The Informal Advisory Committee will comprise 15 experts selected by the Executive Secretary on the basis of nominations by Parties with due regard to equitable geographic representation and gender balance and shall also include representatives of indigenous peoples and local communities and relevant organizations.
“At its fourth meeting, the COP-MOP decided to extend the mandate of the Informal Advisory Committee (IAC) until its fifth meeting and to expand its membership to include representatives of the business sector, the research community and youth (decision NP-4/7, paragraphs 4-5). Furthermore, in the same decision, the IAC is to hold one meeting, and online consultations, as needed to support the revision and updating of the strategic framework for capacity-building and development,” the letter reads.
According to the Acting Executive Secretary, “Parties to the Nagoya Protocol were invited to nominate experts actively involved in capacity-building related to access and benefit-sharing (ABS) to be considered for selection to attend the fifth meeting of the IAC. In response to these notifications, 31 nominations were received from Parties and 7 from indigenous peoples and local communities. In addition, 3 representatives of indigenous peoples and local communities were selected among the nominations. Furthermore, international and regional organizations involved in ABS capacity-building or organizations representing the business sector and research community, as well as representatives of women and youth, were identified to participate in the fifth meeting of the Informal Advisory Committee on Capacity-building.”
Cooper emphasised that the “experts were selected with due regard to the nominees’ expertise and active engagement in ABS capacity-building, and in accordance with the terms of reference in annex II to decision NP-1/8. Only two nominations were received from Parties in the Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) regional group.”
Cooper says that experts who include representatives from governments, indigenous peoples and local communities and relevant organizations are to participate in the fifth meeting of the Informal Advisory Committee on Capacity-building for the Implementation of the Nagoya Protocol, scheduled from 20 to 22 June 2023 in Montreal, Canada.
The Full List of the fifth Informal Advisory Committee on Capacity-building for the Implementation of the Nagoya Protocol:
Africa
1. Ms. Alaki Veronique Amari Koffi (Côte d’Ivoire)
2. Mr. Abiyot Berhanu (Ethiopia)
3. Mr. Innocent Akampurira (Uganda)
Asia & Pacific
4. Mr. Mani Prasad Nirola (Bhutan)
5. Ms. Nik Musa’adah Binti Mustapha (Malaysia)
6. Mr. Veira Talilotu Pulekera (Solomon Islands)
Central and Eastern Europe
7. Ms. Elena Makeyeva (Belarus)
8. Ms. Angela Lozan (Republic of Moldova)
Group of Latin America and Caribbean Countries
9. Ms. Micaela Anabel Bonafina (Argentina)
10. Ms. Mercedes Peguero (Dominican Republic)
11. Mr. Eavin L. Parry (Saint Kitts and Nevis)
Western European and Others Group
12. Mr. Han de Koeijer (Belgium)
13. Ms. Jeanne Foucher (France)
14. Ms. Tiziana Ulian (United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Island)
Indigenous Peoples and Local Communities
1. Ms. Viviana Figueroa (Asociacion de la Juventud Indigena Argentina, Argentina)
2. Mr. Kamal Kumar Rai (Society for Wetland Biodiversity Conservation, Nepal)
3. Mr. Ndiaga Sall (Pôle Souveraineté Alimentaire et Nutrition / IIFB, Senegal)
Relevant organizations
1. Mr. Andreas Gettkant (ABS Capacity Development Initiative)
2. Ms. Leah Wanambwa (African Union)
3. Mr. Elpidio V. Peria (ASEAN Centre for Biodiversity)
4. Mr. Chouaibou Nchoutpouen (Commission des forêts d’Afrique Centrale)
5. Mr. Dan Leskien (Commission on Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture, FAO)
6. Ms. Catherine Brooksbank (European Molecular Biology Laboratory)
7. Mr. Daniele Manzella (International Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture)
8. Ms. Daphne Yong-d’Hervé (International Chamber of Commerce)
9. Ms. Amber Scholz (Leibniz Institute DSMZ)
10. Mr. Sefanaia Nawadra (Secretariat of the Pacific Regional Environment Programme)
11. Mr. Rik Lojemga (Union for Ethical Biotrade)
12. Ms. Midori Paxton (UN Development Programme)
13. Ms. Patricia Mbote (UN Environment Programme)
14. Ms. Guadalupe Yesenia Hernández Márquez (UNCBD Women Caucus)
15. TBC (Youth representative
