Consensus eludes international biodiversity confab delegates

NAGOYA, Japan — After two weeks of continuing intense negotiations and with only five days left, participants to the 10th Conference of Parties (COP 10) to the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) have still not reached a consensus on the three major goals of the conference.

The goals are: Setting new strategic targets for 2020 and beyond; raising new funding; and reaching an agreement on a crucial international regime on Access and Benefit-Sharing (ABS).

According to members of the Philippine delegation headed by Environment and Natural Resources Undersecretary Manuel Gerochi and Director Mundita S. Lim of the Protected Areas and Wildlife Bureau (PAWB), consensus on all three major goals is being linked to current discussions, making it even harder to reach a consensus. 

Negotiations at the technical working level remain contentious, especially on the ABS issue which the Philippines and other resources countries are keen on. Still, Gerochi remains cautiously optimistic that a collective effort will lead to a successful close  for the COP 10 meeting which ends on Oct. 29.

For her part, Lim observed that discussions on the strategic targets appear to have reached a wall as the parties could not reach agreement on a 25-15 target. 

The 25-15 target refers to a 25-percent coverage of terrestial protected areas (TPAs), and 15-percent coverage of marine protected areas (MPAs) by 2020. 

This will be very difficult, said Lim who pointed out that almost all members of the CBD have not even achieved their 2010 targets.

For the Philippines, TPAs initially covered 2,567,317.91 hectares of which only 2,142,708.98 hectares have actually been covered, while MPAs cover 1,372,082.99 hectares — for a total protected area coverage of 3, 514,791.97 hectares

For the ASEAN region — to which the Philippines belongs — there has been a commendable increase in protected areas.

According to the ASEAN Center for Biodiversity, the number of protected areas in the region has increased by 98 percent in terms of area and by 89 percent in terms of number.

The number of designated protected areas in the region is estimated at 1,500 of which 28 have been declared as ASEAN heritage parks.

Lim noted that the current coverage of terrestial protected areas is still a low 13 percent globally. For marine protected areas, the figure is even lower at four percent. 

Faced with such realities, Lim expressed doubts about setting new and higher targets especially if additional funding for biodiversity programs is likewise not forthcoming. 

Christian Hofer, an official of the Global Enhancement Fund, in a briefing to media  participants to the COP 10, said a 10-fold increase should be implemented that would bring up the current financing budget of the GEF from $4.34 billion to at least $6 billion.

Even more desirable, Hofer said is a 100-fold increase that would boost available funding to $300 billion to accomplish all biodiversity goals.

Just as contentious, Lim said, is the ABS negotiations — with the Philippines and other resource countries — being particularly vigilant about ensuring benefit-sharing provisions that would allow biologically megadiverse  countries like the Philippines to benefit from the eventual utilization of products derived from genetic resource materials.

The Philippines, in the past, has been robbed of such benefits.

Lim cited for instance, the development of the ylang-ylang essential perfume oil by the well-known French fashion firm YSL which extracted the genetic material from  indigenous Philippine ylang- ylang flowers, developed and patented it as their own without giving due monetary benefits to the Philippines.

The Philippines tried unsuccessfully to take legal action against YSL. 

Thus, the ABS negotiation, not only to the Philippines is a key agreement in the current COP 10.