India
is hosting the eleventh Conference of the Parties (CoP-11) to the Convention of Bodiversity in
Hyderabad on 1-19 October, 2012, at the Hyderabad International Convention Centre, Hyderabad.
There will be three components of CoP-11:
(i) the
sixth Conference of the Parties serving as Meeting of the Parties (CoP/MoP-6)
to the CBD’s Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety to be held from 1-5 October 2012;
(ii) the CoP-11 to the CBD from 8-19 October 2012;
(iii) the High Level Segment of
CoP-11 from 16-19 October 2012.
CoP-11 is expected to be the largest
such conference to be held in India with participation of thousands of
delegates from all countries of the world, including Ministers/Vice-Ministers,
Ambassadors, senior Government officials, heads and senior officers of UN and
multilateral agencies, private sector, academia, civil society organizations
etc.
India is a recognised megadiverse country rich in biodiversity and associated traditional knowledge.
India is a recognised megadiverse country rich in biodiversity and associated traditional knowledge.
With just 2.4% of the land area, India accounts for
nearly 7% of the recorded species even while supporting almost 18% of human
population as well as cattle population. The biotic pressure on Indian
biodiversity is therefore immense.
For India, conservation of its biodiversity is crucial not only because it provides several goods and services necessary for human survival, but also because it is directly linked with providing livelihoods to and improving socio-economic conditions of millions of our local people, thereby contributing to sustainable development and poverty alleviation.
India is a Party to the CBD; the the three objectives of the Convention are: conservation of biodiversity, sustainable use of its components, and the fair and equitable sharing of benefits arising from the use of genetic resources.
For India, conservation of its biodiversity is crucial not only because it provides several goods and services necessary for human survival, but also because it is directly linked with providing livelihoods to and improving socio-economic conditions of millions of our local people, thereby contributing to sustainable development and poverty alleviation.
India is a Party to the CBD; the the three objectives of the Convention are: conservation of biodiversity, sustainable use of its components, and the fair and equitable sharing of benefits arising from the use of genetic resources.
CBD is the first comprehensive global agreement addressing all aspects relating
to biodiversity. It is a framework agreement that provides for flexible
country-driven approach to its implementation. The Convention has near
universal membership with 193 Parties.
The USA is the only major country which is
not a Party to the CBD.
Two Protocols have so far been adopted under the aegis of CBD: the CartagenaProtocol on Biosafety (CPB) adopted in 2000, and the Nagoya Protocol on Access and Benefit Sharing adopted in 2010.
Despite intense biotic pressure, India has been able to harbour 7-8% of the world’s biodiversity. While most developing countries have lost forest cover, India has added around 3 million hectares of forests and tree cover in the last three decades.
Two Protocols have so far been adopted under the aegis of CBD: the CartagenaProtocol on Biosafety (CPB) adopted in 2000, and the Nagoya Protocol on Access and Benefit Sharing adopted in 2010.
Despite intense biotic pressure, India has been able to harbour 7-8% of the world’s biodiversity. While most developing countries have lost forest cover, India has added around 3 million hectares of forests and tree cover in the last three decades.
In India, with a strong legal and policy framework on biodiversity in place, some
recent positive initiatives relevant to biodiversity taken up include: Forests
Rights Act, MG NREGA.
Globally, India is recognized as a pioneer and
trendsetter on biodiversity issues, and is a major player.
On biodiversity,
India speaks from a position of strength. Advancing biodiversity agenda
contributes to equity as well as development agenda. This cannot the said of
any other environmental issue under discussion in international fora.
Hosting of CoP-11 in India is a culmination of the biodiversity agenda being pursued by India during last few years. The event provides India with an opportunity to consolidate, scale-up and showcase our initiatives and strengths on biodiversity.
Hosting of CoP-11 in India is a culmination of the biodiversity agenda being pursued by India during last few years. The event provides India with an opportunity to consolidate, scale-up and showcase our initiatives and strengths on biodiversity.
India with a strong institutional, legal and policy framework,
has the potential and capability to emerge as the world leader in conservation
and sustainable use of biodiversity, and also to set the global agenda on
biodiversity in the context of sustainable livelihoods during the UN Decade on
Biodiversity 2011-2020.
Hosting of CoP-11 would also bring in focus the need for balancing economic development, demographic pressures and environmental conservation in developing countries like India, and the need to spread awareness for better use and management of biological resources among different stakeholders.
Hosting of CoP-11 would also bring in focus the need for balancing economic development, demographic pressures and environmental conservation in developing countries like India, and the need to spread awareness for better use and management of biological resources among different stakeholders.
CoP-11 would
provide a unique platform to display, promote, interact, learn and network from
each other experiences and knowledge relating to biodiversity.
At the opening of CoP-11, the Presidency of CoP will be handed over by Japan (as the host of CoP-10) to the Indian Minister for Environment and Forests. India will be the President of CoP-11 for a two year period ending at the opening of the next CoP.
CoP-10 held in Nagoya in October 2010 had adopted the Strategic Plan for Biodiversity 2011-2020 alongwith twenty Aichi biodiversity targets. These inter alia included:
At the opening of CoP-11, the Presidency of CoP will be handed over by Japan (as the host of CoP-10) to the Indian Minister for Environment and Forests. India will be the President of CoP-11 for a two year period ending at the opening of the next CoP.
CoP-10 held in Nagoya in October 2010 had adopted the Strategic Plan for Biodiversity 2011-2020 alongwith twenty Aichi biodiversity targets. These inter alia included:
- By 2020, atleast 17% of terrestrial and inland water (from the present 13%), and 10% of coastal and marine areas (from the present 1.6%) are conserved;
- By 2020, the rate of loss of all natural habitats, including forests, is atleast halved;
- By 2020 areas under agriculture, aquaculture and forestry are managed sustainably.
While adopting the ambitious Strategic Plan,
CoP-10 could not agree on the targets for funding as the means to implement
Strategic Plan and achieve Aichi targets.
CoP-11 is expected to come out with a road map for operationalisation of the
Strategic Plan and Aichi targets; facilitation of early entry into force of
Nagoya Protocol on Access and Benefit Sharing; and determine targets for
mobilizing resources for implementing the Strategic Plan.
On resource mobilization, presently, the international flows for biodiversity
directly and indirectly are approximately USD 6 billion, which is about 4.7% of
the global ODA of USD 127 billion. To enable CoP-11 to agree on targets for
resource mobilization for implementation of the Strategic Plan, an assessment
of the requirement of funding to meet the Aichi targets at the global level is
necessary. Towards this, a number of activities have been undertaken in the
intersessional period.
India with Sweden, Ecuador and others co-sponsored a Dialogue seminar on
finance in Quito in March 2012, the outcomes of which resulted in an improved
understanding between the developed and developing countries.
Thereafter, India
alongwith UK have sponsored a High Level Panel for assessing the resources
required globally to implement the Strategic Plan. An interim report of this
Panel will be presented to CoP-11.
The Panel has estimated that the costs for
implementing the Aichi targets is between USD 150 billion to 430 billion
annually, though coordinated action on the targets is expected to substantially
reduce the total estimate.
Parallely, a team of five experts commissioned by
the CBD Secretariat have undertaken an assessment of the amount of funds that
are necessary to assist developing countries in achieving Aichi targets, over
the period 2014-2018.
As per this assessment, the total funding needs for
developing countries for the period 2014-2018 works out to be between USD 74
billion and 191 billion.
The outcome of these intersessional activities will be considered by CoP-11,
for facilitating a decision on some interim commitments on resource
mobilization, alongwith a road map that would include review by CoP-12 when
more information is expected to become available.
India has also hosted and supported a number of workshops and meetings for
capacity building on Protected Areas, national biodiversity strategies and
biosafety. These efforts made by India have been well appreciated by the global
community.
The CoP-MoP-6 will discuss and adopt further decisions for safe transfer,
handling and use of living modified organisms (LMOs) resulting from modern
biotechnology. The discussions will inter alia focus on risk assessment and
management of LMOs, socio-economic considerations, capacity building,
information sharing, cooperation among countries, and resource mobilization to
assist developing countries in meeting their global commitments towards safe
use of LMOs.
The outcomes of CoP-MoP-6 and CoP-11 are in the form of decisions agreed to by
consensus among all Parties to the CBD, which are binding on the Parties.
The High Level Segment will be inaugurated by the Prime Minister Dr Manmohan
Singh in the afternoon of 16 October 2012. Several Ministers, Vice-Ministers
and Ambassadors are likely to attend the High level Segment. There will be four
Panel discussions on the following topics during the High Level Segment:
Panel I: Implementation of the Strategic Plan on Biodiversity 2011-2020
Panel II: Biodiversity for Livelihoods and Poverty Reduction
Panel III: Coastal and Marine Biodiversity
Panel IV: Implementation of Nagoya Protocol on Access to Genetic Resources and
Benefit Sharing.
The outcome of High Level Segment will be in the form of Chair’s summary
statement by the Minister for Environment and Forests.
