Nagoya Protocol

Nagoya Protocol ensures fair and equitable sharing of benefits from genetic resources and Traditional Knowledge (TK).

Recent moves in Cameroon:

• The Global Environment Facility (GEF) will support Cameroon through a project titled ‘Support to Nagoya Protocol Implementation, Research and Development on Biodiversity Value chain for small holders in the South West and Far North Regions of Cameroon’.
• It will facilitate bioprospecting on selected species like Irvingia wombulu (bush mango), Monodora myristica, Balanites aegyptiaca, and Acacia nilotica, enhancing the biodiversity value chain for local smallholders.

About the Nagoya Protocol:

• The Nagoya Protocol is an international treaty designed to ensure fair and equitable sharing of benefits arising from the use of genetic resources and Traditional Knowledge (TK).
• It supplements the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD), promoting research for biodiversity conservation and sustainable use, thus contributing to food security and human well-being.
• Adopted in 2010 in Nagoya, Japan, and effective since 2014, the Protocol has 141 countries as parties and 92 signatories, including India, which ratified it in 2012.
• It aims to achieve one of the 3 objectives of the CBD: fair and equitable sharing of benefits from the use of genetic resources.
  • CBD’s other 2 objectives are- conservation of biological diversity, and sustainable use of its components.
• Bioprospecting involves exploring biological material for the development of commercially valuable products, such as new sources of drugs and food, enhancing both economic and environmental well-being.

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