Biodiversity expert calls for effective benefit sharing

A Namibian biodiversity expert says sharing the benefits of genetic resources would unlock economic opportunities.

Kauna Schroder highlights the importance of Namibia’s compliance with the terms of the Nagoya Protocol on Access and Benefit Sharing (ABS).

She is the outgoing chairperson of the Compliance Committee of the Nagoya Protocol (under the Convention on Biological Diversity), made these remarks at the opening of the 16th Conference of Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD), which started in Cali, Colombia, on Monday.

The Nagoya Protocol is an international agreement that aims to share the benefits arising from the utilisation of genetic resources in a fair and equitable way. It ties in with Namibia’s Access to Biological and Genetic Resources and Associated Traditional Knowledge Act of 2017.

While handing over the duties of chairperson of the committee, Schroder said 141 countries have acceded and ratified the Nagoya Protocol under the CBD.

“The Nagoya Protocol is a vital framework aimed at ensuring fair and equitable sharing of benefits arising from the utilisation of genetic resources,” she said.

She emphasised that Namibia’s lack of effective implementation of ABS undermines the country’s efforts to fulfill the commitments outlined in the Nagoya Protocol.

While the protocol encourages sustainable practices that contribute to the conservation of natural heritage, without ABS being fully operational, Namibia risks jeopardising its rich biodiversity and the ecosystems that support it, she said.

“Effective implementation of the ABS Act could unlock economic opportunities through bio-prospecting and sustainable use of genetic resources. This would stimulate local economies and create jobs, particularly in rural areas where communities depend on biodiversity for their livelihoods,” Schroder added.

Adhering to both the Nagoya Protocol and ABS enhances Namibia’s reputation as a responsible player in international biodiversity governance, which will demonstrate Namibia’s commitment to sustainable development and attract investment and partnerships in conservation initiatives, she noted.

Namibia played a vital role in the negotiations that led to the adoption of the Nagoya Protocol in 2010 in Nagoya, Japan, when Namibia’s current vice president Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah was the minister of environment.

Namibia led the African group of negotiators towards the adoption of the Nagoya Protocol, while Namibia’s founding president Sam Nujoma presented Namibia’s Green Plan, which gave birth to a number of Namibia’s environmental protection initiatives and policies, including the establishment of the Environmental Investment Fund of Namibia and the Environmental Management Act (of 2007).