Biodiversity – Brazilian Senate approved the Nagoya Protocol

Brazil made another important step towards the internalization of the Nagoya Protocol. On 6 August 2020, the Brazilian Senate approved the Protocol, an international agreement supplementary to the Convention on Biological Diversity that creates incentives for the conservation and sustainable use of genetic resources. It strengths the contribution of the biodiversity to the environmental development.

The expectation is that President Jair Bolsonaro sanctions the text, meaning that in the coming days Brazil will integrate the group of 126 countries that have already joined the agreement.

The Nagoya Protocol will come into force for the country 90 (ninety) days after the completion of its deposit ratification with the Secretary-General of the United Nations.

The ratification of the Protocol by Brazil does not bring innovations, as Federal Law No. 13,123/2015 already establishes rules for accessing national genetic resources. However, in case of access to exotic biodiversity, there will be the challenge of learning and applying/internalizing the rules of the Protocol.

To reinforce the legal security and to promote a fair and equitable share of the benefits originated by the use of genetic resources, and the associated traditional knowledge, the Nagoya Protocol foster the advancing of research about genetic resources that could lead to discoveries, besides the conservation of the biodiversity and the sustainable use of its components.