Biodiversity – The Nagoya Protocol advances for the Senate’s approval
On 8 July 2020, the Chamber of Deputies approved the Nagoya 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. Now, the Senate will analyze to approve the bill.
The Nagoya Protocol came into force on 12 October 2014. Currently, 124 countries have ratified the agreement, among them relevant export economies like China, India, and Indonesia.
Brazil had signed the agreement in 2011 but it is waiting for its ratification by the National Parliament. If Brazil ratifies the Protocol, it will participate in the meeting of the Parties with the right to vote, being able to influence significant decisions still to be made in the implementation procedure of the Protocol. On the other hand, by joining the agreement, Brazil will be immediately subject to the obligations established by the Protocol.
Brazilian legislation already regulates the subject of “access to Brazilian Biodiversity.” Therefore, by ratifying the agreement, it will be capable of promoting the international regulation to resemble the national law, which facilitates the internalization of the Protocol.
It is worth mentioning that 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.
