By Azara Lavia
Antigua and Barbuda, represented by Attorney at-law Nneka Nicholas, has been elected to serve as President of the Meeting of the Parties (MOP) to the Nagoya Protocol during the 16th Conference of the Parties (COP 16) to the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD).
Nicholas has been involved in negotiations for the Convention on Biological Diversity since 2016 and has served as a co-chair for the contact group on Digital Sequence Information.
Speaking to Observer, Nicholas who is currently a Crown Counsel II in the Attorney General’s Chambers within the Ministry of Legal Affairs and Justice, highlighted the importance of the conference.
“The significance of this meeting is that it’s the first meeting since the adoption of the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework, or the KMGBF. This was adopted at the 15th meeting of the COP, which took place in Montreal in 2022 and so, this is the first meeting where parties are able to report on their progress on aligning their national targets with the targets that is in the KMGBF, and it is also the first-time parties are able to make a report in a public forum on the progress to update their National Biodiversity Strategy and Action Plans,” she said.
Nicholas further stated that Antigua and Barbuda, like a lot of small island developing states and a lot of developing countries, we have not yet achieved either of those things due to the availability of resources, “however, we are a part of the NBSAP Accelerator Partnership, which was started by the governments of Colombia, which would help to give parties easier access to resources so that they are able to do the updates of the targets and the reports. So, we are in the process of doing that”.
The new President of the Nagoya Protocol outlined her roles and responsibilities, stating: “I will be chairing the substantive matters during the plenary session, which involves overseeing the discussions among all parties at the Conference of the Parties. There are three types of sessions: working groups, plenaries, and contact groups. The plenary serves as the main forum, where discussions take place before breaking down into working groups, which are then further divided into contact groups.”
Antigua and Barbuda has been a strong advocate from the Caribbean, emphasising that digital sequence information should not be treated separately from genetic resources. At the last COP, through Decision 15-9, the twin island state established the need for a distinct benefit-sharing mechanism for the benefits arising from the use of digital sequence information.
Nicholas, along with Kishma Primus Armand from the Crime Protection Unit and Dr Helena Jeffrey-Brown from the Organization of Eastern Caribbean States Commission, comprises the Antigua and Barbuda delegation.
The presidency comes at a crucial moment, as COP 16, the largest one to date with over 23,000 registered participants, is also expected to focus on the progress made under the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework.
With a focus on biodiversity protection, resource access, and sustainable use, Antigua and Barbuda’s leadership will emphasize the importance of balancing development needs with environmental stewardship.
The Nagoya Protocol is a supplementary agreement to the Convention on Biological Diversity. It provides a transparent legal framework for the effective implementation of one of the three objectives of the CBD: the fair and equitable sharing of benefits arising from the utilization of genetic resources.
The Protocol was adopted in Nagoya, Japan, in 2010 and entered into force on 12 October 2014. Antigua and Barbuda became a Party to the Nagoya Protocol in December 2017 and remains one of the few Caribbean islands with dedicated legislative framework to address the sharing of benefits from the use of its genetic resources.
The Conference of the Parties (COP) to the Convention on Biological Diversity is the governing body of the Convention. It advances implementation through the decisions it takes at its periodic meetings. Antigua and Barbuda became a Party to the CBD in December 1993.
The 16th meeting of the Conference of the Parties (COP16) to the Convention on Biological Diversity(CBD) began on Monday and will conclude on November 2, 2024.