How do you view the progress made in the implementation of the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) which was signed with much fanfare at Rio in 1992?
From the South and Southeast Asia point of view, the CBD has catalysed greater awareness, analysis and action on the three major goals of CBD—conservation, sustainable use and equitable sharing of benefits. Progress is being made on the first two goals, but initiatives relating to equitable sharing of benefits, taking into account the gender dimensions of equity, have been inadequate both in this region as well as globally. The CBD provisions relating to access, benefit-sharing, prior informed consent (PIC) and protection of traditional knowledge systems and rights must be implemented without delay.
But why has this failed to take off till now?
Subsequent to the coming into force of the CBD, the WTA and its provisions for Trade Related Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS) have also come into force. Under the WTA, "members shall provide for the protection of plant varieties either by...
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