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The 1992 Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) established a Conference of the Parties whose purpose is to keep under review the implementation of the Convention. The Conference, better known as COP, held its second annual meeting in Jakarta, Indonesia, Nov. 1-17. The CGIAR was well represented by its Chairman and nearly two dozen delegates from Centers attending. Agricultural biodiversity -- an issue of great importance to the Centers -- had received relatively little attention at the Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, where the Convention was signed. It was squarely on the agenda of COP2, however, and will be the primary focus of the next Conference of the Parties which will meet in December 1996, in Argentina.
A number of decisions taken by COP2 are of interest to the CGIAR. An important administrative decision was to locate the Secretariat of the CBD in Montreal, Canada. The Secretariat had been operating from Geneva, Switzerland, on an interim basis. Two new Secretariat positions were announced: one with responsibility for agrobiodiversity to be seconded by FAO, and the other with responsibility for marine biology to be seconded by UNESCO.
The Conference examined the question of funding mechanisms and recommended that no changes be made at this time. The Global Environment Facility (GEF) continues as an interim mechanism for funding activities relevant to the CBD. The permanent funding mechanism will be decided next year.
The Conference requested the Subsidiary Board on Scientific, Technical and Technological Advice (SABSTTA) develop a state of the world report on biodiversity ("The Global Biodiversity Outlook Report"), including information on endangered species and ecosystems needing priority action. The CGIAR will be requested to contribute to this report. The thorny issues of agrobiodiversity and access will be dealt with by SBSTTA in preparation for COP3. Discussions are progressing on these issues and the Secretariat will consult with the CGIAR, particularly on the question of access. In an intervention to the plenary, CGIAR Chair Ismail Serageldin offered to make available to COP a study on options for developing a multilateral system governing access. The study, which is being undertaken by IPGRI at the request of the FAO Commission on Plant Genetic Resources, should be completed in early 1996.
The Conference endorsed efforts of the FAO Commission to revise the Undertaking on Plant Genetic Resources to bring it in line with the Convention. The FAO Fourth International Technical Conference on Plant Genetic Resources -- scheduled for June 1996, in Leipzig, Germany -- was also endorsed by COP2. Delegates voiced the expectation that outputs of the Technical Conference -- a state of the world report and costed global plan of action -- would be in full harmony with the Convention.
CGIAR Chair Ismail Serageldin, during the second week of COP2, held meetings with representatives of CGIAR member countries and with NGO groups. He made a stirring statement to the plenary on Nov. 14. Describing the CGIAR's long history in promoting the conservation and use of agricultural biodiversity, he reaffirmed the commitment of the system to assist the Conference of the Parties in carrying out its mandate to implement the Convention.