Japan’s Assistance to Developing Countries to Promote the Implementation of the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) (“Sleeping Microbial Beauties” Projects)

October 28, 2010
Japanese

On October 28 (Thu), at a meeting of the high-level ministerial segment of the 10th Conference of Parties to the Convention of Biological Diversity (CBD) (COP10) being held in Nagoya, Mr. Yutaka Banno, State Secretary for Foreign Affairs, announced that Japan, as the chair of COP10, would conduct activities in support of the preservation and cultivation of microorganisms in partner countries through “Sleeping Microbial Beauties” Projects. These projects will be implemented for the purpose of assisting the implementation of the CBD by each country.
The projects will involve technology transfers and human capacity building, aiming to assist the preservation and cultivation of microorganisms in partner countries. The first of these projects will be implemented in Indonesia starting from March 2011, as one of the joint initiatives (Science and Technology Research Partnership for Sustainable Development [SATREPS]) of the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) and the Japan Science and Technology Agency (JST). It is expected that the implementation of this project will help partner countries advance research and development for their own genetic resources and discover valuable unknown microorganisms while preserving the biodiversity and ecosystems within their own borders.

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