The Tenth Meeting of the Conference of the Parties (COP10) to the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) (Overview and Major Results)

October 2010

The Tenth Meeting of the Conference of the Parties (COP10) to the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD): Japan Contributes to the Adoption of the Nagoya Protocol and other important decisions as the President of the Conference

The tenth meeting of the Conference of the Parties (COP10) to the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) was held in Nagoya, Aichi Prefecture, from October 18 to 29. The meeting drew the participation of more than 13,000 people from the Parties to the Convention, relevant international organizations, non-governmental organizations (NGOs), and other institutions. H.E. Mr. Ryu Matsumoto, Minister of the Environment, served as the President of the Conference. On October 27, H.E. Mr. Naoto Kan, Prime Minister of Japan, attended the High Level Segment of COP10 that the Government of Japan hosted concurrently from October 27 to 29.

During the meeting, Prime Minister Kan announced the Life in Harmony Initiative (2 billion dollars) to support efforts being made by developing countries for biological diversity conservation; Minister Matsumoto announced the Japan Biodiversity Fund (1 billion yen) developed under the above Initiative to support the compilation of national strategies on biological diversity, and assistance (1 billion yen) to developing countries for capacity building regarding Access and Benefit-Sharing (ABS) related to genetic resources. Furthermore, H.E. Mr. Yutaka Banno, State Secretary for Foreign Affairs, announced specific assistance measures concerning genetic resources and forest conservation.

COP10 adopted the Nagoya Protocol on ABS and the New Strategic Plan of the Convention on Biological Diversity (the "Aichi Target") for 2011 onward. In addition, the fifth Meeting of the Conference of the Parties Serving as the Meeting of the Parties to the Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety (COP-MOP5), held prior to COP10, adopted the Nagoya-Kuala Lumpur Supplementary Protocol on Liability and Redress for Damages Resulting from Living Modified Organisms.

Japan, as the President of the COP10 and COP-MOP5 meetings, welcomes these outcomes. For the heavily debated Nagoya Protocol, Japan contributed to building consensus among the Parties toward the agreement by presenting a balanced draft President's text which reflected the interests of all the Parties at the meeting. Going forward, Japan will contribute to the conservation and sustainable use of biological diversity and proactively support the efforts of developing countries to achieve the Aichi Target and implement the Nagoya Protocol by utilizing its knowledge and technology, taking into account the needs of developing countries.