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THE NAGOYAPROTOCOLIMPLEMENTATIONFUND (NPIF)As the President of COP-10, Japan proposed to establisha new multi-donor trust fund to promote the early entryinto force and effective implementation of the NagoyaProtocol on Access to Genetic Resources and the Fair andEquitable Sharing of Benefits Arising from their Utilization.The new fund was to be managed by the GEF with theWorld Bank serving as the Trustee.The creation of the Nagoya Protocol ImplementationFund (NPIF) was approved by the GEF Council onFebruary 18, 2011. Further to the creation of the fund, theGEF Council approved the arrangements proposed forthe operation of this new multi-donor trust fund during itsspring meeting of 2011. The terms of the NPIF are in thedocument GEF/C.40/11/Rev.1, Outstanding Issues Relatedto the Nagoya Protocol Implementation Fund. The NPIFreceived contributions for a total of 16 million, generouslymade available by the Governments of Japan, France,Norway, Switzerland and the United Kingdom.The NPIF started its operation in the summer of2011, with the first grant awarded in December2011. By the end of GEF-5 (June 30, 2014), the NPIFinvested 13 million and leveraged 31.8 million in cofinancing. These funds are allowing the developmentof 10 national projects (Argentina, Bhutan – Photo 6,Photo 6. Farmers, agricultural fields and native forests in the mountains of Bhutan where natural compounds will be used for the development of cosmeticsand pharmaceutical products Photo by Curt Carnemark (World Bank Photo Collection).6THE GLOBAL ENVIRONMENT FACILITY

Cameroon, Cook Islands, Colombia, Costa Rica,Fiji, Gabon, Kenya, and Panama), 2 regionalprojects (Africa and Pacific) and 1 Globalproject. The country projects have a twopronged approach: advancing the ratificationand implementation of the basic measures ofthe NP, and piloting ABS agreement betweenusers and providers of genetic resources.These pilots are meant to inform nationalimplementation of the Protocol. They areaccessing resources in National Parks orthrough engagement with indigenous peoplesand local communities. The regional projectin Africa is allowing the member countries ofCOMIFAC (Burundi, Central African Republic,Congo, Cameroon, Gabon, Equatorial Guinea,Rwanda, Sao Tome and Principe, Chad andthe Democratic Republic of Congo) to worktowards the ratification and implementationof the Nagoya Protocol. The regional projectin the Pacific has similar objectives for the 12member countries of SPREP (Cook Islands, Fiji,Micronesia, Kiribati, Marshall Islands, Nauru,Niue, Papua New Guinea, Palau, SolomonIslands, Tonga, Tuvalu, Vanuatu and Samoa). Theglobal project is supporting the Ratification ofthe protocol in up to 30 countries. This projecttargeted countries that did not require thedevelopment of the entire legal and regulatoryframework for ratification. By the end of GEF5, 20 countries had benefited from this grant(Angola, Armenia, Burkina Faso, Belarus, Bosnia& Herzegovina, Cote d’Ivoire, Djibouti, Egypt,Guinea Bissau, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan Lesotho,Malawi, Mauritania, Niger, Nigeria, Sierra Leone,Swaziland, Togo, Uganda, Zimbabwe).CHALLENGES ANDOPPORTUNITIESTO IMPLEMENTTHE PROTOCOLThe development and implementation of ABS projectsover the last decade has provided the GEF with significant insights into the challenges and opportunitiesfacing countries willing to engage in providing accessand sharing the benefits derived from the use of thegenetic resources under the provisions of the NagoyaProtocol. These include the requirements and procedures for ratification, how to establish the appropriatelegal and administrative procedures for users andproviders of genetic resources to engage, how toaddress issues related to traditional knowledge and howto make the best out of the relationships with ILCs, theimplications of sourcing for biological material inside andoutside of protected areas, how to add value to geneticresources through research and development, how tostructure effective partnerships with domestic and international partners, and determining the appropriatetargets in public awareness campaigns to ensure buy inon the part of key stakeholders. Here we elaborate onthese challenges and opportunities using GEF fundedprojects as examples.RATIFICATION AND IMPLEMENTATIONOF THE NAGOYA PROTOCOLThe Nagoya Protocol has been signed by 92 countriesand has already been ratified by more than 50 countries,allowing for the protocol to enter into force at the firstCOP-MOP to take place in Pyeongchang, Republic ofKorea, in October 2014. Of the 92 signatories, the GEFsupported 15 countries with country-based or regionalprojects during GEF-4 (2006-2010). The GEF is alsoinvesting in 22 of the 50 countries that ratified theprotocol using financial resources from GEF-5BUILDING CAPACITY TO IMPLEMENT THE NAGOYA PROTOCOL: A REVIEW OF GEF SUPPORT7

(2010-2014). Funds are being used to implement thebasic measures of the protocol. There are also countriesthat have not signed and/or ratified the protocol thathave also received funding from the GEF. All in all, theGEF has supported over 100 countries in fulfilling theirobligations under the third objective of the CBD, withmore than 60 million invested and 120 million leveraged in co-financing. During GEF-6 (2014-2018), therewill be opportunities for countries to use the fundsallocated to countries through the System of TransparentAllocation for Resources (STAR) to further advance thenational ABS agenda.GEF financial resources have been invested by means ofnational, regional and global projects. Ten countries(Algeria, Bahamas, Brazil, China, Ecuador, Guatemala,Malaysia, Mexico, Morocco and Vietnam) used some oftheir GEF-5 STAR allocations to put in place the legal-,regulatory-, institutional- and administrative-systemsneeded to comply with the basic provisions of theProtocol. Some of these countries (i.e. China, Ecuador,Malaysia and Vietnam), included a component to pilotsome ABS agreements between users and providers ofgenetic resources. Regional projects in the Caribbean,Africa and the Pacific are also being used to createcapacity needed in order to comply with the Protocol.These regional projects will deliver technical and financialassistance to the participating countries using a twopronged approach: first, the projects will group countriesaccording to needs and deliver assistance by means ofspecialized consultancy services (i.e. scooping analysisand step wise approach to achieve targets, like ratification) or workshops on specific topics (i.e. capacitybuilding); second, they will deliver technical and financialassistance on a country by country basis (i.e. public awareness campaigns and building institutional capacities in theGovernment agencies). These regional projects arebuilding on a common geography or political support likein the case of the regional project in central Africa“Ratification and Implementation of the Nagoya Protocolfor the Member countries of the Central African ForestsCommission COMIFAC”. This project counts on significantpolitical support for ABS in the region. Indeed, COMIFACmembers signed a presidential agreements in 2011 toadvance the ABS agenda in the region (“Strategie despays de l’espace COMIFAC relative a l’acces auxressources biologiques/genetiques et au partage juste etequitable des avantages decoulant de leur utilisation’).8THE GLOBAL ENVIRONMENT FACILITYLEGAL CERTAINTY ANDADMINISTRATIVE PROCESSESThe GEF is currently supporting projects in over 50countries to develop or strengthen the policy-, legal- andregulatory frameworks to comply with key provisions ofthe Nagoya Protocol. In GEF-5, the GEF provided grantsupport to conduct a comprehensive review and developthe policy and regulatory frameworks in countries in LatinAmerica and the Caribbean (Bahamas, Brazil, Costa Rica,Ecuador, Guatemala, Mexico and Panama), Africa(Algeria and Morocco) and Asia (Malaysia, Bhutan, Chinaand Vietnam). A common denominator among thesecountries is that they have elements of the law and evendraft legislation governing the use of genetic resources.Furthermore, these countries have some of the institutions necessary to administer the process and/or monitorthe granting of permits for Prior Informed Consent (PIC),Mutually Agreed Terms (MAT) and benefit sharing,needed for user and providers of genetic resources alike.In these cases, GEF financial resources will facilitatedeveloping a comprehensive system that set the rules foraccessing and sharing the resources derived from theuse of genetic resources. Some resources are being usedto complete building the institutional capacity to administer these processes, including the definition of theNational Focal Points and the role and structure of theNational Competent Authorities. In cases where thelegislative agenda is insipient or non-existing, or theinstitutional capacity is weak, the GEF funds will serve toput in place the basic elements to address the requirements of the Nagoya Protocol. Having a minimum set oflegal and administrative measures in place and the institutional capacity to oversee the process, are conditionssine qua non for users and providers of genetic resourcesto engage legally binding agreements on the access, useand sharing of benefits derived from their utilization.TRADITIONAL KNOWLEDGEMost GEF funded projects on ABS include componentsthat relate directly or indirectly with indigenous peoplesand local communities (ILCs). Activities in support ofengaging ILCs on the ABS agenda are a commondenominator in the GEF portfolio, because ILCs live inthe areas where the genetic resources are located.There are a number of projects where ILCs are not onlyincluded with other stakeholders but play a central role

in cases where legally binding agreements between theusers of genetic resources are being negotiated. Forinstance, the project “A Bottom up Approach to ABS:Community Level Capacity Development for SuccessfulEngagement in ABS Value Chains in Cameroon(Echinops giganteus)”, will result in the increasedcapacity of ILCs to engage with users of geneticresources by strengthening the value chains of productsderived from the plant Echinops giganteus, a species ofinterest to the fragrance and flavor industries. Theproject “Production of Natural Dyes in the ChocoRegion of Colombia for the Food, Cosmetics andPersonal Care Industries under the Provisions of theNagoya Protocol” will allow a partnership in the Pacificlowlands of Colombia to scale up the production ofnatural dyes derived from the plant Genipa americana.The dyes are of interest to the food, cosmetics andpersonal care industries. The project will improve thecapacity of the local communities to collect the fruitsaccording to sustainability and biodiversity conservation criteria and develop ABS agreements with theusers of the dyes (Photo 7). The project “Strengtheningthe Implementation of the Nagoya Protocol on Accessto Genetic Resources and Benefit Sharing in the CookIslands” will result in the strengthening of the nationaland customary regulatory framework in compliance withthe NP, the capacities of the local communities onsustainable cultivation/collection of plant material, andconservation of the habitats of “Au” H. tiliaceus. Theproject will also support the revision of existing ABSagreement to ensure compliance with the NP, andimproved facilities and extraction protocols for theactive compound derived from this plant. In Bhutan,the GEF is supporting the project “Implementing theNagoya Protocol on Access to Genetic Resources andBenefit Sharing in Bhutan”. In this project, ABS agreements will be negotiated between the companies,National Biodiversity Centre (NBC) and the communities. These agreements will include the use and protection of traditional knowledge associated with biologicalresources used as the source of active compounds for thedevelopment of cosmetic and pharmaceutical products.NATIONAL AND REGIONAL PARKSA number of GEF funded projects are sourcing geneticresources from national or regional parks. In the project“Promoting the application of the Nagoya Protocol onPhoto 7. Testing the blue dye derived from the plant Genipa americana, a native species in thePacific Lowlands of Colombia. Photo Ecoflora.Access to Genetic Resources and Benefit Sharing inPanama”, GEF funds will assist in the discovery of activecompounds from marine organisms (mainly corals) andthe improvement of the infrastructure of Coiba NationalPark, where coral samples are being collected (Photo 8).In the project “Developing the Microbial BiotechnologyIndustry from Kenya’s Soda Lakes in line with the NagoyaProtocol” the GEF is supporting a series of activities tocarry out research and development on geneticresources from micro-organisms collected in the SodaLakes. The project is supporting the development oftourism infrastructure in these National Parks. In Fiji, theproject “Discovering nature-based products and buildingcapacities for the application of the Nagoya Protocol onAccess to Genetic Resources and Benefit Sharing”,bio-prospecting work will be linked strongly to biodiversity conservation through management planning withlocal communities.BUILDING CAPACITY TO IMPLEMENT THE NAGOYA PROTOCOL: A REVIEW OF GEF SUPPORT9

Photo 8. Coiba National Park, Panama. During GEF-5, Panama received the first grant from the “Nagoya Protocol Implementation Fund. The project is entitled “Promotingthe application of the Nagoya Protocol on Access to Genetic Resources and Benefit Sharing in Panama”. Photo by ICBG-Panama.PUBLIC AWARENESSActivities to build capacity and raise awareness aboutthe Nagoya Protocol are included in each and all ofthe GEF funded projects. These investments cover awide range of audiences, including Indigenous andLocal Communities (ILCs), government officials and theprivate sector. GEF funds are being used to develop,disseminate and put into practice “Communication,Education, Participation and Awareness” (CEPA) plans.These plans will allow clarifying the scope, rules andbenefits that should be expected when engaging inagreements on the use of genetic resources.RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENTThe GEF is supporting a number of countries improvingtheir institutional and human capacities for research anddevelopment (R&D) of genetic resources. Increasing thevalue of genetic resources via R&D is central not only tothe Nagoya Protocol, but to scientific and technologicaldevelopment policy of parties to the Protocol, and somecountries are advancing on this front. For instance,in the project “Strengthening the Implementation ofthe Nagoya Protocol on Access to Genetic Resources10THE GLOBAL ENVIRONMENT FACILITYand Benefit Sharing in the Cook Islands”, the GEFis supporting a consortium to improve facilities andextraction protocols for compounds derived fromthe plant “Au” (Hibiscus tiliaceus). These compoundsare known to have bone and cartilage regenerationproperties (Photo 9). In the project “Promoting theApplication of the Nagoya Protocol through theDevelopment of Nature-based Products, Benefit-sharingand Biodiversity Conservation” in Costa Rica, GEF fundsare supporting the scientific research process needed tovalidate the potential of a sugar alkaloid (derived fromthe tree of the genus Lonchocarpus) and a compoundderived from a micro fungus, for the production ofcrop-protection products (Photo 10). In the project“Promoting the application of the Nagoya Protocol onAccess to Genetic Resources and Benefit Sharing inPanama”, the GEF is supporting a joint-venture with theGovernment of Panama, the private sector and nationaland international academic and research institutionsin search of active compounds derived from marineorganisms of interest to the pharmaceutical sector. In thisproject as well as in Kenya, “Developing the MicrobialBiotechnology Industry from Kenya’s Soda Lakes in linewith the Nagoya Protocol”, the GEF is supporting thetransfer of technology between users and providers of

genetic resources, including equipment, know-how andtraining. Another example of GEF support in R&D is theproject “Implementing the Nagoya Protocol on Accessto Genetic Resources and Benefit Sharing in Bhutan”.In this case, there is a pilot aiming at the identificationof lead compounds for the development of cosmeticand pharmaceutical products. The partners in thisproject include the Government of Bhutan, the BhutanConservation Trust Fund, and the private sector.MARINE BIO-PROSPECTINGThe portfolio of GEF projects in support of ratification ofthe Nagoya Protocol include a number of pilots wherethere is bio-prospecting on marine organisms. Theseprojects include “Promoting the application of theNagoya Protocol on Access to Genetic Resources andBenefit Sharing in Panama”, and “Discovering NatureBased Products and Building Capacities for theApplication of the Nagoya Protocol on Access to GeneticResources and Benefit Sharing – Fiji”(Photo 11) . Theproject in Panama will concentrate on the discovery ofnature-based products for the pharmaceutical andagrochemical industries and promote the conservationof genetic resources in the Protected Areas System ofPanama, with particular emphasis on Coiba National Park.The project in Fiji will allow a joint venture to strengthenbio-prospecting through state of the art technology, theidentification of highly active compounds of interest tothe pharmaceutical and agrochemical industries, andmake ABS Agreements and Benefit Sharing operationalby linking bio-prospecting with marine conservationactions lead by local communities. There is also a projectin Bahamas “Strengthening Access and Benefit Sharing(ABS) in the Bahamas” that will advance the nationalagenda on ABS and use a long standing businessrelation between the Government and the private sectoron nature-based products to build proper ABS agreements under the provisions of the Nagoya Protocol.Photo 9. Newly constructed extraction facility on Rarotonga for the CIMTECH Technology.Photo Lorinda Matheson.Photo 10. Banana plants being treated with a natural compound being developed at INBioagainst fungal and bacterial diseases (Photo INBIo, Costa Rica).JOINT-VENTURESThe Nagoya Protocol Implementation Fund (NPIF)funded a number of projects with pilots in support ofexisting partnerships and joint ventures searching foractive compounds of interest to various sectors includingpharmaceuticals, manufacturing/textile, and cosmeticsand food-and-beverages. In Argentina, the GEF issupportin

the COP to provide financial resources to assist Parties with the implementation of the Bonn Guidelines, the voluntary provisions that allowed countries to implement the provisions of the Convention on ABS. The GEF created a strategic objective and strategic program in the GEF biodiversity