ROADTOWN Tortola BVI, October 18th, 2012 - Deputy Premier and Minister for Natural Resources and Labour, Dr. the Honourable Kedrick Pickering continues his representation of the British Virgin Islands (BVI) at the High Level Segment (HLS) of the 11th Conference of the Parties (COP 11) to the United Nations (UN) Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) in Hyderabad, India from October 16 to 19.
On the second day of the HLS, Honourable Pickering and Mr. Benito Wheatley, Senior Political/Public Affairs Officer at the British Virgin Islands London Office, attended panels on Coastal and Marine Biodiveristy and Genetic Resources and Access and Benefit Sharing.
The Deputy Premier told the Department of Information and Public Relations, "The international community recognises the threat to marine biodiversity. Our challenges at home are similar to those of other islands, particularly where it concerns waste water. A great deal of coral loss around the world is due to the negative effects of waste water that is destroying our biodiversity in terms of marine life."
Key issues discussed related to coastal and marine biodiversity included integrating biodiversity criteria into national policies, establishing partnerships for conservation of biodiversity, efficient use of financial and other resources, greater use of technology and pollution of the marine environment.
Discussions in relation to genetic resources focused on ratification of the Nagoya Protocols on Access to Genetic Resources and Benefit Sharing; the need for an implementation framework for accessing genetic materials originating from a country's biodiversity; and sharing of the financial and other benefits derived from commercial or scientific development and usage of those resources.
Commenting on the subject, the Deputy Premier said, “Our land and marine environment may hold properties that are of medicinal and scientific value, so we have to ensure that there is a proper framework under which such genetic resources can be accessed and developed,” adding, “Any commercial or scientific benefits reaped are fairly shared between our Territory and educational or scientific institutions and commercial entities."
The BVI is an Overseas Territory (OT) signatory to the United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity. The United Kingdom's (UK’s) ratification of the Convention on 3 June 1994 included four of its OTs at their request, including the BVI, Cayman, Gibraltar and St. Helena.
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