Washington, D.C., 03 Feb 2006
GRANADA, SPAIN - After intensive negotiations here this week, negotiators at a United Nations Convention on Biodiversity (CBD) conference adopted three draft documents recommending a new international regime for the use of genetic resources.
The recommendations, if adopted by the signatory nations of the 1992 CBD, could enhance the rights of indigenous and local communities to benefit when genetic resources or traditional knowledge from their areas are used in the development of products such as pharmaceuticals. The recommendations also could increase certainty for companies working in those areas.
While developing countries and the CBD secretariat welcomed the fact that a specific proposal for such a regime had been put forward, most developed countries and the industry were not welcoming the move.
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