Summary
On Tuesday, 14 March, Working Group Co-Chairs Bert Visser (the Netherlands) and Javad Mozafari (Iran) opened the meeting, noting: the Working Group’s mandate to come to an agreement on a final package of a revised draft Standard Material Transfer Agreement (SMTA) text and additional recommendations to be submitted to the Governing Body of the International Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture (ITPGRFA); and intersessional work done by several Friends of the Co-Chairs groups and the Standing Group of Legal Experts. Kent Nnadozie, ITPGRFA Secretary Ad-Interim, stressed the spirit of collaboration that has prevailed in the deliberations so far.
During morning and afternoon sessions, the Working Group discussed coverage of the Multilateral System (MLS) vis-à-vis the scope of the Treaty; and issues arising from the revised SMTA, with a focus on the subscription system. North America highlighted that the US has become the latest member of the Treaty.
On coverage of the MLS, discussion focused on the approach and necessary conditions to expand coverage; and the legal mechanism to be used, namely an amendment or a protocol to the Treaty. Discussion on the approach to expand coverage addressed, among other issues, whether to expand it to “all” plant genetic resources for food and agriculture (PGRFA), and the definition of PGRFA, including in relation to crop wild relatives. On the legal mechanism, there was general agreement that any expansion should be done in the easiest and most effective way, with many identifying the need for better understanding the arguments for and against both options.
The Working Group then initiated deliberations on the revised SMTA. Delegates heard reports from Friends of the Co-Chairs groups on access mechanisms and payment rates, and the termination clause; and discussed questions with the Standing Group of Legal Experts, including on the compatibility of the subscription system and advance payments with the Treaty text.
An informal evening session held discussions on expanding MLS coverage.
IISD Reporting Services, through its Earth Negotiations Bulletin (ENB) Meeting Coverage, provided digital coverage and a summary and analysis report from OWG-EFMLS-6, which is available in HTML and PDF.
Photos by IISD/ENB | Mike Muzurakis
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From L-R: Tobias Kiene, ITPGRFA Secretariat; Javad Mozafari, Working Group Co-Chair; Bert Visser, Working Group Co-Chair; Kent Nnadozie, ITPGRFA Secretary Ad-Interim; Álvaro Toledo, ITPGRFA Secretariat
Catherine Karr-Colque and Felicitas Katepa-Mupondwa, North America Region
Alwin Kopse, European Region, with Sélim Louafi, CIRAD (Agricultural Research for Development)
Bert Visser, Working Group Co-Chair
Javad Mozafari, Working Group Co-Chair
Kent Nnadozie, ITPGRFA Secretary Ad-Interim
César Tapia Bastidas, Latin America and the Caribbean Region
Pierre du Plessis, Africa Region
Tobias Kiene, ITPGRFA Secretariat
Catherine Karr-Colque, North America Region
Modesto Fernández, Cuba, on behalf of the Friends of the Co-Chairs Group on the scope of the Multilateral System
Kuldeep Singh, Asia Region
Gerald Moore, Facilitator of the Standing Group of Legal Experts
Patricia Larbouret, European Region
Edward Hammond, Third World Network, with Dan Leskien, Secretariat of the Commission on Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture
Anke van den Hurk, Seed Industry
Thomas Meier, European Region
Cheikh Alassane Fall, Africa Region
Michael Halewood, CGIAR Consortium
Carlos Correa, speaking on behalf of the Standing Group of Legal Experts
Guy Kastler, Farmers Organizations
Kim van Seeters, the Netherlands
Participants networking during the lunch break
Delegates from the Latin America and the Caribbean Region
Around the Venue
View from the terrace of the FAO Headquarters
The "Campana della Pace" in front of the Preamble to the FAO Constitution
Fragment of the statue of Hercules
