A Hyderabad Protocol like the Kyoto Protocol? For the first time since Independence, a global conference of the UN will be held in India. Called the 11th Conference on Biodiversity, it will be held in Hyderabad from October 1-19, 2012, with 194 countries taking part.
That means an agreement or a declaration reached on biosafety will be named after the Charminar city such as the Hyderabad Declaration or the Hyderabad Protocol.
“So far, there is no single agreement, declaration or treaty named after any of our cities. This will be for the first time Hyderabad will be on the international map in terms of the declaration at the conference,” environment minister Jairam Ramesh said after meeting Andhra Pradesh chief minister Kiran Kumar Reddy to finalise plans for co-ordination with the Centre on organising the conference.
“This is a prestigious conference for us. We are expecting about 8,000 delegates, including prime ministers of some nations, to participate,” added Ramesh.
The environment minister said Rs87 crore would be spent on organising the conference and the entire cost would be borne by the Centre. With the focus on biosafety, the conference is expected to deliberate on the rules and regulations governing the use and transportation of hazardous substances. “The conference is important to India since we are also debating on genetically modified crops including Bt cotton and Bt brinjal,” Ramesh said.
The Convention on Biological Diversity, known as the biodiversity convention, is an international legally binding treaty. Its objective is to develop national strategies for the conservation and sustainable use of biological diversity. It is often seen as the key document regarding sustainable development.
The convention was opened for signature at the Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro on June 5, 1992, and came into force on December 29, 1993. The 10th conference of parties was held in Nagoya, Japan in October 2010. The protocol adopted in Nagoya the Nagoya Protocol focuses on access to genetic resources, and the fair and equitable sharing of benefits arising from their utilisation to the Convention on Biological Diversity.
-Agencies