About: Nagoya

EU lawmakers back ‘intellectual property rights’ over biodiversity

The European Parliament has agreed to rules that would prevent EU companies, particularly in the pharmaceuticals sector, from exploiting the natural resources of the world's indigenous communities by recognising their 'intellectual property rights' over local biodiversity.

EU debates biopiracy law to protect indigenous people

The European Parliament is debating a draft biopiracy law requiring industry to compensate indigenous people if it makes commercial use of their local knowledge such as plant-based medicines.

‘Historic deal’ to save nature reached in Nagoya

Environment ministers from almost 200 countries on Friday (29 October) adopted historic targets to halve loss of natural habitats and dramatically increase nature reserves to 17% of the world's land area by 2020 from less than 10% today.

The biodiversity challenge

Committing political will and a small fraction of the world's financial resources to protecting biodiversity would bring indispensable long-term benefits, argues Stephen Hopper, director of the Royal Botanic Gardens in Kew, London.