On 30 October 2017, a national workshop was held at the Hotel la Palmeraie to pre-validate the National Interim Report to the Nagoya Protocol for members of the National Committee on Access and Sharing of Benefits Arising from the Use of Genetic Resources (CNAPA), reinforced by technicians who have followed the process of implementing this Protocol since its signature in 2014 by Burundi.

The activities of this workshop were initiated with an opening statement by the Director of Forests at the Burundian Office for Environmental Protection (OBPE) who welcomed the participants thanking them for having responded to the invitation. He then said that the objective of this workshop is to analyze the interim national report on APA to see if it reflects the reality on the ground and to contribute to the production of a comprehensive and consensual report.

This report was drawn up on the basis of a canvas showing the achievements and difficulties encountered in the implementation of this protocol, he explained. He ended his remarks by saying that this workshop concerns technicians who took part in the implementation of the Nagoya Protocol and invited them to contribute positively to the validation of this report in due time.

This opening speech was followed by a short presentation of Msc. NZIGIDAHERA Benoît, APA National Focal Point, on the various stages of the implementation of the Nagoya Protocol in Burundi, which include:

• Burundi's accession to the Nagoya Protocol, through its signature in 2014;
• The definition of the national policy for the implementation of the Nagoya Protocol (National Strategy for the implementation of the Nagoya Protocol);
• The existence of a national law on APA (draft decree on APA found at the Government level);
• The Strategic Plan for Research on Medicinal Resources accompanied by a memorandum of understanding between researchers and traditional practitioners still at the level of the Ministry of Public Health and the fight against AIDS;
• Several awareness-raising activities as part of the support of the Royal Belgian Institute of Natural Sciences (IRNSB) and the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) within the framework of COMIFAC (Central African Forests Commission);
• The development of documents for
• The development of guides to raise awareness among target groups;
• The training of members of the APA National Committee by a UNEP expert to strengthen their knowledge on APA in order to take strategies to operationalize APA in Burundi.

 

In the same presentation, the National APA Focal Point did not fail to highlight the various constraints they faced in implementing the Nagoya Protocol, in particular activities not carried out within the national framework under the funding of UNEP. These obstacles concern, among other things, 7 delegates from Burundi who should participate in COMIFAC/GIZ forums who did not have visas.

He continued by saying that the interim national report consists of a form submitted to all countries that have taken part in the Nagoya Protocol. This report is interim as it is expected at the Conference of the Parties in 2020. It aims to inquire about the status of implementation of the Nagoya Protocol at the national and global levels. This report will serve as a guide for activities to be done before 2020.

Concluding his remarks, the APA National Focal Point indicated that during this workshop, participants will be submitted to the answers already given in the preparation of the report to give their contribution by correcting or enriching them.

After this short presentation, the workshop moderator Mr. Jurist Damien NINDORERA presented the participants with the interim report consisting of 66 questions and indicated that participants are called upon to make observations, additions and omissions to the answers given previously. He did not fail to propose an adequate method for the analysis of this report consisting of reading the question and the answer given and the participants will make their comments.

During this session of analysis of this interim report, the answers previously given were amended in substance and form.

The activities of this workshop were closed by the Director of Forests, thanking the participants for their patience and contributions while wishing them a good night in the town of Gitega. We have just done a job of great importance for our institution and for our country, he added. He invited participants to show up very early the next day to prepare the distribution of working groups for the report validation session.