53. The representative of India said that the Doha Ministerial Declaration mandated that the negotiations on outstanding implementation issues should be an integral part of the Work Programme. The relationship between the TRIPS Agreement and the CBD was a critical implementation issue for developing countries. There was general agreement among Members on preventing biopiracy, erroneously granted patents and enhancing mutual supportiveness between the TRIPS Agreement and the CBD. In April 2011, a large number of developing countries had expressed their support for the text of the disclosure proposal. The proposal sought to meet those objectives through an amendment of the TRIPS Agreement by including mandatory disclosure requirements, prior informed consent and access and benefit sharing, thus meeting the requirements of the Nagoya Protocol.
54. At the national level, under the Biological Diversity Act of 2002, India had undertaken a number of measures to prevent misappropriation of genetic resources and/or associated traditional knowledge. The problem, however, had an obvious international dimension and as such needed an international solution in order to be addressed effectively.
55. While the agenda item had been before the Council for over a decade, the momentum needed to move the issue forward was lacking because of the lack of engagement of some developed Members. Even the consensus required for a briefing from the CBD Secretariat on the Nagoya Protocol was lacking. The Doha Round was conceived as a development round and would not be completed if it fell short of correcting the imbalance in the TRIPS Agreement. The relationship between the Agreement and the CBD was a critical implementation issue for developing countries and, for his delegation, an outcome on that issue was an essential element of any development package emerging from the Round.
