On 22-23 May, the staff of the National Coordination Centre on Access to Genetic Resources and Benefit-sharing, the Institute of Genetics and Cytology, NAS of Belarus, held a workshop “Biological diversity and traditional knowledge related to the genetic resources’ use – the basis for the conservation of natural resources and human health”. The workshop was held within the framework of the Global UNDP-GEF Project “Strengthening of human resources, legal frameworks and institutional capacities to implement the Nagoya Protocol in the Republic of Belarus” in the Berezinsky Biosphere Reserve.
The workshop participants:
- S. Grib, Academician
- Ivkovich, Deputy Director of the Berezinsky Biosphere Reserve
- Stashkevich, Director of the Foundation “Cultural Heritage & Modernity”
- Research Associates of the Berezinsky Biosphere Reserve
- Research Associates of the Institute of Genetics and Cytology, NAS of Belarus, the Scientific and Practical Centre for Bioresources, NAS of Belarus, the Institute of Experimental Botany, NAS of Belarus, the Scientific and Practical Centre for Arable Farming, NAS of Belarus, and the Centre for Belarusian Culture, Language and Literature Research, NAS of Belarus, carrying out research on the project.
In total, 23 people took part in the workshop.
The main topics of the presented reports are as follows:
- Role of the Nagoya Protocol for the conservation of biological diversity
- 6th National Report on the implementation of the Convention on Biological Diversity
- Role of the Berezinsky Biosphere Reserve in the preservation of Belarus’s genetic resources
- National Strategy for the Conservation of Plant Genetic Resources as a scientific basis for the development of measures to enhance the food security of Belarus
- Genetic resources for food production from valuable species of fish in Belarus
- Synthetic biology and digital information – legal regulation
- Safeguarding of traditional knowledge and practices associated with genetic resources (international and domestic practices)
- Ethics in building trust between providers and users of genetic resources and associated traditional knowledge
- Relation between biological diversity, “genetic” nutrition and longevity
- Role of the National Coordination Centre and the National Clearing-House in regulating access to genetic resources and benefit-sharing.
