Int'l biodiversity meeting to focus on marine, inland waters and mountain protection
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The upcoming 10th meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity, known as COP10, in the central Japanese city of Nagoya will be an effort to discuss protection of marine and coastal, inland waters and mountain biodiversity, organizers said Monday.
The meeting will run from Oct. 18 to 29, but the activities related to the event will start a week earlier, said Yoshimitsu Kawa, an organizer of the meeting. A concert with the theme of nature, and an exhibition featuring booths of some 200 organizations on biodiversity will also be held to complement the meeting.
A ministerial meeting in the last three days will be the highlight of the event. Negotiations will be conducted toward the adoption of the "Nagoya Protocol," an international regime on access to genetic resources such as medicinal plants and benefit- sharing for the countries concerned.
But analysts said the talks will not be easy because member countries are divided on issues like the sustainable use of biodiversity.
In addition, the post 2010 target will also be a major topic at the meeting. The 2010 biodiversity target was endorsed in 2002 with the goal of achieving by 2010 a significant reduction of the current rate of biodiversity loss at the global, regional and national levels to contribute to poverty alleviation and to the benefit of all life on earth.
The convention boasts more than 190 members. The meeting in Nagoya is expected to attract about 8,000 people in total, Kawa said.
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