Second High-Level Round Table on the International Treaty at Rio

The event is organised under the patronship of the High Level Task Force of the Benefit-sharing Fund of the ITPGRFA and co-organised by Brazil and Italy.  The Round Table will take place at Rio Centro during the Rio+20 Summit on 21 June and will help to join efforts for a coherent and synergic implementation of the International Treaty.

On the basis of the good experience of the First High-Level Round Table we need to further enhance and promote partnerships with donors and to profile the Fund among high-level political decision makers as referred in resolutions 3, 4 and 7 adopted by the Governing Body of the Treaty in its last Session, held in Indonesia in March 2011.

As a concrete activity to be implemented in the course of the United Nations Decade on Biodiversity 2011 – 2020, this Second Round Table will foster discussions among Contracting Parties, stakeholders and experts on growing pressing issues regarding the conservation of biological diversity, the sustainable use of its components, and the fair and equitable sharing of the benefits arising from the use of genetic resources.

The main focus of the discussion will be:

• -To highlight the interaction between economy, biodiversity and food security;
• -To showcase the Treaty as one of the foremost legal instruments leading the agricultural field internationally with innovative mechanisms such as the Multilateral System of Access and Benefit-sharing and its Benefit-sharing Fund;
• -Facilitate the high-level discussion on the potential monetary and non-monetary benefits arising from the utilization of plant genetic resources for food and agriculture under the Multilateral System of the International Treaty.

Additional Resources:

- Webpage on the High-Level Round Table at Rio+20 Summit

- Registration & Accreditation to RIO+20

- Documents of the High-Level Round Table

 -FAO at Rio +20 (Website)