Biodiversity Resources: Extract from the Mauritius Strategy - chapter IX (paras 55-59)

53. Many small island developing States have ratified the Convention on Biological Diversity and its Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety, and have initiated national biodiversity strategic action plans and developed national nature reserves and protected areas. The World Summit on Sustainable Development confirmed the essential links between biodiversity and livelihoods. The achievements of the targets set by the international community in relevant international conventions, in particular those of the Convention on Biological Diversity agreed by the Conference of the Parties to the Convention and endorsed by the Summit, are of particular importance to small island developing States.

54. To achieve those targets in the agreed time frames, the following actions are required by small island developing States, with necessary support from the international community:

(a) Integrating biodiversity protection into national sustainable development strategies;

(b) Building effective partnerships between all relevant stakeholders essential to the conservation and sustainable use of biological resources;

(c) Addressing island biodiversity under the Convention on Biological Diversity in a manner that responds to the unique characteristics of small island developing States and to the threats related to climate change, land degradation and their particular vulnerabilities;

(d) Implementing the guidelines of the Convention on biodiversity and tourism development;

(e) Enhancing national efforts, both by Governments and other stakeholders, in the implementation of the programme of work of the Convention on protected areas, including the establishment of protected areas consistent with international law and based on scientific information;

(f) Controlling major pathways for potential alien invasive species in small island developing States;

(g) Developing local capacities for protecting and developing the traditional knowledge of indigenous groups for the fair and equitable sharing of the benefits arising from the use of genetic resources, taking into account the Bonn Guidelines on Access to Genetic Resources and Fair and Equitable Sharing of Benefits Arising out of their Utilization as adopted at by the Conference of Parties to the Convention at its sixth meeting;

(h) Developing the capacity to promote cooperation among small island developing States for biodiversity resources, shared ecosystem management and exchange of experience, including through support for strong networks, by both Governments and other stakeholders;

(i) Participating in the Ad Hoc Open-Ended Group of the Convention on an international regime on access and benefit-sharing to elaborate and negotiate the nature, scope and elements of an international regime on access and benefit-sharing in accordance with the terms of decision VII/19 of the Conference of Parties to the Convention, including, inter alia, the issue of unauthorized access to and misappropriation of genetic resources and traditional knowledge, which is of particular concern to small island developing States;

(j) Developing human and institutional capacity at the national and regional levels in small island developing States for research in the area of biodiversity, including taxonomy;

(k) Supporting, through the Convention and its Cartagena Protocol, the development and implementation of national biosafety frameworks;

(l) Supporting small island developing States efforts in building community capacity to conserve important species, sites and habitats.