4.0 Past News & Events

Montreal | Wednesday, 5 November 2004 
CISDL invites you to a poster session with the participants in the 'Laying the Foundations' access to genetic resources and benefit-sharing workshop.The four participants are working with NGOs in their home countries - Costa Rica, India, Kenya, and Peru - and have been in Montreal for three weeks to work together on collaborative research projects related to genetic resources and law. Please join us for an informal discussion of the work they have been doing at home and in Montreal. The event will take place on Wednesday, November 3rd from noon to 2 pm in the Atrium of New Chancellor Day Hall, McGill Faculty of Law, 3644 Peel St. For more information contact Kathryn Garforth, Workshop Coordinator, kgarforth@cisdl.org

Montreal | 18 October-5 November 2004 
CISDL is hosting four junior legal researchers from Costa Rica, India, Kenya and Peru for a three-week workshop in Montreal on access to genetic resources and benefit-sharing. The workshop is part of the 'Laying the Foundations' project, which CISDL is undertaking in partnership with Gene Campaign in India, the Southern Environmental and Agricultural Policy Research Institute in Kenya, and the Peruvian Society for Environmental Law. While in Canada, the researchers will engage in collaborative research projects, meet with various individuals and organizations involved in the access and benefit-sharing debate in order to form their own network of contacts, and learn about some of the background to the issue. The workshop is made possible thanks to funding from the International Development Research Centre in Ottawa. For more information, please contact Kathryn Garforth, Workshop & CISDL Project Coordinator, at kgarforth@cisdl.org.

Montreal | Wednesday June 16, 2004
Release of CISDL Scoping Study on Access to Genetic Resources and Benefit-Sharing  Today, CISDL releases a scoping study on future research priorities for access to genetic resources and benefit-sharing (ABS). The study sets the context for current international discussions on ABS and presents some of the interests of developing countries and local and indigenous communities in ABS. It includes a set of research priorities in seven different areas of ABS. These research questions were identified on the basis of consultations with experts in the field. The study concludes with a set of four recommendations for research funding bodies. The CISDL ABS Scoping Study was made possible by funding from the International Development Research Centre, Ottawa, Canada.

Montreal | Wednesday June 16, 2004 
Public Forum on Biodiversity, Intellectual Property Rights, and Sustainable Development  CISDL is hosting a Public Forum on Biodiversity, Intellectual Property Rights, and Sustainable Development on Wednesday, June 16 from 4pm to 6pm. The event will be in room 202, New Chancellor Day Hall, McGill Faculty of Law, 3660 Peel St. CISDL is pleased to welcome three speakers as part of the event: Prof. Wendy Adams, Centre for Intellectual Property Policy, McGill Faculty of Law (Montreal); Kent Nnadozie, Southern Environmental and Agricultural Policy Research Institute (Nairobi); and Geoff Tansey, consultant to the Quaker United Nations Office (Geneva) and Quaker International Affairs Programme (Ottawa). The Forum will be chaired by Kathryn Garforth, Research Fellow, CISDL. For more information or to register, please contact kgarforth@cisdl.org.

Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia | 26 February, 2004  Introducing a New Manual: Biosafety for Decision-Makers 
On Thursday, February 26th, CISDL will host a side event introducing its manual on 'Biosafety for Decision-Makers' at the first Meeting of the Parties to the Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety. The side event is an opportunity to present a draft of the manual, hear from members of the Advisory Council to the project, and solicit feedback to ensure the manual will be a useful tool for decision-makers.

Poster: PDF - 1.8 mb

Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia | 14 February, 2004  Access and Benefit-Sharing New Research Priorities Meeting 
Coinciding with the 7th Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity, CISDL held a successful brainstorming workshop on new research priorities for the proposed international regime on access to genetic resources and benefit-sharing (ABS). The meeting included leading actors in the field of ABS from both developing and developed countries. The brainstorming built on the research questions identified during the CISDL side event to the second meeting of the Ad Hoc Open-Ended Working Group on ABS in December 2003. The questions that arose during the brainstorming workshop will be used as the basis for further scoping work to inform future CISDL projects in this area and will also be of assistance to various funding agencies as they set their priorities in this area.

Montreal, Canada | 1 December 2003 Sustainable Biodiversity Law: Global Access, Local Benefits. 
The CISDL held a well-attended side event to the second meeting of the Ad Hoc Open-Ended Working Group on Access to Genetic Resources and Benefit-Sharing. The event included an overview of a working paper prepared by the CISDL on sustainable development law and the proposed new international regime on access to genetic resources and benefit-sharing. Attendess participated in a lively brainstorming session, raising questions about the proposed regime that they would like to see explored. These questions will form the basis of CISDL's research agenda in this area over the next two years. Our next objective is to hold a side event at the COP/MOP in February 2004 in order to solicit further suggestions, questions and ideas.

Montreal, Canada | 17 September 2003
When Biosafety Becomes Binding: In partnership with the Secretariat of the Convention on Biological Diversity, the CISDL will be holding a legal experts panel to mark the entry into force of the Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety. It will be a lively discussion of biosafety law, the precautionary principle, links to global trade debates and socio-economic considerations for decision-makers, from 3.30pm - 5.30pm on Wednesday, Sept. 17th, at 3690 Peel St., McGill University Faculty of Law. The academic community, policy makers and the general public and press are welcome. REGISTER NOW for the CISDL - UN CBD legal experts panel: there is no charge for participants, but mail kgarforth@cisdl.org immediately to reserve a place.

WHEN BIOSAFETY BECOMES BINDING: MARKING THE ENTRY INTO FORCE OF THE UN CARTAGENA PROTOCOL ON BIOSAFETY:

Poster: PDF :: 84k

Montreal, Canada | 14 March, 2003 
In partnership with McGill University and the Convention for Biological Diversity (CBD), the CISDL held an academic workshop on the implications of national and international access and benefit sharing regimes under the CBD.

“A New Regime on Access to Genetic Resources and Benefit-Sharing? ” PDF:: 125k

PROCEDURAL ASPECTS OF DEVELOPING ISDL REGIMES