YEMEN REPORT - ACCESS TO GENETIC RESOURCES AND

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 SANAA 000058

SIPDIS

PASS TO STATE/OES/ETC ANA CHRISTINA VILLEGAS.

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: EAGR EAID SENV TBIO YM ENVIRONMENT
SUBJECT: YEMEN REPORT - ACCESS TO GENETIC RESOURCES AND
BENEFIT SHARING

REF: SECSTATE 269625


1. Per request in reftel and in preparation for the February
2004 Seventh Conference of the Parties of the Convention on
Biological Diversity (CBD),EconCommoff interviewed the CBD
point of contact for Yemen, Mahmoud M. Shidiwah, Chairman of
the Environmental Protection Authority (EPA),and Dr. Mohamed
Al-Nassiri, Director General of the Agricultural Research and
Extension Authority (AREA). A least developed country, Yemen
is in the embryonic stages of Access and Benefit Sharing
(ABS) legislation and regulation. This report will address
four parts of the study of ABS, Mutually Agreed Terms (MAT),
and Prior Informed Consent (PIC).

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Part 1: LEGISLATION AND REGULATION OF BIOLOGICAL RESOURCES
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2. Two ROYG interagency committees are responsible for
dealing with the issue of biological and genetic resources:
the Genetic Resources Committee, comprised of government
officials from the Ministry of Agriculture, the Environmental
Protection Agency, the Agricultural Research and Extension
Authority (AREA),and the Scientific Committee, comprised of
university researchers, representatives of
university-associated research centers, and some government
officials. Both Committees have yet to fully address the
issue of ABS at the national level. Government officials
such as EPA Chair Mahmoud Shidiwah and AREA Director General
Dr. Mohamed Al-Nassiri seek U.S. technical assistance to
address the legislative and regulatory needs surrounding ABS
issues in Yemen. State and local level government agencies
are not responsible for the issuing of research and
collection permits.


3. There are no current laws or procedures regulating
biological and genetic resources in Yemen, with the exception
of EPA bylaws regulation the biological resources of Socotra,
a large inhabited island in the Red Sea off Yemen's coast. A
1995 Environmental Protection Law is the only national
legislation under which genetic resources and their
regulation might fall, but the issues are not specifically
mentioned in the law. The interagency committees are looking
into extending the existing regulatory bylaws for Socotra to
the rest of the Red Sea, as well as mainland Yemen, but no
current laws or procedures regulating the biological and
genetic resources of the rest of the country.


4. Researchers interested in working with Socotra's resources
must submit a research proposal to the EPA. The proposal
must specify the research plan, aim, expected results,
methodology, and equipment to be used. With the proposal,
the researcher must provide a letter of recommendation for
their proposal from their governing research authority, e.g.
affiliated university, research center, or company. The
Environmental Council, a group of EPA and other government
officials, deliberate on the proposal for a maximum of two
weeks before giving their approval or refusal. If the
Environmental Council approves the research study, then the
researchers must sign an agreement with the EPA to comply
with the terms outlined in the environmental code.

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Part 2: MOVEMENT OF BIOLOGICAL SPECIMENS
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5. Researchers operating in Socotra must register all
biological specimens they intend to remove from the Island.
Specimens may not be used for commercial purposes.
Conditions regarding non-CITES export appear fairly simple.
Only dead specimens of fauna, including insects, can be
exported. For flora, the reproductive capability of the
plant must be removed. The EPA submits a letter to airport
and customs authorities to accompany the specimens out of the
country. For non-CITES import conditions, no foreign species
can be brought to Socotra Island except for circus animals.
A health certificate must accompany all imported species.

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Part 3: NEGOTIATING MAT ACCESS AND USE OF GENETIC RESOURCES
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6. Researches working in Socotra must list the species and
number of specimens they intend to remove from Socotra. Then
the EPA branch in Socotra must approve the list.


7. The government divides the regulation of research of
biogenetic resources between two agencies: the Ministry of
Agriculture governs agricultural research and the EPA governs
all other biological research. No clear regulations
regarding commercial research and development exist.
(Comment: In reality there is little or no regulation of the
activities of foreign researchers in Yemen. The ROYG has
neither the resources nor expertise to supervise or regulate
foreign researchers. End comment.)

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Part 4: STATUS OF MAT AND PIC IN YEMEN
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8. ROYG officials are not well informed on ABS, MAT and PIC
issues. EPA Chair Shidiwah could not easily identify the
national authority responsible for negotiating specific
contracts to provide access to genetic resources, either for
research or for commercial purposes. It does not appear that
EPA or AREA has dealt with any such cases to date. According
to Shidiwah, he and other government officials are still
uncertain how to approach this issue, and there are no
provisions in place to receive financial benefits from ABS
contracts or to establish conservation trust funds. The ROYG
makes available copies of bylaws and a simple contract
between the EPA and researchers. Those seeking general
information on research, collection, import and export
permits should contact the EPA offices directly:

Environment Protection Authority
P.O. Box 19719
Sanaa, Republic of Yemen
Tel: 967-1-207-816
Fax: 967-1-207-327
Email: epa-yemen@yemen.net.ye


9. As instructed in Ref A, Post will forward the bylaws and
draft contract to OES/ETC Villegas via e-mail.
KHOURY