Dr. Yasmine Fouad, Minister of Environment, participated in a session of the Energy and Environment Committee of the Egyptian Parliament to discuss the draft law regulating access to biodiversity resources and the fair distribution of benefits arising from their use. This session focused on presenting the law’s philosophy and importance for protecting Egypt’s biodiversity, in the presence of Minister of Parliamentary Affairs and Legal and Political Communication, Counselor Mahmoud Fawzy, Eng. Talaat El-Swidy, Chairman of the Energy and Environment Committee, Dr. Ali Abu Sena, Executive Director of the Egyptian Environmental Affairs Agency, and several committee members.
Key Points of the Discussion
Eng. Talaat El-Swidy, the committee’s chairman, welcomed Dr. Yasmine Fouad, applauding her efforts in supporting environmental protection and preserving natural resources. He emphasized the importance of the law and noted that it was a collaborative effort between several committees, including those related to agriculture, irrigation, food security, animal wealth, higher education, and scientific research. The law’s primary goal is to protect Egypt’s rights to its biodiversity resources and traditional knowledge, ensuring they are not exploited without state permission.
Dr. Fouad acknowledged the committee’s work and expressed her appreciation for their ongoing support of environmental protection efforts. She referenced specific constitutional articles (32 and 46) that mandate the preservation of natural resources and the environment for future generations, as part of Egypt’s commitment to sustainable development. She also highlighted Egypt’s signatory status on the United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity and the Nagoya Protocol, reinforcing the need for national legislation to manage the fair use of biodiversity resources.
The Law’s Importance and Global Context
Dr. Fouad explained that Egypt’s biodiversity resources are divided into natural, genetic, and traditional knowledge components. These resources may be exploited by foreign companies or nations to produce medicines or other products without recognizing Egypt’s rights to them. The proposed law seeks to ensure that Egypt and local communities benefit from these resources, placing a fee on entities that wish to use them, transforming biodiversity into a source of national income and creating job opportunities.
She noted that discussions about the law began in 2018, during Egypt’s hosting of the United Nations Conference on Biological Diversity (COP14). The conference highlighted the need for a clear mechanism to ensure fair benefit-sharing from the use of biodiversity resources. Following the COVID-19 pandemic, discussions resumed at the COP15 conference in Canada in 2022, where decisions were made to establish goals for biodiversity protection, including increasing protected areas to 30% by 2030 and creating a database for genetic sequencing.
Dr. Fouad stressed the urgency of passing the law through the Egyptian Parliament to address the legislative gap left after the cancellation of Article 200 of the Intellectual Property Protection Law. This law will ensure that Egypt retains its sovereign rights over its biodiversity resources and prevent illegal exploitation by external parties.
Support for the Law and National Benefits
Counselor Mahmoud Fawzy expressed gratitude to Dr. Fouad for her commitment to advancing the law, emphasizing that the environment is no longer seen as a hindrance to development but rather as a source of economic opportunity through the sustainable use of natural resources.
Eng.Talaat El-Swidy highlighted Egypt’s unique biodiversity, which has attracted foreign institutions to explore and exploit these resources for pharmaceuticals and other products without permission or compensation. He noted that the law was crucial to safeguarding Egypt’s resources, both domestically and internationally, from unauthorized exploitation.
He further elaborated that the discussions on the law have been ongoing since 2018, with 45 sessions held, involving ministers and representatives from 13 relevant ministries. The law has been extensively reviewed in previous parliamentary sessions, and substantial amendments were made before its referral to the Senate in 2021 for further discussion. Now, the law is ready to be debated and passed in Parliament.
National and International Legal Framework
Dr. Fouad reiterated that registering Egypt’s biodiversity resources is an essential step in fulfilling the constitutional mandate to protect natural resources for future generations. The law will not only protect national resources but also provide a framework for fair and sustainable use on the international stage.
She concluded by emphasizing that the law will contribute to the development of local communities that rely on natural resources and strengthen Egypt’s ability to protect its biodiversity while ensuring its rights are recognized both domestically and internationally. Dr. Fouad responded to questions from committee members and thanked the committee for their support in passing the law.
Legal Context and International Obligations
The draft law on access to biodiversity resources and fair benefit-sharing aligns with Egypt’s constitutional commitments under Articles 32 and 46, which require the state to protect natural resources and ensure sustainable development for future generations. The law also fulfills Egypt’s international obligations, particularly under the Convention on Biological Diversity and the Nagoya Protocol, which aims to ensure fair benefit-sharing from the use of genetic resources. Egypt ratified the Nagoya Protocol in 2013, and the protocol entered into force in 2014.
The law provides a clear legal framework to implement the fair and equitable sharing of benefits arising from the use of genetic resources, contributing to the conservation of biodiversity and its sustainable use.
