US embassy cable - 05SANAA58

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/S&T 
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