26 February 2025 – The Sabah Biodiversity Centre organized a seminar on the Implementation of the Nagoya Protocol on Genetic Resources and the Activation of International Collaborative Research in the Field of Genetic Resources at the Institute for Tropical Biology and Conservation, Universiti Malaysia Sabah (ITBC, UMS). The speaker, Dr. Mutsuaki Suzuki, is the Director of the ABS Support Office, National Institute of Genetics, Japan.

In his presentation, Dr. Suzuki provided an overview of the history of the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) and the Nagoya Protocol, followed by a summary of the current status of each country and a report on the 16th Conference of the Parties (COP16) to the CBD, specifically regarding the DSI decision. He also shared the National Institute of Genetics’ (NIG) activities in research, collaboration, and ABS implementation support.

The seminar successfully engaged local researchers, government department personnel, and representatives from non-governmental organizations. It is hoped that such seminars will help promote and effectively implement ABS, providing value to access and export licenses, while inspiring researchers to contribute to biodiversity conservation, sustainable development, and social well-being. Ultimately, this will bring ongoing benefits to the State of Sabah.

Sabah Biodiversity Centre would like to take this opportunity to thank Associate Prof. Dr. Fiffy Hanisdah Saikim, Director of ITBC, UMS, Mdm. Petherine Jimbau, Curator, Mdm. Norazmayati Kassim, Chief Admin and Mr. Azrie bin Alliamat, Ass. Science Officer for the support during the seminar.