An agreement came at the last minute October 30 after Ryu Matsumoto, Japan's environment minister, intervened. China and India wanted to nationalize genetic resources within their boundaries. The European Union, Canada, Australia -- which have large pharmaceutical and cosmetic industries -- resisted attempts to include products like biochemicals from plants and other species in the Protocol. The Nagoya Protocol requires ratification by each of the 193 government signatories.

Canada was criticized for seeking to exclude two provisions drafted for benefit of indigenous people: a reference to the United Nations Declaration of the Rights of Indigenous People (UNDRIP); and an affirmation that "...the rights indigenous and local communities have now or may have in the future," would not be diminished.

This prompted Canada's National Chief Shawn Atleo to write Canadian Environment Minister, Jim Prentice a letter.

"First Nations firmly support the inclusion of references to United Nations Declaration of the Rights of Indigenous People, as well as a non-derogation clause," wrote Chief Atleo. Ultimately both provisions survived, but the non-derogation clause was weakened.

"The Protocol gets indigenous people to a place where we can talk directly to nation states about our existing rights regarding genetic resources and value of traditional knowledge in the use of those resources," said Preston Hardison, a treaty rights expert with the Tulalip Tribes in Washington State, USA.