Nagoya Protocol on Access to Genetic Resources and the Fair and Equitable Sharing of Benefits Arising from Their Utilization

About the Book

The fight against biopiracy and its injustices was the main impetus for the push to have an international treaty to be developed under the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD). The Convention's third objective of fair and equitable sharing of the benefits from the utilization of genetic resources is itself the result of tough negotiations in the early 1990s when the misappropriation, even theft, of the resources of developing countries and of indigenous peoples and local communities gained international attention. After almost 20 years, when the Convention's broad provisions proved to be inadequate, the Nagoya Protocol on Access and Benefit- sharing was forged in October 2010. This new legally binding international treaty, however, was born in an atmosphere of controversy when its core content was ultimately decided by a few during the final days of the 10th meeting of the CBD's Conference of Parties in Nagoya, Japan. This book, co-authored by six civil society participants who were actively engaged with the government negotiators and negotiation process, provides a rich account of the background and development of the Protocol. It analyses the main provisions of the Protocol and recommends several actions that can be taken at the national and international levels to ensure that the Protocol objective of fair and equitable benefit-sharing can be delivered with justice restored.


Contents

About the Authors and Editors

About the Publishers

CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION    

1.1    Genetic Resources As Colonial Trophies         
1.2    Unfair and Inequitable Realities    

CHAPTER 2: BACKGROUND    

2.1    Development of the ABS Provisions of the CBD    
2.2    Developing an ABS System under the CBD    

CHAPTER 3: ANALYSIS OF THE NAGOYA PROTOCOL    

Article 1 - OBJECTIVE    
Article 2 - USE OF TERMS    
Article 3 - SCOPE    
Article 4 - RELATIONSHIP WITH INTERNATIONAL AGREEMENTS AND INSTRUMENTS    
Article 5 - FAIR AND EQUITABLE BENEFIT SHARING    
Article 6 - ACCESS TO GENETIC RESOURCES    
Article 7 - ACCESS TO TRADITIONAL KNOWLEDGE ASSOCIATED WITH GENETIC RESOURCES
Article 8 - SPECIAL CONSIDERATIONS    
Article 9 - CONTRIBUTION TO CONSERVATION AND SUSTAINABLE USE     
Article 10 - GLOBAL MULTILATERAL BENEFIT-SHARING MECHANISM     
Article 11 - TRANSBOUNDARY COOPERATION    
Article 12 - TRADITIONAL KNOWLEDGE ASSOCIATED WITH GENETIC RESOURCES    
Article 13 - NATIONAL FOCAL POINTS AND COMPETENT NATIONAL AUTHORITIES    
Article 14 - THE ACCESS AND BENEFIT-SHARING CLEARING-HOUSE AND INFORMATION SHARING

OVERVIEW OF COMPLIANCE ISSUES (ARTICLES 30, 15-18)    

Article 30 - PROCEDURES AND MECHANISMS TO PROMOTE COMPLIANCE WITH THIS PROTOCOL    
Article 15 - COMPLIANCE WITH DOMESTIC LEGISLATION OR REGULATORY REQUIREMENTS ON ACCESS AND BENEFIT-SHARING    
Article 16 - COMPLIANCE WITH DOMESTIC LEGISLATION OR REGULATORY REQUIREMENTS ON ACCESS AND BENEFIT-SHARING FOR TRADITIONAL
KNOWLEDGE ASSOCIATED WITH GENETIC RESOURCES                
Article 18 - COMPLIANCE WITH MUTUALLY AGREED TERMS            
Article 17 - MONITORING THE UTILIZATION OF GENETIC RESOURCES    
Article 19 - MODEL CONTRACTUAL CLAUSES     
Article 20 - CODES OF CONDUCT, GUIDELINES AND BEST PRACTICES AND/OR STANDARDS    
Article 24 - NON-PARTIES    
Article 27 - SUBSIDIARY BODIES        
Article 31 - ASSESSMENT AND REVIEW
         
CHAPTER 4: DEVELOPMENT OF EFFECTIVE ABS SYSTEMS   
4.1    Overview     
4.2    Scope and Definitions     
4.3    Access to Genetic Resources of States and ILC and to Associated Traditional Knowledge of ILC     
4.4    Benefit-Sharing       
4.5    Associated Traditional Knowledge     
4.6    Compliance     
4.7    Sectoral Approaches and Guidelines under the National Law     
4.8    ABS-Related Institutions     
   
4.9    Capacity Building and Technology Transfer   

CHAPTER 5: CONCLUSION     

ANNEX I: Status of the last negotiated version of the draft Nagoya Protocol at the Ad Hoc Open-Ended Working Group on Access and Benefit-Sharing (noon
of October 27, 2010)     

ANNEX II: Synopsis of Article numbers in the adopted text (October 29, 2010) and the final official edition     

ANNEX III: The work of the Ad Hoc Open-Ended Intergovernmental Committee for the Nagoya Protocol on Access and Benefit-Sharing (ICNP)     

INDEX OF TABLES
    Table 1: Objectives of the CBD and their interpretation with regard to the South-North dynamics     
    Table 2: Overview of the ABS negotiations 1998-2010     
    Table 3: WGABS-8 suggested issues and measures for compliance and their     reflection in the Nagoya Protocol   
    Table 4: Core provisions of the
    Nagoya Protocol and their level of legal obligation