Covering ABS : addressing the need for sectoral, geographical, legal and international integration in the ABS regime: papers and studies of the ABS project

Abstract

Nyasha Chishakwe 4.1 The southern Africa context 4.1.1 Status of biodiversity in southern Africa 4.1.1.1 Socio-economic status of southern Africa 4.1.1.2 Significance of ABS to biodiversity conservation 4.1.2 ABS in southern Africa 4.2 Implementing and applying ABS 4.2.1 The most pressing law and practice issues 4.2.1.1 Coverage: What are genetic resources? 4.2.1.2 Basic issues of property and contract law 4.2.1.3 Law that must underlie any contract 4.2.1.4 Other contract issues: Prior Informed Consent (PIC) and Mutually Agreed Terms (MAT) 4.2.1.5 Enhancing bargaining power and understanding in ABS agreements and negotiations 4.2.1.6 Valuation 4.2.1.7 Genetic resources found in many countries or communities -genetic resources as property and intellectual property 4.3 Major pressing issues in the SADC sub-region 4.3.1 Problems with current ABS systems 4.3.1.1 Mutually agreed terms 4.3.1.2 Prior informed consent 4.3.1.3 Equitable benefit sharing 4.3.1.4 Intellectual property rights of local communities 4.3.2 Implementation problems in an ITPGRFA-based ABS system 4.3.2.1 Capacity 4.3.2.2 Developmental concerns versus ABS 4.3.2.3 Intellectual property rights 4.4 Next steps 4.4.1 International regime development 4.4.2 Sub-regional regime development 4.4.3 Non-governmental activities and support 4.5 Recommendations5 Biodiversity Access and Benefit Sharing in Arid Countries and those with Low Diversity and High Endemism Rachel Wynberg 5.1 Introduction 5.2 Characteristics of low diversity and/or arid countries and those with high endemism 5.3 Commercial activities in arid/low diversity countries vii 5.4 Policy responses to ABS in low diversity and/or arid countries and those with high endemism 5.5 Key ABS issues and needs 5.5.1 Governance in remote areas 5.5.2 Land tenure and ownership 5.5.3Overlapping responsibilities and coordination 5.5.4Shared resources and regional approaches 5.5.5Adding value, research and development 5.5.6Integrating ABS into development priorities 5.6 Conclusions and recommendations 6Two Case Studies in Africa 6.1 Case study 1: ABS in Burkina Faso Amidou Garané 6.1.1 Overview of the biological, social and institutional characteristics of Burkina Faso 6.1.2 The relevance of access and benefit sharing to Burkina Faso 6.1.2.1 Extent of bioprospecting 6.1.2.2 Hurdles encountered in implementing ABS 6.1.2.3 ABS needs of Burkina Faso 6.1.3 Conclusions and recommendations 6.2 Case study 2: ABS in Lebanon Walid Nasser and Lina Haidar 6.2.1 Biological, social and institutional characteristics of Lebanon 6.

The Challenges for Implementing the Nagoya Protocol in a Multi-Level Governance Context: Lessons from the Belgian Case

“…In the same vein, the use of incentive systems rewarding pro-active implementation strategies by key actors can play a role in up-scaling the level of positive involvement in the ABS regime. The strength of the motivation of stakeholders to comply is indeed likely to be a determinant factor for reaching the ABS objectives [46], especially with private stakeholders who currently prefer to trade with informal providers that do not follow benefit-sharing standards [47]. Another barrier to the fair and equitable benefit-sharing objectives of the Protocol is the unbalanced bargaining power resulting from asymmetries in information, knowledge, negotiation skills and capacity.…”

Jordan: In search of new benefi t-sharing practices through participatory plant breeding

“…The project was initiated in 2003 and ended in 2007. Key research results were compiled in a series of publications produced by international ABS experts (Young 2009). Another major initiative was the ABS Management Tool: Best Practice Standard and Handbook for Implementing Genetic Resources Access and Benefi t Sharing Activities project, led by the International Institute for Sustainable Development.…”

Commercial product exploitation from marine microbial biodiversity: some legal and IP issues

“…This can lead to fines and imprisonment. For instance, in Colombia the penalties consist in 'imprisonment of 2 to 5 years, and a fine of up to ten thousand times the current monthly minimum wage' [Article 328 of the Columbian Criminal Code (Law 599 of 2000) (Young, 2009)]. In some countries, biopiracy can delay the process for obtaining permits/authorizations, or even a denial of future applications in the collection area (Thornström, 2007).…”