Facing the Harsh Reality of Access and Benefit Sharing (ABS) Legislation: An Industry Perspective

Frank Michiels, Ulrich Feiter, Stéphanie Paquin-Jaloux, Diana Jungmann, Axel Braun, Mary Ann P. Sayoc, Ricard Armengol, Markus Wyss and Bruno David
Additional contact information
Frank Michiels: BASF Belgium Coord. Center CommV, Innovation Center Gent, 9052 Gent, Belgium
Ulrich Feiter: Parceval Pty, Wellington 7655, South Africa
Stéphanie Paquin-Jaloux: Firmenich SA, 1242 Satigny, Switzerland
Diana Jungmann: 14Bisness Consulting Ltda., Brasilia 70756-530, Brazil
Axel Braun: F. Hoffmann-La Roche AG, 4070 Basel, Switzerland
Mary Ann P. Sayoc: East-West Seed Company, Inc., Bulacan 3008, Philippines
Ricard Armengol: Provital SAU, 08210 Barberà del Vallès, Spain
Markus Wyss: DSM Nutritional Products Ltd., CH-4303 Kaiseraugst, Switzerland
Bruno David: Pierre Fabre Research Institute, Green Mission, 31035 Toulouse, France

Sustainability, 2021, vol. 14, issue 1, 1-16

Abstract: Access and benefit sharing (ABS) is a framework which refers to a relatively recent type of legal requirements for access to and use of “genetic resources”. They are based on diverse national and regional laws and regulations, which mostly result from the implementation of the United Nations’ Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) and its supplementary agreement, the Nagoya Protocol. Their ambition is to achieve fair and equitable sharing of benefits arising out of the use of genetic resources as an incentive to conserve and sustainably use them. This paper describes the experiences, practical constraints and complexities encountered by users of genetic resources when dealing with ABS legislation, with a focus on users from the private sector. We provide insights on how ABS laws have fundamentally changed the way of working with genetic resources, in the hope that it inspires re-thinking of the ABS framework, to better support the overall objectives of the CBD.

Keywords: convention on biological diversity; access and benefit sharing; Nagoya protocol; industry perspective (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
References: View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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