The international framework for access and benefit sharing of genetic resources and associated traditional knowledge

The focus of this handbook is legislation at the international level (treaties) and how that affects national policymaking and legislation mainly from the perspective of the provider countries. In this regard, treaties are agreements that have been negotiated between States, stipulating the terms, conditions, rights and obligations which the signatories must abide by. They may be bilateral, meaning that the agreement binds two States, or multilateral, meaning that the agreement binds more than two States. Multilateral treaties may cover a region (the European Union (EU)) or a sub-region (the Mekong countries); they may be between regions (EU-African, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) countries) or global in scope (the Patent Cooperation Treaty, the Agreement on Trade-related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (the TRIPS Agreement)). A number of formalities may be needed for a treaty to become effective, including, for example, ratification. In many cases, treaty provisions will need to be implemented through national legislation, which may call for either establishing new laws or changing existing ones to fully comply with a treaty. Finally, established treaties may be amended or be further elaborated by means of additional or supplementary treaties such as protocols. This chapter examines the multilateral treaty framework for access and benefit sharing (ABS) of genetic resources and associated traditional knowledge (TK).

Related Subject(s): Economic and Social Development