Negotiations begin on international regime for access

 

to genetic resources, benefit-sharing

 

(Reissued as received.)

MONTREAL, 1 February (Convention on Biological Diversity Secretariat) -- Representatives from the 188 Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity will start negotiating a global regime on access to genetic resources and benefit-sharing at a one-week meeting in Bangkok from 14 to 18 February.

“Ensuring the ‘fair and equitable sharing of the benefits’ derived from genetic resources is one of the three basic objectives of the Biodiversity Convention”, said Hamdallah Zedan, the Executive Secretary of the Convention.

He added that “The issue is highly complex and has the potential to involve enormous sums of money.  We need effective agreed international measures to protect the legitimate interests of both the communities and countries that provide genetic resources and the researchers and companies that use them.”

The idea behind the talks is that by granting a company or organization access to its genetic resources (such as plants that can be used to produce new pharmaceuticals or fragrances), a country will, in return, receive a fair share of the profits or other benefits.

The Convention recognizes the sovereign right of States over their genetic resources, as well as the need to find a balance between providing access to these resources and ensuring the equitable sharing of the benefits arising from their use.

It also notes that access to genetic resources should be governed by the principle of “prior informed consent” and that benefits should be distributed on the basis of “mutually agreed terms”.

The Parties to the Convention have already approved a set of voluntary guidelines.  The 2002 “Bonn Guidelines” advise governments on how to set fair and practical conditions for users seeking genetic resources.  In return, these users must offer benefits such as profits, royalties, scientific collaboration or training.

An international regime will need to address a number of complex issues, including the protection of traditional knowledge and the role of intellectual property rights in access and benefit-sharing arrangements.

Negotiating positions are beginning to emerge.  The so-called “Group of Like-Minded Megadiverse Countries” consists of 17 countries rich in biological diversity and associated traditional knowledge that have agreed to join efforts in the negotiations.  Industry groups have also indicated their interest.

Until recently, foreign prospectors felt free to take biological resources from their countries of origin and use them to develop drugs and other commercial products.

The resulting products would be sold by foreign companies under the protection of patents or other intellectual property rights.  Meanwhile, the country of origin -- often from the developing world, where most biodiversity is found -- would receive no benefit from the commercial exploitation of its resources.

Note to Journalists

The documents for the meeting of the Open-ended Working Group on Access and Benefit Sharing, including press accreditation forms, are posted at http://www.biodiv.org/doc/meeting.aspx?mtg=ABSWG-03.

For more information, please contact David Ainsworth, Acting Information Officer, Secretariat of the Convention on Biological Diversity, tel: +1 514 287 7025, e-mail: david.ainsworth@biodiv.org.

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