Access to and benefit-sharing of genetic resources: Rationale, review and prospects

Abstract

This chapter examines the rationale for the international regime governing access and benefit-sharing (ABS) in relation to genetic resources, offering an overview of the regime and looking at future prospects. After emphasizing the value of genetic resources for biological diversity, the chapter turns to the rationale for regulating access to natural resources and the fair and equitable sharing of benefits arising from their use, from the perspective of international law. This approach leads on to an analysis of the scope and limits of the ABS system in the international biodiversity regime and the specific multilateral ABS regime on plant genetic resources for food and agriculture. In a prospective review, the analysis looks at the digitization of genetic sequence information, which is currently one of the main challenges facing the internationally established ABS mechanism, and then explores ongoing work on an ABS mechanisms for a future agreement on marine biodiversity in areas beyond national jurisdiction.