Background

This workshop is part of the Dutch-German ABS Capacity Development Initiative for Africa. Background information about the Initiative and full documentation of previous workshops and events is provided on www.abs-africa.info. This website was launched under the Initiative to provide a platform for information exchange and it is envisaged to develop it further into an ABS Clearinghouse for Africa.

The first continent wide workshop under this initiative was held in November 2006 in Cape Town, South Africa. Participants developed a vision for access and benefit-sharing in Africa to provide guidance and a sound basis for the further activities under the initiative. They also agreed on a roadmap of joint activities for achieving this vision. A number of workshops with regional or issue based focus and trainings have been organized since then under the initiative, including the recent briefing for the African negotiators in Montreal, Canada, prior to the 5th meeting of the Ad Hoc Open-ended Working Group for Access and Benefit-Sharing (WGABS-5).