"The Access and Benefit-Sharing Regional Consultation for African Countries” took place from the 4-6^th March 2010 in Windhoek, Namibia  and was funded by the Government of Denmark and organised by the ABS Capacity Development Initiative for Africa in close collaboration and consultation with the CBD Secretariat, UNEP and the Co-Chairs of the WG-ABS.

The Regional Consultation was organised in response to decision IX/12 on Access and Benefit-sharing, paragraph 17, where the Conference of the Parties (COP) emphasized the importance of consultations to advance the negotiations of the International Regime on Access and Benefit-sharing and requested the Co-Chairs of the Ad Hoc Open-ended Working Group on Access and Benefit-sharing (WG-ABS) to be instrumental in organizing and facilitating such consultations during the intersessional period. The decision also encouraged Parties and stakeholders to carry out bilateral, regional and interregional meetings and consultations and called upon donors and relevant organisations to provide financial reesources necessary for such meetings and consultations. In addition, in paragraph 22 of the same decision, the COP invited the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), governments and other international organizations to support regional and interregional Consultations in close collaboration with the Secretariat.

In accordance with the above, and further to notification 2009-010 of 24 August 2009 announcing the tentative calender of the Regional Consultations, the Regional Consultation for African countries provided an opportunity for the negotiators from the region to consult and exchange views on the components of the International Regime during the intersessional period with a view to finalizing the negotiations of the International Regime at the ninth meeting of the Ad Hoc Open-ended Working Group on Access and Benefit-sharing.

The following countries sent government-nominated officers or experts to the workshop: Arab Republic of Egypt, Burkina Faso, Democratic Republic of Egypt, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Eritrea, Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, Federal Republic of Nigeria, Gabonese Republic, Kingdom of Morocco, Republic of Benin, Republic of Botswana, Republic of Burundi, Republic of Cameroon, Republic of Chad, Republic of Côte d’Ivoire, Republic of Djibouti, Republic of Equatorial Guinea, Republic of Ghana, Republic of Guinea, Republic of Kenya, Republic of Liberia, Republic of Madagascar, Republic of Malawi, Republic of Mali, Republic of Mauritius, Republic of Namibia, Republic of Rwanda, Republic of Senegal, Republic of South Africa, Republic of the Gambia, Republic of the Sudan, Republic of Uganda, Republic of Zimbabwe, Union of the Comoros.