Objectives

In line with the recommendation of the 3rd meeting of the ABS Working Group the regional workshop for Eastern and Southern Africa, held in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia from 2nd to 6th October 2005 was seeking to exchange experiences with relevant instruments and to discuss existing national approaches and mechanisms for the implementation of the ABS requirements of the CBD and the Bonn Guidelines. Beside legal and institutional aspects at the national level, local participation in the PIC process as a prerequisite for achieving benefit-sharing with local resource and/or knowledge providers have played an important role in the discussion as this can directly contribute to poverty alleviation of local and indigenous communities.

The aim of the workshop was twofold:

1. To foster an open exchange between stakeholders based on existing local, national and regional initiatives and experiences and
2. to create an understanding how local, national and international regulations depend on each other to be effective in implementing the third objective of the CBD.

Specific objectives of the Workshop were:

• To explore the implications of the existing international framework regulating ABS and experiences with bioprospecting cases in the region for the implementation of ABS regulations at the national and local level.
• Considering that bioprospecting is on-going in the region to identify gaps and hindrances at the local, national and international level to effectively regulate access to genetic resources and related traditional knowledge and ensure the sharing of benefits.
• Recognizing the different dimensions of poverty to analyse how benefits, which accrue in the context of bioprospecting, alleviate poverty of local and indigenous communities and to explore, which instruments and processes at the national and international level could be essential to further ABS as an instrument for poverty alleviation.
• To elaborate recommendations for policy makers, NGOs and other relevant actors in the region for the development of national and regional strategies for the creation and implementation of efficient ABS regulations, including participatory processes and institutional and regulatory requirements.
• To contribute to the preparation of those participants of the workshop, who will attend the next meeting of the ABS Working Group in January 2006.

Products

• Proposals regarding the implementation of ABS provisions including the Bonn Guidelines at the local, national and international level.

• Recommendations to the international processes, based on real life efforts of providers and users of genetic resources to put into practice ABS arrangements and their relation to poverty reduction.

• A report that will be transmitted to the CBD Secretariat for distribution as an information document for the 4th meeting of the ABS Working Group in Spain, January 2006.

• A side event during the 4th meeting of the ABS Working Group in Spain, January 2006, to present the recommendations to a broad audience.