ABS - a topic of politics
The topic of "access to genetic resources and benefit-sharing" was first brought to the global negotiating table in 1992 during the Earth Summit in Rio. This is where the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD, Biodiversity Convention) was opened for signature. The CBD's three objectives are
- the conservation of biological diversity,
- the sustainable use of its components, and
- the fair and equitable sharing of the benefits arising out of the utilization of genetic resources (ABS).
The latter aspect was included at the insistence of the developing countries, where approximately 80% of the global genetic resources are found. The objective was to establish a mechanism that puts the developing countries in a position to market "their" genetic resources profitably in future - and to create through ABS an economic incentive for conservation and the sustainable use of local biodiversity. Hence, an operational link between the CBD goals was established.
Since then, ABS issues have been discussed primarily at expert's level - at occasions including the sessions of the Conference of the Parties (COP), CBD working groups and workshops in industrialised and developing countries focussing mainly on bioprospecting, marketing and biopiracy. So far the potential for ABS mechanisms to contribute to poverty alleviation has rarely been utilised - partly because the only guidelines for a functioning mechanism - the Bonn Guidelines - do only have a voluntary character. As such there is no regulatory framework on which indigenous and local communities in rural areas - where poverty is mostly found - can base claims for their fair and equitable share of benefits arising from the utilization of genetic resources - be it from national governments or from the private sector.
Beyond this, recommendations have been put forward by various international conferences and workshops dealing with issues such as the cross-border transfer of genetic resources, disclosure of information, mechanisms for participation, stakeholder cooperation and the documentation of traditional knowledge. However, all these efforts by the ABS community have not yet resulted in a mutually supportive relationship with the relevant key issues of the World Trade Organization (WTO) regime and the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) rules. It is vital to bring the respective approaches of the CBD, the WTO and the WIPO in harmony - and also, in the medium term, to translate this to the national level - if an ABS regime is to be sustainable and enforceable in a global economy.
Only since WSSD 2002, the World Summit on Sustainable Development in Johannesburg, the ABS process gathered new momentum - when political leaders requested an international regime that ensures and safeguards the implementation of the third objective of the CBD. The last (9th) CBD COP in Bonn, Germany in 2008 established a clear roadmap for the negotiation of the international ABS regime, which must be concluded by 2010.
Functioning ABS regulations at national, regional and international level are essential if ABS mechanisms are to have a positive impact on sustainable development, poverty alleviation and biodiversity conservation. These regulations should consider and be linked to provisions on land and property rights, access to resources, national and international market mechanisms, profit sharing and technology transfer, capacity building as well as the recognition of traditional knowledge and intellectual property including disclosure obligations in the user countries of genetic resources. Governments need to establish a broad participatory process to ensure stakeholder support and to raise awareness on these issues and their interlinkages.
