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Access and Benefit-sharing
The Convention on Biological Diversity recognises the sovereign rights of States over their natural resources in areas within their jurisdiction. Parties to the Convention therefore have the authority to determine access to genetic resources in areas within their jurisdiction. Parties also have the obligation to take appropriate measures with the aim of sharing the benefits derived from their use. This is one of the three fundamental objectives of the Convention. More »

What's New

15 January 2010
Opening Remarks by the CBD Secretariat at the GRULAC Regional Consultations in Support of the Finalization of the International Regime on Access & Benefit-sharing, 15-16 January 2010, Panama City, Panama. More »
4 December 2009
Welcome Note by the CBD Secretariat for the Asian Regional Consultations in Support of the Finalization of the International Regime on Access & Benefit-sharing, 4-6 December 2009, Siem Reap, Cambodia. More »
16 November 2009
Press Release: Major Advances toward the Nagoya International Regime on Access and Benefit-Sharing. More »

Notifications

4 February 2010 (2010-025)
Ninth meeting of the Ad Hoc Open-ended Working Group on Access and Benefit-sharing: Informal consultations with the Co-chairs and regional consultations, 20-21 March 2010, Cali, Colombia. More »
22 January 2010 (2010-013)
Access and Benefit-sharing: Co-Chairs Informal Inter-regional Consultation (CIIC), 16-18 March 2010, Cali, Colombia. More »
20 January 2010 (2010-012)
Latin American and Caribbean Indigenous and Local Community Capacity Building Workshop on the Convention on Biological Diversity including issues relevant to Article 8(j) Traditional Knowledge, and Access and Benefit-sharing Fourth Workshop: Mesoamerican Region, Guatemala, Guatemala, 4-6 March 2010. More »

Upcoming Meetings

9 - 10 February 2010, Isle of Vilm, Germany
Access and Benefit-sharing Regional Consultations for Central and Eastern European Countries. More »
15 - 16 February 2010, Auckland, New Zealand
Access and Benefit-sharing Regional Consultations for the Pacific. More »
4 - 6 March 2010, Windhoek, Namibia
Access and Benefit-sharing Regional Consultations for Africa. More »

Publications

CBD Technical Series #38: Access and Benefit-sharing in Practice: Trends in Partnerships across Sectors

This publication fills gaps in current understanding of ABS partnerships, collaborations and contractual agreements in the range of sectors using genetic resources. It also provides key findings across sectors relating to prior informed consent and negotiations, agreements, compliance and tracking, benefit-sharing, intellectual property rights, and partnerships and arrangements.

Information Portal on the Negotiations of the International Regime on ABS

Please visit the “Information Portal on the Negotiations of the International Regime on ABS”. You can check the calendar of events for meetings relevant to the negotiation process, view or subscribe to receive latest news on access and benefit-sharing related issues or latest notifications and information on upcoming meetings and much more ... . Moreover, it is possible to register events or submit other related information and search for external resources of relevant information on ABS provided by other institutions.