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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

9 March 2010
Communiqué: President Pohamba of Namibia Opens the African Ministerial Conference on Access and Benefit-sharing. More »
8 March 2010
Statement by Mr. Ahmed Djoghlaf, Executive Secretary of the Convention on Biological Diversity, on the occasion of the African Ministerial Conference on Access And Benefit-Sharing, Windhoek, 8 March 2010. More »
15 February 2010
Opening Remarks by the Secretariat of the Convention on Biological Diversity on the occasion of the Pacific Regional Consultations in Support of the Finalization of the International Regime on Access & Benefit-Sharing, 15-16 February 2010, Auckland, New Zealand. More »

Notifications

12 March 2010 (2010-049)
Co-Chairs Informal Interregional Consultations (CIIC) and Ninth Meeting of the Ad Hoc Open-Ended Working Group on Access and Benefit-Sharing: Co-Chairs' Guidance Note. More »
5 March 2010 (2010-045)
Access and Benefit-sharing: Co-Chairs Informal Inter-regional Consultation (CIIC), Cali, Colombia, 16-18 March 2010. More »
12 February 2010 (2010-030)
Information regarding funding for the Ninth meeting of the Ad Hoc Open-ended Working Group on Access and Benefit-sharing (WG ABS-9) and the Co-Chairs Informal Inter-regional Consultation (CIIC), Cali, Colombia, March 2010. More »

Upcoming Meetings

16 - 18 March 2010, Cali, Colombia
Access and Benefit-sharing: Co-Chairs Informal Inter-regional Consultation (CIIC). More »
20 - 21 March 2010, Cali, Colombia
Access and Benefit-sharing Regional and Inter-regional Consultations.
21 March 2010, Cali, Colombia
Co-Chairs Open-ended Informal Consultation.

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.