The Nagoya Protocol: 2021 in Review
Despite a second, tumultuous year of the COVID-19 pandemic, 2021 marked significant and sustained progress for safeguarding biodiversity, including several milestones for the Nagoya Protocol on Access and Benefit-Sharing (ABS). The Protocol, adopted over 11 years ago, remains a key tool for the conservation and sustainable use of biodiversity. Sharing the benefits arising from the utilization of genetic resources fairly and equitably is an essential component of the ambitious post-2020 global biodiversity framework and key to achieving the 2050 vision of “living in harmony with nature.”
Here are some key highlights from 2021:
133 Parties to the Protocol
Brazil, Kiribati, Tunisia and the Bahamas became Parties to the Nagoya Protocol, bringing the total number of Parties to 133, with more countries expected to join in the coming years. These 133 countries represent over two thirds of all Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity, showing a strong commitment to the principle of access and benefit-sharing.
Access and Benefit-Sharing Clearing-House (ABSCH)
The ABS Clearing-House saw a number of updates and improvements to its homepage, search engine, knowledge base and layout, making it more organized and modern, and easier to use than ever.
Have a look at the revamped ABSCH
An additional 7 countries published their ABS procedures on the ABSCH. Countries can now upload and share their procedures through the ABSCH, providing a standardized way to communicate easy-to-use guidance on how to access a country’s genetic resources and/or traditional knowledge associated with genetic resources. For provider countries, publishing procedures on the ABS Clearing-House is a good way to indicate that your national ABS system is operational and ready for business.
Learn more about ABS Procedures on the ABS Clearing-House
1182 International Certificates of Compliance (IRCCs) were published by 16 countries through the ABSCH in 2021. IRRCs represent the permits that Parties are required to issue at the time of access as evidence that access to genetic resources was based on prior informed consent and that mutually agreed terms were established. Bhutan, Cameroon, and Côte d'Ivoire published IRCCs for the first time ever in 2021, indicating that more and more countries have operational systems in place to grant access to genetic resources and associated traditional knowledge based on prior informed consent and mutually agreed terms.
Post-2020 Global Biodiversity Framework
ABS continued to feature prominently in virtual discussions around the post-2020 global biodiversity framework and discussions on digital sequence information on genetic resources.
The co-chairs of the Open-ended Working Group on the Post-2020 Global Biodiversity Framework (WG2020-3), with the help of the CBD Secretariat, released the first draft of the framework on 12 July 2021, which contains an ABS goal and target. Goal C, first articulated in the update of the zero draft of the framework, has been expanded and includes two milestones on increasing the share of monetary and non-monetary benefits to providers of genetic resources and/or traditional knowledge. A revised list of targets was also included in the first draft, including Target 13 which calls for implementing measures to facilitate ABS.
Read more on Goal C and Target 13
First Part of COP-15 and COP-MOP4
The first part of the UN Biodiversity Conference, which included both COP15 of the Convention, COP-MOP10 of the Cartagena Protocol, and COP-MOP4 of the Nagoya Protocol, was held online from 11 to 15 October. The meetings led to the adoption of the Kunming Declaration which, among other things, recognizes the importance of ABS for sustainable development. Furthermore, many Parties made statements and announcements supporting ambitious action and increased funding for biodiversity.
The UN Biodiversity Conference will resume in 2022 with an ambitious agenda to result in the adoption of the new global biodiversity framework as well as important decisions supporting the implementation of ABS and the Nagoya Protocol.
Continued Work After the First Part of COP-15
The Secretariat hosted a webinar on proposed headline indicators for ABS in the draft post-2020 global biodiversity framework, with 265 participants joining online. Parties shared best practices and information from their national data collection systems related to ABS and reflected on potential challenges, and possible approaches and solutions, for the development of these indicators.
The webinar aimed to inform the forthcoming negotiations of the twenty-fourth meeting of the Subsidiary Body on Scientific, Technical and Technological Advice (SBSTTA 24), the third meeting of the Subsidiary Body on Implementation (SBI 3) and the Open-ended Working Group on the Post-2020 Global Biodiversity Framework (WG2020-3).
Watch the recording of the webinar
Learn more about ABS indicators in the draft framework
Communications Campaign
A communications campaign, centred around the theme of "the ABS we ALL need", was launched to bring awareness to access and benefit-sharing, with the generous support of the Japan Biodiversity Fund. This campaign drove a substantial increase in virtual discussions using the hashtags #AccessAndBenefitSharing and #NagoyaProtocol on social media, as well as increased support and engagement from ABS partner organizations.
More information