National implementation of the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) provisions has yielded enough challenges for providers and users of genetic resources and associated traditional knowledge alike. The Nagoya Protocal brings novel ideas for resolving the challenges plaguing the Access and Benefit-Sharing (ABS) process in general and non-commercial research in particular. This is one of the first books to address research cooperation and facilitated access for non-commercial biodiversity research. It uniquely offers concrete and practicable solutions based on experiences of researchers and administrative officials with ABS, and on the interpretation of the Nagoya Protocol on how free and lively taxonomic research can be ensured while at the same time observing obligations of obtaining prior informed consent and sharing of benefits. This book will be useful to students of International Environmental Law, International Biodiversity Law, Intellectual Property Law, Climate Law and Law of Indigenous Populations. With foreword from Executive Secretary CBD, Braulio Ferreira de Souza Dias.

This anchor volume to the series Managing Global Genetic Resources examines the structure that underlies efforts to preserve genetic material, including the worldwide network of genetic collections; the role of biotechnology; and a host of issues that surround management and use. Among the topics explored are in situ versus ex situ conservation, management of very large collections of genetic material, problems of quarantine, the controversy over ownership or copyright of genetic material, and more.

Globally, local and indigenous approaches to conserving biodiversity, crop improvement, and managing precious natural resources are under threat. Many communities have to deal with 'biopiracy,' for example. As well, existing laws are usually unsuitable for protecting indigenous and traditional knowledge and for recognizing collective rights, such as in cases of participatory plant breeding, where farmers, researchers and others join forces to improve existing crop varieties or develop new ones, based on shared knowledge and resources. This book addresses these issues. It outlines the national and international policy processes that are currently underway to protect local genetic resources and related traditional knowledge and the challenges these initiatives have faced. In particular these themes are addressed within the context of the Convention of Biological Diversity and the International Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture. The authors broaden the policy and legal debates beyond the sphere of policy experts to include the knowledge-holders themselves. These are the 'custodians of biodiversity': farmers, herders and fishers in local communities. Their experience in sharing access and benefits to genetic resources is shown to be crucial for the development of effective national and international agreements. The book presents and analyzes this experience, including case studies from China, Cuba, Honduras, Jordan, Nepal, Peru and Syria. Copublished with the International Development Research Centre (IDRC).

Advances in research and development reveal the immense diversity and potential of marine genetic resources. Under international law, no specific regime applies to these complex and paradoxical objects of use. The Law of the Sea Convention sets a framework that is partly inadequate for this new category of resources. The Biodiversity Convention and the Nagoya Protocol only address the genetic resources of national areas. Patents allow their holder to exercise a monopoly on exploiting biotechnological creations to extensive claims, questioning the common nature of biodiversity and related knowledge. They hinder research and the objectives of biodiversity law. The legal and practical rules of physical and functional access vary in geometry. They focus on the valorization of research results, crystallizing conflicts of interest between suppliers and users. Sustainable research and development is essential to the knowledge and protection of marine biodiversity. The qualification of marine genetic resources in common, standard contractual tools, distributed research and development infrastructures, negotiation of an agreement on sustainable use and conservation of biodiversity beyond the limits of national jurisdiction, would To remove these inconsistencies.

The Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) strives for the sustainable and equitable utilization of genetic resources, with the ultimate goal of conserving biodiversity. The CBD and the Nagoya Protocol which has since been elaborated suggest a bilateral model for access to genetic resources and the sharing of benefits from their utilization. There is concern that the bilateral exchange "genetic resource for benefit sharing" could have disappointing results because providers are left out of the process of research and development, benefits are difficult to be traced to sources, and providers owning the same resource may complain of being excluded from benefit sharing. Thus, the CBD objective of full utilization and equitability may become flawed. Common Pools of Genetic Resources: Equity and Innovation in International Biodiversity Law suggests common pools as a complementary approach to bilateralism. This is one of the first books to reply to a number of complex legal questions related to the interpretation and implementation of the Nagoya Protocol. Taking an inductive approach, it describes existing pools and analyzes how they are organized and how they perform in terms of joint R&D and benefit sharing. It presents case studies of the most characteristic types of common pools, provides suggestions for further developing existing pools to cope with the requirements of the CBD and NP and, at the same time uses the clauses these conventions contain to open up for commons approaches. Written by a team of expert academics and practitioners in the field, this innovative book makes a timely and valuable contribution to academic and policy debates in international environmental law, international biodiversity law, intellectual property law, climate law and the law of indigenous populations.

This fascinating study describes efforts to define and protect traditional knowledge and the associated issues of access to genetic resources, from the negotiation of the Convention on Biological Diversity to the Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples and the Nagoya Protocol. Drawing on the expertise of local specialists from around the globe, the chapters judiciously mix theory and empirical evidence to provide a deep and convincing understanding of traditional knowledge, innovation, access to genetic resources, and benefit sharing. Because traditional knowledge was understood in early negotiations to be subject to a property rights framework, these often became bogged down due to differing views on the rights involved. New models, developed around the notion of distributive justice and self-determination, are now gaining favor. This book suggests – through a discussion of theory and contemporary case studies from Brazil, India, Kenya and Canada – that a focus on distributive justice best advances the interests of indigenous peoples while also fostering scientific innovation in both developed and developing countries. Comprehensive as well as nuanced, Genetic Resources and Traditional Knowledge will be of great interest to scholars and students of law, political science, anthropology and geography. National and international policymakers and those interested in the environment, indigenous peoples' rights and innovation will find the book an enlightening resource.

Within the countries of South and North America are found some of the most diverse collections of flora and fauna in the world. Colombia alone carries over 50 thousand different plant species. This precious resource, however, is quickly dwindling. Pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies are tapping America's genetic resources at an ever-increasing rate, and habitat destruction has pushed many species to extinction or to the brink of extinction. "Protecting Biodiversity" addresses one of the most fundamental aspects of this important issue: the lack of adequate national laws regulating access to, and compensation for, the use of local genetic resources. This book is the first to compare such laws and policies across a range of countries in both the industrialized and developing worlds, including Argentina, Canada, Colombia, Costa Rica, Paraguay, Peru, and the United States. It also presents legal viewpoints, conclusions, and solid recommendations for future action. "Protecting Biodiversity" is the newest reference book in the rapidly emerging legal field that combines environmental, intellectual property, contract, and administrative law.