One of the three objectives of the Convention on Biological Diversity, as set out in its Article 1, is the

"fair and equitable sharing of the benefits arising out of the utilization of genetic resources, including by appropriate access to genetic resources and by appropriate transfer of relevant technologies, taking into account all rights over those resources and to technologies, and by appropriate funding". A framework for the implementation of this third objective of the Convention with regard to access to genetic resources and benefit-sharing is provided in Article 15 of the Convention. In addition, Article 8(j) contains provision to encourage the equitable sharing of the benefits arising from the utilization of knowledge, innovations and practices of indigenous and local communities embodying traditional lifestyles relevant for conservation and sustainable use of biological diversity.

These provisions are also linked to the provisions on access to, and transfer of technology (Article 16), exchange of information (Article 17), technical and scientific cooperation (Article 18), the handling of biotechnology and distribution of its benefits (Article 19, paragraphs 1 and 2), and financial resources and financial mechanism (Article 20 and Article 21).

At its fourth meeting, by decision IV/8 on access and benefit-sharing, the Conference of the Parties decided to establish a regionally balanced panel of experts appointed by Governments, composed of representatives from the private and public sectors, as well as representatives of indigenous and local communities with the following mandate:

"to draw upon all relevant sources, including legislative, policy and administrative measures, best practices and case-studies on access to genetic resources and benefit-sharing arising from the use of those genetic resources, including the whole range of biotechnology, in the development of a common understanding of basic concepts and to explore all options for access and benefit-sharing on mutually agreed terms including principles, guidelines, and codes of conduct of best practices for access and benefit-sharing arrangements."

During their first meeting, held in San Jose, Costa Rica, in October 1999, experts addressed options for access and benefit-sharing on mutually agreed terms and reached broad conclusions on: prior informed consent, mutually agreed terms, information needs and capacity-building. More information on this meeting, including the report of the meeting, is available on the web page for the first meeting of the Panel of Experts.

At its fifth meeting, in May 2000, in decision V/26 on access to genetic resources, the Conference of the Parties decided to reconvene the Panel of Experts on Access and Benefit-sharing to conduct further work on outstanding issues from its first meeting, especially:

Assessment of user and provider experience in access to genetic resources and benefit-sharing and study of complementary options;

Identification of approaches to involvement of stakeholders in access to genetic resources and benefit-sharing processes. The working documents and final report of this meeting, are available on the web page for the second meeting of the Panel of Experts.

The COP also decided to establish an Ad Hoc Open-ended Working Group with the mandate to develop guidelines and other approaches for submission to the Conference of the Parties at its sixth meeting and to assist Parties and stakeholders in addressing the following elements, inter alia:

terms for prior informed consent and mutually agreed terms; roles, responsibilities and participation of stakeholders; relevant aspects relating to in situ and ex situ conservation and sustainable use; mechanisms for benefit-sharing, for example through technology transfer and joint research and development; and means to ensure the respect, preservation and maintenance of knowledge, innovations and practices of indigenous and local communities embodying traditional lifestyles relevant for the conservation and sustainable use of biological diversity, taking into account work by the World Intellectual Property Organization on intellectual property rights issues. This meeting held in Bonn, Germany, from 22-26 October 2001, contributed to the development of draft guidelines on access and benefit-sharing meant to assist Parties and stakeholders with the implementation of the access and benefit-sharing provisions of the Convention.

At its sixth meeting, in the Hague, in April 2002, access and benefit-sharing was one of the priority themes addressed by the COP. The outcomes of COP VI on ABS are included in decision VI/24.

A major achievement was the adoption of the Bonn guidelines on access to genetic resources and the fair and equitable sharing of the benefits arising from their utilization. Further information on the Bonn guidelines is available on the web page on the Bonn Guidelines.

The COP also decided to reconvene the Ad Hoc Open-ended Working Group on Access and Benefit-sharing to examine outstanding issues and, more particularly, to advise the Conference of the Parties on:

Use of terms, definitions and/or glossary, as appropriate; Other approaches as set out in decision VI/24 B; Measures, including consideration of their feasibility, practicality and costs, to support compliance with prior informed consent of the Contracting Party providing such resources and mutually agreed terms on which access was granted in Contracting Parties with users of genetic resources under their jurisdiction; Its consideration of any available reports or progress reports arising from the present decision; Needs for capacity-building identified by countries to implement the Guidelines.

The second meeting of the Working Group on ABS was held from 1 to 5 December 2003, in Montreal, Canada. The report of the meeting (UNEP/CBD/COP/7/6) contains recommendations of the Working Group to COP 7 on the issues listed above.

In addition, as requested by the Conference of the Parties in decision VI/24 B, an open-ended Expert Workshop on Capacity-building for access and benefit-sharing was held in December 2002 and developed a draft Action Plan on Capacity-building for access and benefit-sharing for consideration by COP 7.

Following developments at the World Summit on Sustainable Development related to access to genetic resources and benefit-sharing and, more specifically, the call for action to negotiate, within the framework of the Convention on Biological Diversity, an international regime to promote the fair and equitable sharing of benefits arising out of their utilization, the Inter-sessional meeting on the Multi-Year Programme of Work of the Convention up to 2010, held in March 2003, recommended that the Ad Hoc Open-ended Working Group on access and benefit-sharing consider the process, nature, scope, elements and modalities of such an international regime on access and benefit-sharing at its second meeting in December 2003. Therefore, in addition to consideration of the issues referred to above, the Working Group prepared recommendations on the terms of reference for the negotiation of an international regime which were submitted to the Conference of the Parties at its seventh meeting in February 2004, in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Further information, including the text of these recommendations, is included in the report of the meeting available as document UNEP/CBD/COP/7/6.

At its seventh meeting, the Conference of the Parties adopted decision VII/19 on access and benefit-sharing as related to genetic resources which addresses the following: the Bonn Guidelines on Access to Genetic Resources and Fair and Equitable Sharing of Benefits Arising out of their Utilization; the use of terms and the need for definitions and/or a glossary, as appropriate, in the Bonn Guidelines; other approaches, complementary to the Bonn Guidelines, to assist with the implementation of the ABS provisions of the Convention; measures, including consideration of their feasibility, practicality and costs, to support compliance with prior informed consent of the Contracting Party providing genetic resources and mutually agreed terms on which access was granted in Contracting Parties with users of such resources under their jurisdiction; capacity-building for access and benefit-sharing; and, the negotiation of an international regime on access to genetic resources and benefit-sharing. The Conference of the Parties decided to mandate the Ad Hoc Open-ended Working Group on Access and benefit-sharing to negotiate the international regime on access and benefit-sharing and agreed on the terms of reference for such negotiation, including the process, nature, scope and elements for consideration in the elaboration of the regime. The Executive Secretary was requested to make necessary arrangements for the Working Group on ABS to be convened twice before the eighth meeting of the Conference of the Parties and to report on progress made at this eighth meeting.

In addition, it should also be noted that the Conference of the Parties adopted the Action Plan on capacity-building for access and benefit-sharing.

The Working Group held its third meeting in Bangkok, Thailand, from 14 to 18 February 2005 and its fourth meeting in Granada, Spain, from 30 January to 3 February 2006. At these meetings, the Working Group, inter alia, began negotiations for an international regime on access to genetic resources, in accordance with decision VII/19 D of the Conference of the Parties. It also addressed other approaches as set out in decision VI/24 B, including consideration of an international certificate of origin/source/legal provenance; and, measures, including consideration of their feasibility, practicality and costs, to support compliance with prior informed consent of the Contracting Party providing such resources and mutually agreed terms on which access was granted in Contracting Parties with users of genetic resources under their jurisdiction. Consideration of the issue of use of terms, definitions and/or glossary, as appropriate, was postponed until the negotiation of the international regime on access and benefit-sharing had reached a more advanced stage. On the issue of the Stategic Plan: future evaluation of progress – the need and possible options for indicators for access to genetic resources and in particular for the fair and equitable sharing of benefits arising out from the utilization of genetic resources, it was recommended that the Working Group further address this issue at its fifth meeting. Recommendations to the eight meeting of the Conference of the Parties are included in the report of the fourth meeting.

The eighth meeting of the Conference of the Parties was held in Curitiba, Brazil, from 20 to 31 March 2006. Major outcomes related to the issue of access and benefit-sharing are set out in decision VIII/4 and include the following:

With respect to the international regime on access and benefit-sharing, the Ad Hoc Open-ended Working Group on Access and Benefit-sharing was requested to continue the elaboration and negotiation of the international regime and was instructed to complete its work at the earliest possible time before the tenth meeting of the Conference of the Parties (2010). The Executive Secretary was requested to make necessary arrangements for the Working Group to be convened twice before the ninth meeting of the Conference of the Parties. In addition, Tim Hodges from Canada and Fernando Casas from Colombia were designated as co-chairs for the Working Group for the purposes of the elaboration and negotiation of the international regime.

The Conference of the Parties also decided “to establish a group of technical experts to explore and elaborate the possible options, without predudging their desirability, for the form, intent and functioning of an internationally recognised certificate of origin/source/legal provenance and analyse its practicality, feasibility, costs and benefits, with a view to achieving the objectives of Article 15 and 8(j) of the Convention.”

In addition, the Conference of the Parties noted the progress made in the implementation of the Bonn Guidelines and invited Parties to submit reports on their experiences in implementing Article 15 at the national level. The COP requested the Working Group at its fifth and sixth meetings to further consider measures to support compliance with prior informed consent of the contracting Party providing genetic resources and mutually agreed terms on which access was granted in contracting Parties with users of such resources under their jurisdiction. It also requested the Executive Secretary to renew the application for accreditation of the Convention on Biological Diversity as an observer at the Council on Trade-related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights. Finally, in relation to the strategic plan, the COP requested the Working Group on Access and Benefit-sharing at its fifth meeting to further address the need and possible options for indicators for access to genetic resources and in particular for the fair and equitable sharing of benefits arising from the utilisation of genetic resources.

The meeting of the group of technical experts, referred to above, hosted by the Government of Peru, was held in Lima, Peru, from 22 to 25 January 2007. The report of the meeting will provide technical input to the Working Group on Access and Benefit-sharing with respect to the issue of an internationally recognized certificate of origin/source/legal provenance. (Click here for the report)

The Ad Hoc Open-ended Working Group on Access and Benefit-sharing held its fifth meeting in Montreal, Canada, from 8 to 12 October 2007, and its sixth meeting in Geneva, Switzerland, from 21 to 25 January 2008. In line with decision VIII/4 of the eighth meeting of the Conference of the Parties, the Working Group continued the elaboration and negotiation of the international regime on access and benefit-sharing. Recommendations to the ninth meeting of the Conference of the Parties on the way forward are included in the report of the sixth meeting. Click here for the respective reports of the fifth and sixth meeting.

At its ninth meeting in Bonn, in May 2008, in decision IX/12, paragraph 2, the COP reiterated its instruction to the Working Group to complete the elaboration and negotiation of the international regime at the earliest possible time before the tenth meeting of the Conference of the Parties. In paragraph 3, the Conference of the Parties further instructed the Working Group to finalize the international regime and to submit for consideration and adoption by the Conference of the Parties at its tenth meeting an instrument\instruments to effectively implement the provisions in Article 15 and Article 8(j) of the Convention and its three objectives, without in any way prejudging or precluding any outcome regarding the nature of such instrument\instruments. The Conference of the Parties also decided that the Ad Hoc Open-ended Working Group on Access and Benefit-sharing should meet three times prior to the tenth meeting of the Conference of the Parties, in the first quarter of 2009, the third quarter of 2009 and by the second quarter of 2010. In addition, the COP decided to establish three distinct groups of technical and legal experts on (i) compliance; (ii) concepts, terms, working definitions and sectoral approaches; and (iii) traditional knowledge associated with genetic resources. These expert groups are intended to assist the Working Group by providing legal and, as appropriate, technical advice, including, where appropriate, options and/or scenarios.

Click here for more information on the Working Group on ABS.