Access and Benefit Sharing of Biodiversity

projekt beendet

ContextMexico is one of the most biologically and culturally diverse countries in the world. A signatory to the Nagoya Protocol on Access and Benefit Sharing (ABS), it was also one of the first countries to ratify this agreement in May 2012. The Nagoya Protocol – an international environment agreement adopted by the Conference of the Parties to the UN Convention on Biological Diversity at its tenth meeting in 2010 – provides an international legal framework for accessing genetic resources and sharing the attendant benefits fairly and equitably. By ensuring compliance with mutually agreed terms and condi-tions, the protocol aims to harmonise the various interests of the countries in which the genetic re-sources are sourced and those in which they are used.ObjectiveState institutions, indigenous communities, civil society, science and academia and the private sector all apply standards and guidelines for the fair and equitable sharing of benefits arising from the use of biological diversity. This creates incentives for the protection and sustainable use of biological resources.ApproachTogether with Mexico's National Commission for the Knowledge and Use of Biodiversity (CONABIO) and the national Environment Ministry (SEMARNAT), the project team informs and trains indigenous communities, civil society, academic circles, government institutions and companies about ABS. The project has implemented a range of ABS exchange and training events for staff at CONABIO, SEMARNAT and SAGARPA – the Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock, Rural Development, Fisheries and Food – and also at the Mexican Institute for Intellectual Property (IMPI). Furthermore, it has organ-ised knowledge-sharing forums on community-based approaches to the conservation of biological diversity in local communities in the Mexican federal states of Oaxaca and Chiapas as well as on the Yucatán peninsula.In addition, the project harnesses and shares findings and experiences from the field of biodiversity management and control in Mexico and elsewhere. The project partners use these inputs to formulate proposals and alternatives that will facilitate improvements in biodiversity steering and control – solu-tions they subsequently pilot throughout Mexico.Developing real incentives for conserving biodiversity on site is a challenge the world over. Therefore, the project is looking at how to integrate benefit sharing into various kinds of protection mechanisms. In so doing, it is taking account of local communities and indigenous peoples' experience and tradi-tional knowledge in the field of biodiversity conservation, documenting and systemising best practic-es as it proceeds.The fair and equitable sharing of benefits is crucial for incentivising the sustainable use and conserva-tion of biodiversity. The project team is therefore assisting Mexico's companies to establish value chains for plant-based natural products. To this end, it is cooperating with local and regional manu-facturers and the private sector, advising them all on how to use traditional knowledge and on how to conserve and profit from biological diversity. Also in this context, the project is examining marketing options such as denominations of origin or even collective brand names.ResultsThe project team has compiled materials that explain how to integrate ABS principles into the value chains that come about as a result of the sustainable use and management of biological resources. On top of this, it has entered the results of a survey it conducted amongst Mexican consumers in the UEBT 2015 Biodiversity Barometer. UEBT – Union for Ethical BioTrade – is a standard for the sourc-ing and exploitation of raw materials whose mission is to promote local biodiversity. Partners can use these results for national awareness-raising campaigns.

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