Exploring the Scope of Access and Benefit Sharing (ABS) Measures: Implications for Implementation in the COMIFAC Region

July 16, 2020 – 15:00 Yaoundé

This event is part of the Voices for BioJustices webinar series
Benefit sharing and traditional knowledge: Unsolved dilemmas for implementation

Conveners: Sarah Laird, Abdon Awono, Verina Ingram and Esther Ngom
Moderator: Abdon Awono

Coordination: Gabriela Alvarez and Jaci van Niekerk

Click here to watch the webinar’s recording.

Summary

Access to genetic resources and the fair and equitable sharing of benefits (ABS) has become one of the most studied and reflected upon concepts in the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) process since 1992. But despite all of this attention, it is still not clear what is included under the scope of ABS. In other words: what does ABS actually cover?

The scope of ABS has shifted and changed over the years, making implementation at the national level challenging. Today, the range of activities and resources covered could include:

• Biotrade, biological resources and non-timber forest products (NTFPs)
• Genetic resources sourced for the biotechnology industry or as natural products for the pharmaceutical industry, increasingly from microorganisms
• Traditional knowledge, innovations and practices associated with genetic resources
• Genetic sequence data, or Digital Sequence Information (DSI), the subject of much attention within the CBD these days

Identifying what falls within ABS, and the costs and benefits of narrow vs broad approaches, has significant implications for Nagoya Protocol implementation. Following from the issue of scope grows a question central to ABS implementation: is a new regulatory framework that covers the full range of products and uses the best approach, or might an approach that integrates ABS principles of fairness and equity into existing laws and policies – “mainstreaming” ABS – possible?

This webinar will explore some of these issues. It will run for 1.5 hours, and will include an introduction, followed by four, 10 minute presentations, and a 30 minute Q&A session.

Programme

• Introduction.
  Abdon Awono, Moderator – CIFOR.
• What do we mean by the Scope of ABS Measures in Central Africa?
  Sarah Laird – People and Plants International.
• Review of the Implementation of the Nagoya Protocol in Central Africa: Achievements, challenges, opportunities and prospects.
  Chouaïbou Nchoutpouen – COMIFAC.
• Biotrade value chains and ABS: Challenges and benefits.
  Verina Ingram – Wageningen University, Wilson Njing Shei and Valentine Ebua – GIZ Cameroon.
• ABS regulation contribution to Genetic Resource sustainable use and benefits.
  Marie-Laure Mpeck Nyemeck – National Coordinator, GEF Small Grants Programme, UNDP.
• The important contribution of local and regional trade in NTFPs: policy and legal priorities.
  Abdon Awono – CIFOR, Apollinaire Biloso – University of Kinshasa, Divine Foundjem-Tita – ICRAF, and Chouaïbou Nchoutpouen – COMIFAC.
• Setting the policy stage: An overview of the scope of ABS measures in the COMIFAC region.
  Esther Ngom – Mandataire agréé par l’Organisation Africaine de la  Propriété Intellectuelle.
• Aperçu de la portée des mesures APA dans l’espace de la COMIFAC – Expérience de la RDC.
  Nicky Kingunia Ineet – DRC ABS National Focal Point.
• Q&A session.

For further information contact Gabriela Alvarez: coordinator@peopleandplants.org