Participation in third Access and Benefit Sharing (ABS) Dialogue in May 2018 at Mexico City, Mexico

25 May, 2018

Dr. B Meenakumari, Chairperson, National Biodiversity Authority, participated in the “Third ABS Dialogue on Key Challenges and Practical Ways Forward for the Implementation of the Nagoya Protocol and its Contribution to the 2030 Sustainable Development Agenda” on 24-25 May 2018 in Mexico City, Mexico. Representatives from Africa, European Union, Honduras, India, Kenya, Mexico, Peru and Vietnam participated in the dialogue.

The dialogue facilitated the sharing of experiences on national-level implementation of the Nagoya Protocol. Procedures for access to genetic resources, fair and equitable sharing of benefits arising from their utilisation, protection of associated Traditional Knowledge (TK) and role of Indigenous People and Local Communities (IPLC) were discussed.

Dr. Meenakumari presented India’s progress on associated traditional knowledge, as well as experiences and good practices in relation to the Access and Benefit-Sharing system in India. India has the highest number of Internationally Recognised Certificates of Compliance (IRCCs) generated in ABS-Clearing House (ABS-CH) for access approvals provided by the National Biodiversity Authority.

With regard to TK, she highlighted the critical distinction between TK in ‘public domain’ versus ‘publically available’ And emphasised that prior informed consent and benefit sharing agreements are mandatory even in the ‘publically available’ TK. She acknowledged that TK of IPLCs is a complex issue, which requires more focus to achieve protection of TK while ensuring benefit-sharing of its utilisation to the IPLCs.