Crookshanks, Rebecca; Phillips, Peter W.B. --- "A Comparative Analysis of Access and Benefits-Sharing Systems" [2012] ELECD 326; in Bubela, Tania; Gold, Richard E. (eds), "Genetic Resources and Traditional Knowledge" (Edward Elgar Publishing, 2012)

Book Title: Genetic Resources and Traditional Knowledge

Editor(s): Bubela, Tania; Gold, Richard E.

Publisher: Edward Elgar Publishing

ISBN (hard cover): 9781848442238

Section: Chapter 3

Section Title: A Comparative Analysis of Access and Benefits-Sharing Systems

Author(s): Crookshanks, Rebecca; Phillips, Peter W.B.

Number of pages: 30

Extract:

3. A comparative analysis of access and
benefits-sharing systems
Rebecca Crookshanks and Peter W.B. Phillips

INTRODUCTION

The use of traditional knowledge and associated genetic resources in modern
biotechnology has created a complex tangle of claims over rights, entitlements
and expectations of access, ownership and reward. As interest in the role and
value of indigenous genetic resources has grown, a high-stakes debate has
erupted over the establishment of rules and principles concerning the condi-
tions for the resources' access and use, as well as how the benefits derived
from such use should be shared with the communities from which the resource
and associated knowledge first originated. A wide range of political processes
and actors are involved in the discussion but a satisfactory agreement has yet
to be reached. The challenge for all participating actors is to find an effective
and lasting framework for achieving a comprehensive and fair benefits shar-
ing system that can regulate the tangled interests in current and future proceed-
ings.
Although important legislative advancements have been made at the
national, regional and international levels, access and benefit-sharing (ABS)
systems are currently implemented using readily available, but often piece-
meal, approaches. There is a large variance between individual agreements
and, although most draw upon one or more existing international conventions
(including the World Trade Organization's Trade Related Aspects of
Intellectual Property Rights [TRIPS] Agreement, the Doha Declaration, the
Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) and the World Intellectual
Property Organization), few are grounded on ...