Global Governance Of Genetic Resources

This book analyses the status and prospects of the global governance of Access Benefit Sharing (ABS) in the aftermath of 2010’s Nagoya Protocol to the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD). The CBD’s initial 1992 framework of global ABS governance established the objective of sharing the benefits arising from the use of genetic resources fairly between countries and communities. Since then, ABS has been a contested issue in international politics – not least due to the failure of effective implementation of the original CBD framework. The Nagoya Protocol therefore aims to improve and enhance this framework. Compared to the slow rate of progress on climate change, it has been considered a major achievement of global environmental governance, but it has also been coined a ‘masterpiece of ambiguity’. This book analyses the role of a variety of actors in the emergence of the Nagoya Protocol and provides an up-to-date assessment of the core features of the architecture of global ABS governance. This book offers a central resource regarding ABS governance for those working on and interested in global environmental governance. This is achieved by focusing on two broad themes of the wider research agenda on global environmental governance, namely architecture and agency. Furthermore, individual chapter contributions relate and link ABS governance to other prominent debates in the field, such as institutional complexes, compliance, market-based approaches, EU leadership, the role of small states, the role of non-state actors and more. Partly due to its seeming technical complexity, ABS governance has so far not been at the centre of attention of scholars and practitioners of global environmental governance. In this book, care is taken to provide an accessible account of key functional features of the governance system which enables non-specialists to gain a grasp on the main issues involved, allowing the issue of ABS governance to move centre-stage and be more fully recognised in discussions on global environmental governance.

This timely study will be of interest to students and academics concerned with the management of genetic resources and its connection to issues such as intellectual property rights, biodiversity conservation and food security. It will appeal strongly t

Cover -- Half Title -- Title Page -- Copyright Page -- Contents -- List of figures and tables -- List of acronyms -- Acknowledgements -- 1 Introduction -- 2 Regime complexity and institutional change -- 3 Genetic resources and biotechnology -- 4 Property regimes -- 5 Plant genetic resources for food and agriculture -- 6 Biopiracy -- 7 Viral genetic resources -- 8 Marine genetic resources -- 9 Conclusions -- Bibliography -- Index.

Genetic resources (GRs) refer to genetic material of actual or potential value. Genetic material is any material of plant, animal, microbial or other origin containing functional units of heredity such as medicinal plants, agricultural crops and animal breeds. GRs as encountered in nature are not creations of the human mind and thus they cannot be directly protected as intellectual property (IP). However, there are IP issues associated with GRs. Genetic conservation is an integral part of a much broader activity concerned with protecting the many plants, animals, microorganisms, and communities of organisms that help to mould and stabilise the environment and maintain the quality of air, water, and soil. The Global Governance of Genetic Resources explores the historical development of international genetic resources governance and considers why the area has become so important and multifaceted. It goes on to analyse the current situation and develop recommendations on what governance efforts should be achieving for the future. The book analyses a range of relevant background factors, including the impact of climate change on countries' interdependence on genetic resources, germplasm flows in and out of international genebanks, crops specific research programs, and countries as a whole. It considers the historical development and mechanics of the multilateral system of access and benefit sharing. It provides space for leaders in the field to reflect on what has worked well, and where challenges remain in terms of the multilateral system's performance as a central feature in a global system of collective action to conserve and sustainably use genetic diversity, and equitably share benefits derived from that use. This book will be of interest to students and academics concerned with the management of genetic resources and its relation to issues such as biodiversity conservation and food security. It will appeal to academic researchers, policy-makers, and practitioners in the fields of international relations, international law and global governance, environmental science, development studies, and the biosciences.

Our food and livelihood security depend on the sustained management of the diverse biological resources that make up the Earth's plant genetic resources. This book is about the creation, management and use of the global crop commons, based upon the International Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture.

ÔAn insightful guide to some key developments in the international governance of genetic resources. Exploration of the central role of state sovereignty in current approaches aids understanding of the impact that the socio-economic and political context has on the content and direction of rules in this area. The book includes extensive information on the influence of treaty regimes that are often marginal to or absent from other analyses of genetic resource governance (outer space, seas and oceans, and Antarctica).Õ Ð Catherine Rhodes, The University of Manchester, UK This detailed and concise book surveys the international genetic resources laws applying in Antarctica, space, the oceans and seas, the lands, and the airspaces above land and water. The well-structured analysis traces the evolution of these various schemes and their contributions to the comprehensive arrangements under the Convention on Biological Diversity, the International Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture and the World Health OrganizationÕs PIP Framework. The book details the different avenues and concluded positions, documenting a laboratory of legal approaches and possibilities. Regulating Genetic Resources will be a valuable addition to academics, governments, NGOs and students in environmental and intellectual property law.

The International Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture (ITPGRFA) is a pivotal piece of recent legislation, providing a route map for the use of such resources for sustainable agriculture and food security. Plant Genetic Resources and Food Security explains clearly the different interests and views at stake between all players in the global food chain. It touches upon many issues such as international food governance and policy, economic aspects of food and seed trade, conservation and sustainable use of food and agricultural biodiversity, hunger alleviation, ecological concerns, consumers' protection, fairness and equity between nations and generations, plant breeding techniques and socio-economic benefits related to food local economies. The book shows that despite the conflicting interests at stake, players managed to come to an agreement on food and agriculture for the sake of food security and hunger alleviation in the world. Published with the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations and with Bioversity International.

Presents the first comprehensive study of Indigenous perspectives on genetic resources, traditional knowledge, and access and benefit sharing in Canada. This book is also available as Open Access.