Glowka, Lyle

Biodiversity-related laws and institutions will be key mechanisms for attaining the objectives of the Convention on biological diversity. As part of the national biodiversty planning process, legal and institutional profiles should be undertaken to ascertain which laws apply to and affect biodiversity and which institutions oversee legislation and portfolios which intersect with biodiversity conservation, sustainable use and benefit-sharing of genetic resources.

The Convention on biological diversity is an historic committment by the world's nations to conserve biological diversity, to use biological resources sustainably and to share equitably the benefits arising from the use of genetic resources. It is the first global legal instrument to comprehensivly address all aspects of biological diversity. The guide illustrates the scientific, technical and legal issues which the Convention raises.

The Convention on Biological Diversity is an historic committment by the world's nations to conserve biological diversity, to use biological resources sustainably and to share equitably the benefits arising from the use of genetic resources. It is the first global legal instrument to comprehensivly address all aspects of biological diversity. The guide illustrates the scientific, technical and legal issues which the Convention raises.

The Convention on biological diversity is an historic committment by the world's nations to conserve biological diversity, to use biological resources sustainably and to share equitably the benefits arising from the use of genetic resources. It is the first global legal instrument to comprehensivly address all aspects of biological diversity. The guide illustrates the scientific, technical and legal issues which the Convention raises.

The commitment of the international community to ensure an equitable supply of food and nutrition to everyone on Earth has been reiterated many times. However, there are very few practical examples on how such equity and benefit sharing principles are to be put into practice. The proceedings of this workshop held in February 1998 relate experiences and lessons from a South-South perspective and critically address the translation of recommendations from this workshop into actions.

Biodiversity-related laws and institutions will be key mechanisms for attaining the objectives of the Convention on biological diversity. As part of the national biodiversty planning process, legal and institutional profiles should be undertaken to ascertain which laws apply to and affect biodiversity and which institutions oversee legislation and portfolios which intersect with biodiversity conservation, sustainable use and benefit-sharing of genetic resources.

The primary goal is to highlight some of the principles which should be considered by planners, legislative drafters and policy-makers as they work to develop legal frameworks on access to genetic resources in their countries. Contextual information on the Convention on Biological Diversity and examples of how countries have approached the issue to date are provided

For centuries, genetic resources not protected by Intellectual Property Rights were collected and used without any regulation. They were a free good available for everyone. Huge profits were made but never shared with the custodians of biological diversity. "Access to genetic resources" underscores the importance of informed national approaches to enforce access to genetic resources and benefit-sharing provisions of the Convention on biological diversity.

The Convention on Biological Diversity is an historic commitment by the world’s nations to conserve biodiversity, to use biological resources sustainably and to share equitably the benefits arising from the use of genetic resources. It is the first global legal instrument to comprehensively address all aspects of biodiversity. The Guide illustrates the scientific, technical and legal issues which the Convention raises.

The Convention on Biological Diversity is an historic commitment by the world’s nations to conserve biodiversity, to use biological resources sustainably and to share equitably the benefits arising from the use of genetic resources. It is the first global legal instrument to comprehensively address all aspects of biodiversity. The Guide illustrates the scientific, technical and legal issues which the Convention raises.