Legal Studies on Access and Benefit-sharing – serie

The Nagoya Protocol on access and benefit-sharing is an international environmental agreement that concerns environmental sustainability, other sustainable development issues and equity. It addresses a complex subject matter that affects a range of research, development and commercial activities and is relevant to different areas of international law such as human rights, intellectual property rights, health, food and oceans.Unraveling the Nagoya Protocol identifies textual, contextual and systemic interpretative questions and suggests solutions that aim to give a coherent and balanced meaning to the text of the Protocol. Offering a systematic discussion of the Protocol’s legal innovations against the background of general international law, this commentary aims to be of use to international biodiversity law scholars and practitioners, as well as to international lawyers that approach access and benefit-sharing for the first time.

The Nagoya Protocol on Access and Benefit-sharing is an innovative multilateral environmental agreement that has significantly developed the international biodiversity regime. In addition, it has considerable implications for the rights of indigenous peoples and local communities, for research and commercial development activities in various sectors, as well as for food security, health, trade, oceans, and development cooperation. A prestigious group of international experts analyses the implications of the Nagoya Protocol for different areas of international law, and its implementation challenges in various regions, or of a cross-cutting nature. The volume thus combines the perspectives of legal scholars and of stakeholders involved in the negotiations of the Protocol and the preparations towards its entry into force.

The adoption of the Nagoya Protocol on Access and Benefit-sharing to the Convention on Biological Diversity in 2010 is a major landmark for the global governance of genetic resources and traditional knowledge. The way in which it will be translated into practice will however depend on the concrete implementation in national country legislation across the world. Implementing the Nagoya Protocol compares existing ABS regimes in ten European countries, including one non-EU member and one EU candidate country, and critically explores several cross-cutting issues related to the implementation of the Nagoya Protocol in the EU. Gathering some of the most professional and widely acclaimed experts in ABS issues, this book takes a major step towards filling a gap in the vast body of literature on national and regional implementation of global commitments regarding ABS and traditional knowledge.