A Global Mapping of Access and Benefit Sharing (ABS) Frameworks

[GHF Plus: Global Health Policy Intelligence]

Readers,

In this edition, we bring you a mapping of laws on Access and Benefit Sharing across the world. Here is what you will find:

A comparative assessment of 201 countries and jurisdictions on existence, scope, and key characteristics of their Access and Benefit Sharing (ABS) frameworks
A mapping of how many countries recognize the importance of protecting both biological resources and indigenous or local community knowledge
How many countries have Digital Sequence Information subject to ABS obligations.
How much is the access to genetic resources regulated.
To what extent is Prior Informed Consent a key operational mechanism among countries implementing ABS frameworks.
A picture on compliance, sanctions and legal enforcements
How many jurisdictions link access permissions to benefit sharing arrangements.
And key takeaways for the negotiations on Pathogen Access and Benefit Sharing System

My colleague Khushi Makwana, an India-based lawyer, has put this together for our subscribers. She has been a part of our annual fellowship program.

This is a premium offering under GHF Plus, a global health intelligence product for our core supporters. We announced this last year and have since served up research reports and other tools every quarter. You will find previous GHF Plus products at the end of this edition when you scroll below, and in our archives.

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By Khushi Makwana

Julia Dötzer & Priti Patnaik contributed to this project

Makwana is a legal and healthcare management professional with a focus on healthcare policy, compliance, and systems improvement. She can be reached at officekhushimakwana@gmail.com.

This database provides a comparative assessment of 201 countries and jurisdictions on existence, scope, and key characteristics of their Access and Benefit Sharing (ABS) frameworks, with a particular focus on provisions relevant to genetic resources, microorganisms, traditional knowledge, Digital Sequence Information (DSI), access requirements, benefit sharing, compliance mechanisms, and legal sanctions.

Overall Status of ABS Frameworks

Of the 201 countries assessed:

66 countries have reported an ABS framework through the Access and Benefit Sharing Clearing House (ABSCH).
96 countries have no identified ABS legislation or framework.
39 countries have limited, unclear, developing, or unverified ABS status where a definitive ABSCH reporting status could not be confirmed.

The findings demonstrate that while ABS implementation has expanded significantly since the adoption of the Convention on Biological Diversity and the Nagoya Protocol, global implementation remains uneven.