The Nagoya Protocol
Adopted in 2010 at the 10th Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity, the Nagoya Protocol sets out the international framework for the mechanism of Access to Genetic Resources and the Fair and Equitable Sharing of Benefits Arising from their Utilisation (ABS). The signatories, including France, are responsible for transferring into their domestic law.
Regulation
The Nagoya Protocol took force on 12 October 2014 and has been ratified by many countries. The European Union ratified it and incorporated it into EU law in 2014 and 2015, with the regulations EU 511/2014 and 2015/1866 specifying how the rules and best practices should be applied and respected by users.
France ratified the protocol in August 2016 with the adoption of the law for the reconquest of biodiversity, nature and landscapes.
The primary goals of this regulation are to ensure biodiversity and local knowledge are conserved and to guarantee their sustainable use while sharing the resulting benefits fairly. To achieve this and to combat biopiracy, the mechanism specifies increased transparency and traceability for suppliers and users of genetic resources and associated knowledge.
The regulations organise:
- Access for use in research and development
- The sharing of the benefits to be put in place depending on the nature of the planned use
- Compliance mechanisms to prove respect for the regulations.
How the regulations apply to projects funded by the ANR
As a research funding agency, the ANR must obtain documentary evidence of Due Diligence Declarations (DDDs) for the projects it funds to ensure that the project accesses and uses genetic resources in accordance with the regula-tions. Project coordinators are asked to declare any potential use of genetic resources at the submission stage.
Visit the Ministry of Higher Education, Research and Innovation website to find out more about the ABS proce-dure.
Find out more:
- Summary documents issued by the Foundation for Research on Biodiversity (FRB):
- The ABS mechanism and its European and French implications
- Interactive flipbook: ABS step by step
- Guide for researchers (CIRAD, IRD and INRA, 2011): Guidelines for genetic resource access and transfer
- The Nagoya Protocol and its implementation:
- The text in French and in English
- The European texts: EU 511/2014 and 2015/1866
- The clearing house: The Access and Benefit‐Sharing (ABS) Clearing House Mechanism
- Contacts and references for France: Focal point, competent national authorities, check-points, progress reports
