A literature review analysis of engagement with the Nagoya Protocol, with specific application to Africa
Article Sidebar
Main Article Content
Abstract
The 2010 Nagoya Protocol is an international framework for access and benefit sharing (ABS) of the use of genetic and biological resources, with particular focus on indigenous communities. This is especially important in Africa, where local communities have a close reliance on environmental resources and ecosystems. However, national legislation and policies commonly lag behind international agreements, and this poses challenges for legal compliance as well as practical applications. This study reviews the academic literature on the Nagoya Protocol and ABS applications, and then considers the implications of this analysis for research in Africa. Results show that there is uneven engagement with the principles of the Nagoya Protocol across different academic disciplines; local communities are sometimes sidelined in these studies; and only 8% of researchers in the literature analysed are located in Africa. Future developments should focus on ensuring national compliance with the Nagoya Protocol, and that researchers and industry work in partnership with local African communities on ABS issues.
Article Details
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.
The SAJBL is published under an Attribution-Non Commercial International Creative Commons Attribution (CC-BY-NC 4.0) License. Under this license, authors agree to make articles available to users, without permission or fees, for any lawful, non-commercial purpose. Users may read, copy, or re-use published content as long as the author and original place of publication are properly cited.
Exceptions to this license model is allowed for UKRI and research funded by organisations requiring that research be published open-access without embargo, under a CC-BY licence. As per the journals archiving policy, authors are permitted to self-archive the author-accepted manuscript (AAM) in a repository.
How to Cite
References
Kariyawasam K, Tsai M. Access to genetic resources and benefit sharing: Implications of Nagoya protocol on providers and users. J World Intellect Prop 2018;21(5-6):289-305. https://doi.org/10.1111/jwip.12095
Avilés-Polanco G, Jefferson DJ, Almendarez-Hernández MA, Beltrán-Morales LF. Factors that explain the utilisation of the Nagoya Protocol framework for access and benefit sharing. Sustainability 2019;11(20):5550. https://doi.org/10.3390/ su11205550.
Secretariat of the Convention on Biological Diversity. Bonn guidelines on access to genetic resources and fair and equitable sharing of the benefits arising out of their utilisation. Secretariat of the Convention on Biological Diversity, Montreal, 2002.
Zainol ZA, Amin L, Akpoviri F, Ramli R. Biopiracy and states’ sovereignty over their biological resources. Afr J Biotechnol 2011;10(58):12395-12408. https://doi. org/10.5897/AJB11.1059
Sirakaya A. Is the Nagoya Protocol designed to conserve biodiversity? Plants People Planet 2022;4(1):6875. https://doi.org/10.1002/ppp3.10221
Lajaunie C, Morand S. Nagoya Protocol and infectious diseases: Hindrance or opportunity? Front Public Health 2020;8:238. https://doi.org/10.3389/ fpubh.2020.00238.
Sherman B, Henry RJ. The Nagoya Protocol and historical collections of plants. Nature Plants 2020;6(5):430-432. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41477-020-0657-8
African Regional Intellectual Property Organization. Swakopmund Protocol
on the Protection of Traditional Knowledge and Expressions of Folklore.
Swakopmund: ARIPO, 2010.
Aguilar Delgado N, Perez-Aleman P. Inclusion in global environmental
governance: Sustained access, engagement and influence in decisive spaces.
Sustainability 2021;13(18):10052. https://doi.org/10.3390/su131810052
Zheng X. Empowering indigenous peoples and local communities: A human rights-based appraisal of the compliance mechanism of the Nagoya Protocol.
RECIEL 2021;30(1):61-72. https://doi.org/10.1111/reel.12343
Arjjumend H. Recognition of indigenous peoples in access and benefit sharing (ABS) legislation and policies of the parties to the Nagoya Protocol. BRICS Law J
;5(3):86-113. https://doi.org/10.21684/2412-2343-2018-5-3-86-113
Mekonnen DK, Spielman DJ. Changing patterns in genebank acquisitions of crop genetic materials: An analysis of global policy drivers and potential consequences.
Food Pol 2021;105:102161. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.foodpol.2021.102161
Vogel JH, Ruiz Muller M, Angerer K, et al. Bounded openness: A robust modality of access to genetic resources and the sharing of benefits. Plants People Planet
;4(1):13-22. https://doi.org/10.1002/ppp3.10239
Coolsaet B, Pitseys J. Fair and equitable negotiations? African influence and the
international access and benefit-sharing regime. Glob Env Pol 2015;15(2):38-56.
https://doi.org/10.1162/GLEP_a_00297
Koskela J, Vinceti B, Dvorak W, et al. Utilisation and transfer of forest genetic resources: A global review. Forest Ecol Manag 2014;333:22-34. https://doi. org/10.1016/j.foreco.2014.07.017
Davidson MD. Equity and the conservation of global ecosystem services. Sustainability 2017;9(3):339. https://doi.org/10.3390/su9030339
Coolsaet B, Dawson N, Rabitz F, Lovera S. Access and allocation in global biodiversity governance: A review. Int Env Agree 2020;20(2):359-375. https://doi. org/10.1007/s10784-020-09476-6
Smith D, Hinz H, Mulema J, Wey P, Ryan MJ. Biological control and the Nagoya Protocol on access and benefit sharing – a case of effective due diligence. Biocontr Sci Technol 2018;28(10):914-926. https://doi.org/10.1080/09583157.20 18.1460317
Humphries F, Lawson C, Benzie JAH, Morrison C. African aquaculture: Genetic resource and traditional knowledge access and benefit sharing measures. Rev Fish Sci Aquacult 2022(epub). https://doi.org/10.1080/23308249.2022.2027866
Bodnar T, Salathé M. Governing the global commons with local institutions. PLoS ONE 2012;7(4):e34051. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0034051
Oberthür S, Pozarowska J. Managing institutional complexity and fragmentation: The Nagoya Protocol and the global governance of genetic resources. Glob Env Pol 2013;13(3):100-118. https://doi.org/10.1162/GLEP_a_00185
Pauchard N. Access and benefit sharing under the convention on biological diversity and its protocol: What can some numbers tell us about the effectiveness of the regulatory regime? Resources 2017;6(1):11. https://doi.org/10.3390/ resources6010011
Eimer TR, Bartels T. From consent to consultation: Indigenous rights and the new environmental constitutionalism. Env Pol 2020;29(2):235-256. https://doi.org/10. 1080/09644016.2019.1595884
Welch EW, Shin E, Long J. Potential effects of the Nagoya Protocol on the exchange of non-plant genetic resources for scientific research: Actors, paths, and consequences. Ecol Econ 2013;86:136-147. https://doi.org/10.1016/j. ecolecon.2012.11.019
Nijar GS, Louafi S, Welch EW. The implementation of the Nagoya ABS Protocol for the research sector: Experience and challenges. Int Env Agree 2017;17(5):607- 621. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10784-016-9328-7
Friso F, Mendive F, Soffiato M, et al. Implementation of Nagoya Protocol on access and benefit-sharing in Peru: Implications for researchers. J Ethnopharmacol 2020;259:112885. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jep.2020.112885
Robinson DF, Raven M. Recognising indigenous customary law of totemic plant species: Challenges and pathways. Geogr J 2020;186(1):31-44. https://doi. org/10.1111/geoj.12320
Fredriksson M. Dilemmas of protection: Decolonising the regulation of genetic resources as cultural heritage. Int J Heritage Stud 2021;27(7):720-733. https://doi. org/10.1080/13527258.2020.1852295
Robinson D, Raven M, Makin E, et al. Legal geographies of Kava, Kastom and indigenous knowledge: Next steps under the Nagoya Protocol. Geoforum 2021;118:169-179. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.geoforum.2020.11.001
BMZ. The ABS capacity development initiative 2006-2016: Supporting the implementation of access and benefit-sharing. Bonn: BMZ, 2016.
African Union Commission. African Union Practical Guidelines for the Coordinated Implementation of the Nagoya Protocol in Africa. Addis Ababa: African Union, 2015.
United Nations Development Program. ABS in Genetic Resources for Sustainable Development. New York: UNDP, 2018.
Laird SA, Wynberg R. Connecting the dots: Biodiversity conservation, sustainable use and access and benefit sharing. BioInnovation Africa, University of Cape Town, 2021.
African Regional Intellectual Property Organization. Policy Framework on Access and Benefit Sharing Arising From the use of Genetic Resources in the ARIPO Member States: A Guide for ARIPO Member States. ARIPO, Harare, 2016.
Rosendal K, Andresen S. Realizing access and benefit sharing from use of genetic resources between diverging international regimes: The scope for leadership. Int Env Agree 2016;16(4):579-596. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10784-014-9271-4
Lallier LE, McMeel O, Greiber T, et al. Access to and use of marine genetic resources: Understanding the legal framework. Nat Product Rept 2016;31(5):612- 616. https://doi.org/10.1039/c3np70123a
Xiao N, Ahagon N, Kubo Y, Morioka H. Preparing for the new age of the Nagoya Protocol in scientific ocean drilling. Scientific Drill 2018;24:51-59. https://doi. org/10.5194/sd-24-51-2018
Overmann J, Scholz AH. Microbiological research under the Nagoya Protocol: Facts and fiction. Trends Microbiol 2017;25(2):85-88. https://doi.org/10.1099/ mic.0.000425
Smith S, da Silva M, Jackson J, Lyal C. Explanation of the Nagoya Protocol on access and benefit sharing and its implication for microbiology. Microbiology 2017;163(3):289-296.
Keiper F, Atanassova A. Regulation of synthetic biology: Developments under the convention on biological diversity and its protocols. Front Bioeng Biotech 220;8:310. https://doi.org/10.3389/fbioe.2020.00310
Skirycz A, Kierszniowska S, Méret M, et al. Medicinal bioprospecting of the Amazon rainforest: A modern Eldorado? Trends Biotech 2016;34(10):781-790. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tibtech.2016.03.006
Halewood M, Villanueva AB, Rasolojaona J, et al. Enhancing farmers’ agency in the global crop commons through use of biocultural community protocols. Agric Human Val 2021;38(2):579-594. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10460-020-10164-z
Sirakaya A. A balanced ABS System: Stakeholder perception on ABS Goals. Sustain Develop 2020;28(3):495-503. https://doi.org/10.1002/sd.2040
Sirakaya A, De Brucker K, Vanagt T. Designing regulatory frameworks for access to genetic resources: A multi-stakeholder multi-criteria approach. Front Genetics 2020;11:549836. https://doi.org/10.3389/fgene.2020.549836
Rakotondrabe M, Girard F. Protecting traditional knowledge through biocultural community protocols in Madagascar: Do not forget the ‘B’ in BCP. Sustainability 2021;13(18):10255. https://doi.org/10.3390/su131810255
Karger EJ, Scholz AH. DSI, the Nagoya Protocol, and stakeholders’concerns. Trends Biotech 2021;39(2):110-112. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tibtech.2020.09.008
Suiseeya KRM. Negotiating the Nagoya Protocol: Indigenous demands for justice. Glob Env Pol 2014;14(3):102-124. https://doi.org/10.1162/GLEP_a_00241
Savaresi A. REDD+ and human rights: Addressing synergies between international regimes. Ecol Soc 2013;18(3):5. https://doi.org/10.5751/ES-05549-180305
Sikor T, Martin A, Fisher J, He J. Toward an empirical analysis of justice in ecosystem governance. Conserv Lett 2014;7(6):524-532. https://doi.org/10.1111/conl.12142
Cámara-Leret R, Paniagua-Zambrana N, Svenning J-C, et al. Geospatial patterns in traditional knowledge serve in assessing intellectual property rights and benefit- sharing in Northwest South America. J Ethnopharmacol 2014;158(A):58-65.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jep.2014.10.009
Parks L. Challenging power from the bottom up? Community protocols, benefit- sharing, and the challenge of dominant discourses. Geoforum 2018;88:87-95. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.geoforum.2017.11.011
McCune LM. The protection of indigenous peoples’ seed rights during ethnobotanical research. Ethnobiol Lett 2018;9(1):67-75. https://doi. org/10.14237/ebl.9.1.2018.1076
Uehara T, Sono M, Tsuge T, Onuma A. Can prior informed consent create a virtuous cycle between biodiversity conservation and genetic resources utilisation? J Env Manag 2021;300:113767. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jenvman.2021.113767
Jonas H, Bavikatte K, Shrumm H. Community protocols and access and benefit sharing. Asian Biotech Develop Rev 2010;12(3):49-76.
Davis K, Smit MF, Kidd M, et al. An access and benefit-sharing awareness survey for botanic gardens: Are they prepared for the Nagoya Protocol? S Afr J Bot 2015;98:148-156. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.sajb.2015.01.015
Heinrich M, Scotti F, Andrade-Cetto A, et al. Access and benefit sharing under the Nagoya Protocol – quo vadis? Six Latin American case studies assessing opportunities and risk. Front Pharmacol 2020;11:765. https://doi.org/10.3389/ fphar.2020.00765
Sirakaya A. Balanced options for access and benefit-sharing: Stakeholder insights on provider country legislation. Front Plant Sci 2019;10:1175. https://doi. org/10.3389/fpls.2019.01175
Silvestri L, Sosa A, McKay F, et al. Implementation of access and benefit-sharing measures has consequences for classical biological control of weeds. BioControl 2020;65(2):125-141. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10526-019-09988-4
Crouch NR, Douwes E, Wolfson MM, et al. South Africa’s bioprospecting, access and benefit-sharing legislation: Current realities, future complications, and a proposed alternative. S Afr J Sci 2018;104(9-10):355-366.
Michiels F, Feiter U, Paquin-Jaloux S, et al. Facing the harsh reality of access and benefit sharing (ABS) legislation: An industry perspective. Sustainability 2022;14(1):277. https://doi.org/10.3390/su14010277
Dedeurwaerdere T, Melindi-Ghidi P, Broggiato A. Global scientific research commons under the Nagoya Protocol: Towards a collaborative economy model for the sharing of basic research assets. Env Sci Pol 2016;55(1):1-10. https://doi. org/10.1016/j.envsci.2015.08.006
Wang SW, Lee WK, Brooks J, Dorji C. Awareness of the convention on biological diversity and provisions regarding access and benefit sharing among multiple stakeholder groups in Bhutan. Oryx 2020;54(5):735-742. https://doi.org/10.1017/ S0030605318000819
Humphries F, Benzie JAH, Morrison C. A systematic quantitative literature review of aquaculture genetic resource access and benefit sharing. Rev Aquacult 2019;11(4):1133-1147. https://doi.org10.1111/raq.12283
Ambler J, Diallo AA, Dearden PK, et al. Including digital sequence data in the Nagoya Protocol can promote data sharing. Trends Biotech 2021;39(2):116-125. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tibtech.2020.06.009
Smyth SJ, Macall DM, Phillips PWB, de Beer J. Implications of biological information digitisation: Access and benefit sharing of plant genetic resources. J World Intellect Prop 2020;23(3-4):267-287. https://doi.org/10.1111/jwip.12151
Oliva MJ. Sharing the benefits of biodiversity: A new international protocol and its implications for research and development. Planta Medica 2011;77(11):1221- 1227. https://doi.org/10.1055/s-0031-1279978
Beeckman DSA, Rüdelsheim P. Biosafety and biosecurity in containment: A regulatory overview. Front Bioeng Biotech 2020;8:650. https://doi.org/10.3389/ fbioe.2020.00650
Wynberg R, Laird S, van Niekerk J, Kozanayi W. Formalisation of the natural product trade in southern Africa: Unintended consequences and policy blurring in biotrade and bioprospecting. Soc Nat Res 2015;28(5):559-574. https://doi.org/ 10.1080/08941920.2015.1014604
Deplazes-Zemp A. ‘Genetic Resources’, an analysis of a multifaceted concept. Biol Conserv 2018;222:86-94. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biocon.2018.03.031
Leung K, Ras E, Ferguson KB, et al. Next-generation biological control: The need for integrating genetics and genomics. Biol Rev 2020;95(6):1838-1854. https:// doi.org/10.1111/brv.12641
Vindigni G, la Terra G, Bellia C. The complex framework of access and benefit sharing under the international policy arena. Qual Access Success 2017;18(S2):468-472.
Deplazes-Zemp A, Abiven S, Schaber P, et al. The Nagoya Protocol could backfire on the global south. Nature Ecol Evol 2018;2(6):917-919. https://doi.org/10.1038/ s41559-018-0561-z
Moody OO. The Nagoya Protocol: A possible solution to the protection of traditional knowledge in biodiverse societies of Africa. LLM dissertation. Cape Town: University of the Western Cape, 2011.
Schroeder D, Chennells R, Louw C, et al. The Rooibos Benefit Sharing Agreement – breaking new ground with respect, honesty, fairness, and care. Cambr Quart Healthcare Ethics 2020;29(2):285-301. https://doi.org/10.1017/ S0963180119001075
Corson C, MacDonald KI. Enclosing the global commons: The convention on biological diversity and green grabbing. J Peasant Stud 2012;39(2):263-283. https://doi.org/10.1080/03066150.2012.664138
Halewood M. What kind of goods are plant genetic resources for food and agriculture? Towards the identification and development of a new global commons. Int J Commons 2013;7(1):278-312. https://doi.org/10.18352/ijc.412
Sievers-Glotzbach S, Christinck A. Introduction to the symposium: Seed as a commons—exploring innovative concepts and practices of governing seed and varieties. Agric Human Val 2021;38(2):499-507. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10460- 020-10166-x
Bréchet T, Hritonenko N, Yatsenko Y. Domestic environmental policy and international cooperation for global commons. Res Energy Econ 2016;44:183- 205. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.reseneeco.2016.03.002
Bond MR, Scott D. Digital biopiracy and the (dis)assembling of the Nagoya Protocol. Geoforum 2020;117:24-32. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.geoforum.2020.09.001
Pálsson G, Prainsack B. Genomic stuff: Governing the (im)matter of life. Int J
Commons 2011;5(2):259-283. https://doi.org/10.18352/ijc.247