Beyond Access

Book excerpt: Fewer than 11% of CBD Parties have adopted substantive ABS law, and nearly all of these are developing countries, focusing almost entirely on the 'access' side of the equation. Most of the CBD's specific ABS obligations, however, relate to the other side of the equation-benefit sharing. This book considers the full range of ABS obligations, and how existing tools in user countries' national law can be used to achieve the CBD's third objective. It examines the laws of those user countries which have either declared that their ABS obligations are satisfied by existing national law, or have begun legislative development; the requirements, weaknesses and gaps in achieving benefit-sharing objectives; and the ways in which new or existing legal tools can be applied to these requirements.