Access and Benefit Sharing of Genetic Resources Project

Summary
 

  • The project is designed to address the importance of biodiversity conservation and fulfilling the objectives of the Convention on Biological Diversity by facilitating the implementation of the Nagoya Protocol. It aims to create the legal and administrative underpinnings, as well as practical capacity, in China to authorize and enable providers of genetic resources and associated traditional knowledge to share in the benefits from the utilization of those resources, in a manner that promotes improvement of the providers’ social welfare and provides a motivation for conservation and efforts to maintain the sustainability of those resources. 

  • ABS Project, namely  “Developing and Implementing the National Framework on Access to and Benefit Sharing of Genetic Resources and Associated Traditional Knowledge”, was implemented under the GEF-5 biodiversity focal area strategy under Objective Four “Build Capacity on Access to Genetic Resources and Benefit Sharing”, through the Foreign Economic Cooperation Office (FECO) of the Ministry of Environmental Protection (MEE) of the Government of People’s Republic of China, supported by the United Nations Development Program (UNDP). 
     

Background
 

  • China is home to some 10% of Earth’s plant species, 14% of its fauna and the third largest number of plant species—about 50% of which are endemic – of any country in the world. Its 6,445 vertebrate animal species account for 13.7% of the world's total, while its more than 10,000 fungi species make up 14% of the global total.  

  • China is facing major threats to its biodiversity. Biodiversity loss can lead to serious consequences, such as worsening health problems, higher food risks, increasing vulnerabilities and fewer development opportunities. 

  • The Global Environment Facility (GEF) provides financial and technical resources to implement the United Nations (UN) Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD), which recognizes each State’s sovereign rights over its own biological diversity and each State’s sovereign rights over own genetic resources, clarifying that States have full rights to regulate access to these resources. 
     

Major Achievements

  • 14 analyses and research reports on different thematic areas and elements developed in parallel to codes of conduct for different target entities, including industry 

  • A range of tools and instruments developed to guide local legislation, including a model contract covering national and international jurisdictions with PIC and MAT provisions therein 

  • A fundamental shift in capacity, evidenced by an increase in scorecard results of 31%, 318%, 500% and 509% against the baseline at the national level, as well as for Yunnan, Hunan and Guangxi provinces respectively 

  • 6 negotiated agreements, each opening the doors to highly innovative and long-term collaborations between local communities and private sector entities  

  • By terminal evaluation, this project has been rated as Highly Satisfactory 


Project Outcomes
 

The project aims to: 

  • Establish the foundational ABS legal measures nationally and provincially 

  • Improve ABS institutional and professional capacity development and reinforce through dependencies with implementation, through “learning by doing” exercises) 

  • Prioritize the conducting of practical pilots for the articulation and implementation of agreements and institutional arrangement in three provinces, including provincial and local legislation, implementation of a variety of ABS scenarios, negotiation of ABS agreements with small- and medium-sized enterprises for commercial and non-commercial purposes and undertaking six case studies 
     

GESI Component
 

  • Although not specifically targeting women groups as key stakeholders or direct beneficiaries, the ABS project has integrated a gender-responsive and inclusive perspective into project management and implementation procedures. This project conducted the promotion of gender equality by enhancing women participation and carrying out several training sessions for women.  

  • Project ensured women’s participation at all stages, both as staff of project management offices, recipients of various forms of technical assistance, and experts and consultants retained by the project.