Indicator 15.6.1 Number of countries that have adopted legislative, administrative and policy frameworks to ensure fair and equitable sharing of benefits

Indicator 15.6.1: Number of countries that have adopted legislative, administrative and policy frameworks to ensure fair and equitable sharing of benefits

Target 15.6: Promote fair and equitable sharing of the benefits arising from the utilization of genetic resources and promote appropriate access to such resources, as internationally agreed

Secretariat of the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD)

Definition

The indicator is defined as the number of countries that have adopted legislative, administrative and policy frameworks to ensure fair and equitable sharing of benefits. It refers to the efforts by countries to implement the Nagoya Protocol on Access to Genetic Resources and the Fair and Equitable Sharing of Benefits Arising from their Utilization to the Convention on Biological Diversity (2010) and the International Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture (2001).

The Nagoya Protocol covers genetic resources and traditional knowledge associated with genetic resources, as well as the benefits arising from their utilization by setting out core obligations for its contracting Parties to take measures in relation to access, benefit-sharing and compliance. The objectives of the International Treaty are the conservation and sustainable use of plant genetic resources for food and agriculture and the fair and equitable sharing of the benefits arising out of their use, in harmony with the Convention on Biological Diversity.

The Protocol provides greater legal certainty and transparency for both providers and users of genetic resources and associated traditional knowledge, and therefore, encourages the advancement of research on genetic resources which could lead to new discoveries for the benefit of all.

The Nagoya Protocol also creates incentives to conserve and sustainably use genetic resources, and thereby enhances the contribution of biodiversity to development and human well-being. In addition, Parties to the Protocol are to encourage users and providers to direct benefits arising from the utilization of genetic resources towards the conservation of biological diversity and the sustainable use of its components.

The International Treaty has established the Multilateral System of Access and Benefit-sharing, which facilitates exchanges of plant genetic resources for purposes of agricultural research and breeding to contribute to sustainable agriculture and food security, by providing a transparent and reliable framework for the exchange of crop genetic resources. The Multilateral System is instrumental to achieving the conservation and sustainable use of plant genetic resources as well as the fair and equitable sharing of benefits arising from their use. The Standard Material Transfer Agreement is a mandatory standard contract for parties wishing to provide and receive material under the Multilateral System.

For data series ER CBD PTYPGRFA, ER CBD NAGOYA, ER CBD ORSPGRFA, CBD ABSCLRHS the unit of measurement is a binary measure (1 = YES; 0 = NO).

For data series ER CBD SMTA the unit of measurement is number of Standard Material Transfer Agreements (SMTAs). The total number of SMTAs transferring plant genetic resources for food and agriculture to the country is a cumulative figure.

The Access and Benefit-sharing Clearing-House Country Profiles: https://absch.cbd.int/en/countries

The Online Reporting System on Compliance of the International Treaty on PGRFA, http://www.fao.org/plant-treaty/areas-of-work/compliance/compliance-reports/en/

Easy-SMTA, https://mls.planttreaty.org

Publishing authorities for the ABS Clearing-House as designated by the CBD national focal points or the ABS focal points. Publishing authorities for the Online Reporting System on compliance of the International Treaty on PGRFA are the officially nominated national focal points or nominated reporting authorities.

This indicator can be used to measure progress in adopting ABS legislative, administrative and policy frameworks over time.

This indicator does not assess the scope or effectiveness of ABS legislative, administrative and policy frameworks.

The notion of framework suggests that there is a complete set of rules established on access and benefit-sharing. However, it is difficult to have a predefined idea of what constitutes an ABS framework. In the context of this indicator, the publication by a country of one or more ABS legislative, administrative and policy measure in the ABS Clearing-House would be considered progress by that country on having an ABS legislative, administrative and policy framework, and through the Online Reporting System on Compliance of the International Treaty in relation to plant genetic resources for food and agriculture.

For CBD ABSCLRHS, the indicator is calculated based on national information made available to the Access and Benefit-sharing Clearing-House. If a country has published at least one legislative, administrative or policy measure to ensure fair and equitable benefit-sharing, the data compilers will indicate 1 (1=YES). For ER_CBD_ORSPGRFA, the method of computation is the same but is calculated based on information from national reports submitted to the Secretariat of the International Treaty on PGRFA.

For ER_CBD_NAGOYA and ER_CBD_PTYPGRFA, the indicator is calculated based on the status of ratifications to the Nagoya Protocol and the International Treaty on PGRFA, respectively. If a country has ratified/acceded/accepted the respective treaty, the data compilers will indicate 1 (1=YES).

For ER_CBD_SMTA (complementary sub-indicator), the indicator is calculated based on information generated through the Easy-SMTA platform. The data is the number of SMTA reported through the online system of Easy-SMTA for each country. SMTA is a mandatory contract that Contracting Parties of the International Treaty have agreed to use whenever plant genetic resources falling under the Multilateral System are made available through transfer.

2022-04-12

Secretariat of the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD)

Not applicable.

An indicator on numbers of permits and numbers of Material Transfer Agreements issued would provide complementary information.

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