The Commission on Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture, at its Seventeenth Regular Session, requested its Secretary to prepare for review by the intergovernmental technical working groups on animal, aquatic, forest and plant genetic resources to produce an up-to-date survey of existing legislative, administrative and policy approaches, including best practices, for ABS for the different subsectors of GRFA and traditional knowledge associated with GRFA held by indigenous peoples and local communities, with the aim of identifying typical approaches and lessons learned from their implementation, as well as challenges and possible solutions. The current survey comprises a baseline desktop review of legislation, policy and literature. It provides a review of how countries address the distinctive features of GRFA and TKGRFA based on the letter of their ABS legislative, administrative and policy measures rather than on how these measures have been implemented in practice. It therefore does not provide an analysis of the state of implementation, the challenges involved and possible solutions to these challenges. As such, it aims to provide a basis for future empirical research on how ABS measures work in practice for GRFA subsectors. A specific objective is to provide a typology of legislative, administrative and policy measures applying to ABS for GRFA and TKGRFA.

This is an open access title available under the terms of a CC BY-NC-ND 4.0 License. It is free to read, download and share on Elgaronline.com. This illuminating book incisively surveys the complex legal regime of access and benefit-sharing in key aquaculture countries. With an international focus spanning countries across Africa, Asia, Europe and South America, the authors explore the application of international legal standards and how these translate into domestic measures.

The Commission on Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture (Commission), at its Seventeenth Regular Session, requested to prepare a survey of existing legislative, administrative and policy approaches, including best practices, for access and benefit-sharing (ABS) for the different subsectors of genetic resources for food and agriculture (GRFA) and traditional knowledge associated with GRFA (TKGRFA) held by Indigenous Peoples and local communities, with the aim of identifying typical approaches and lessons learned from their implementation, as well as challenges and possible solutions. [Author] In response to the Commission’s request, a survey identifying the different types of legislative, administrative or policy measures countries have taken to accommodate the distinctive features of GRFA and subsectors of GRFA and of TKGRFA in their ABS measures was commissioned. [Author] At its Eighteenth Regular Session, the Commission, in considering the Survey, requested the preparation of a stand-alone document providing specific examples of existing country legislative, administrative or policy measures that directly or indirectly accommodate distinctive features of GRFA and associated traditional knowledge. [Author] This publication is Supplement I of the typology of ABS country measures reflecting the importance of GRFA, their special role for food security and their distinctive features. [Author]

Addressing the management of genetic resources, this book offers a new assessment of the contemporary Access and Benefit Sharing (ABS) regime. Debates about ABS have moved on. The initial focus on the legal obligations established by international agreements like the United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity and the form of obligations for collecting physical biological materials have now shifted into a far more complex series of disputes and challenges about the ways ABS should be implemented and enforced. These now cover a wide range of issues, including: digital sequence information, the repatriation of resources, technology transfer, traditional knowledge and cultural expressions, open access to information and knowledge, naming conventions, farmers’ rights, new schemes for accessing pandemic viruses sharing DNA sequences, and so on. Drawing together perspectives from an interdisciplinary range of leading and emerging international scholars, this book offers a new approach to the ABS landscape; as it breaks from the standard regulatory analyses in order to explore alternative solutions to the intractable issues for the Access and Benefit Sharing of genetic resources. Addressing these modern legal debates from a perspective that will appeal to both ABS scholars and those with broader legal concerns in the areas of intellectual property, food, governance, Indigenous issues, and so on, this book will be a useful resource for scholars and students as well as those in government and in international institutions working in relevant areas.

The livestock sector faces a range of challenges, including climate change, emerging diseases, competition for natural resources and evolving demand for animal-source foods, which is increasing globally, especially in developing countries. Genetic diversity of livestock is a key resource for allowing livestock keepers to address these challenges, but this diversity has been in a state of decline. The diminishing genetic diversity thus represents yet another obstacle for sustainable livestock production. Cryoconservation (i.e. ex situ – in vitro conservation) of genetic resources through gene banking provides one of the most powerful tools governments and other stakeholders have to manage genetic diversity in both the short and long term and thereby provide future generations with the tools to meet the challenges ahead. Gene banking genetic resources fits within the context of the Global Plan of Action for Animal Genetic Resources, which was developed and adopted by FAO Member Nations. Specifically, Strategic Priority 9 of the Global Plan of Action is “Establish or strengthen ex situ conservation programmes” and Strategic Priority 11 urges countries to “Develop approaches and technical standards for conservation. To assist countries in the implementation the Global Plan of Action, FAO worked with experts from around the world to prepare technical guidelines. In 2012 FAO published FAO Guidelines on Cryoconservation of animal genetic resources.Gene banking is a long-term effort that needs to be viewed in terms of decades rather than years, as demonstrated by similar systems for agricultural crops. The responsibility for establishing such resources lies squarely within governments’ roles of providing public goods and food security. Gene banking of animal genetic resources is a technology-intense undertaking and the associated technologies are in a continual state of research and development. The livestock sector also continues to evolve rapidly. Since the development and release of the previous guidelines, numerous changes have taken place. Critical among these is a greater appreciation of the opportunities for actively utilizing cryopreserved material to enhance management of in vivo populations, rather than as simply an “insurance policy” to protect breeds against extinction.This key development has led to further changes in gene bank management. First, interaction with users of the stored material has increased. This in turn has created a need to involve stakeholders more closely in the management of genetic collections and to better monitor and document the processes of gene banking to ensure quality management.

This vital book traverses the ongoing challenges faced by Indigenous peoples in the pursuit of their fundamental right to self-determination. Set against the backdrop of issues such as climate change, governance, space and data, it explores the intersection between Indigenous rights and land, territories and resources.

OECD and FAO have developed this guidance to help enterprises observe standards of responsible business conduct and undertake due diligence along agricultural supply chains in order to ensure that their operations contribute to sustainable development.