ABSAs typically arise in relation to bioprospecting where indigenous knowledge is used to focus screening efforts for commercially valuable genetic and biochemical resources.
The concept of ABSAs stems from the Convention on Biological Diversity which, among other objectives, seeks to ensure the fair and equitable sharing of benefits arising from genetic resources.
[1] However, the highly controversial principle of Access and Benefit Sharing of the CDB stirred up a virulent debate which left most stakeholders unsatisfied with the framework provided.
[2] The Nagoya Protocol, a supplementary agreement to the Convention on Biological Diversity, provides a legal framework for implementing that objective.
Article 5 of the Nagoya Protocol requires that benefits arising from the utilization of genetic resources, as well as from subsequent applications and commercialization, to be shared in a fair and equitable way with the party providing such resources.