Brazil's implementation of access and benefit-sharing and the Nagoya Protocol: Analyzing some trends and positions in the ongoing debate

Abstract

Access and benefit-sharing (ABS) arising from the utilization of biodiversity’s genetic resources and traditional knowledge is the third objective of the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD). Since its inception, some parties to the CBD have enacted ABS-national legislation and in 2014, the Nagoya Protocol came into force, providing a global standard among ABS systems. Given this, Brazil has been working to implement ABS since 2001, especially after the enactment of the national Biodiversity Law (Law 13.123/2015), which is the domestic law for the Nagoya Protocol implementation. This paper examines how the implementation of ABS and the Nagoya Protocol is viewed, discussed and debated by some stakeholders. Based on qualitative semi-structured interviews, press releases, public declarations, legislation and grey literature, the paper reveals that although ABS has faced strong criticism and delivered modest results, most stakeholders consider it strategic and important, especially in the face of the bioeconomy–biodiversity nexus. In general, positions on the implementation of ABS policies and the Nagoya Protocol in Brazil can be devised in the following categories: 1) acceptance and optimistic appreciation of ABS, 2) acceptance of ABS mechanisms but impending need for adjustments, 3) acceptance of ABS mechanisms as a ‘bad with it, worse without it’ scenario, and 4) rejection of ABS. Our research also shows that when it comes to ABS and providers of genetic resources, debates centred on the topic of biopiracy have declined, while debates characterized by compromise, institutionalization and the steering of ABS via the implementation process are on the rise.