Nagoya Protocol

Short description: 2010 global treaty on biological diversity

Not to be confused with Nagoya Resolution.

Nagoya Protocol

Long name:

* 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

Parties

signed, but not ratified

non signatory, but Biological Diversity Convention party

non signatory, non-Biological Diversity Convention party

Besides several member states, the EU is also a party (not on map)

Type| Environmental
Signed| 29 October 2010
Location| Nagoya, Japan
Effective| 12 October 2014
Condition| 50 ratifications
Signatories| 92
Parties| 142
Depositary| Secretary-General of the United Nations
Languages| Arabic, Chinese, English, French, Russian and Spanish

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, also known as the Nagoya Protocol on Access and Benefit Sharing (ABS), is a 2010 supplementary agreement to the 1992 Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD). Its aim is the implementation of one of the three objectives of the CBD: the fair and equitable sharing of benefits arising out of the utilization of genetic resources, thereby contributing to the conservation and sustainable use of biodiversity. It sets out obligations for its contracting parties to take measures in relation to access to genetic resources, benefit-sharing and compliance.

The protocol was adopted on 29 October 2010 in Nagoya, Japan, and entered into force on 12 October 2014. As of August 2025[update], it has been ratified by 142 parties, which includes 141 UN member states and the European Union.[1]

From a concrete perspective, it gives each country sovereignty rights over its biological resources, making biopiracy illegal.[2] Concerns have been expressed that the added bureaucracy and legislation could be damaging to the monitoring and collection of biodiversity, to conservation, to the international response to infectious diseases, and to research.[3][4]

## Contents

* 1 Aims and scope
* 2 Adoption and ratification
* 3 Obligations
* 3.1 Access obligations
* 3.2 Benefit-sharing obligations
* 3.3 Compliance obligations
* 4 Implementation
* 4.1 European Union
* 5 Relationship to other international agreements
* 6 Criticism
* 7 See also
* 8 References
* 9 Further reading
* 10 External links

## Aims and scope

The Nagoya Protocol applies to genetic resources that are covered by the CBD, and to the benefits arising from their utilization. The protocol also covers traditional knowledge associated with genetic resources that are covered by the CBD and the benefits arising from its utilization.

Its aim is the implementation of one of the three objectives of the CBD: the fair and equitable sharing of benefits arising out of the utilization of genetic resources, thereby contributing to the conservation and sustainable use of biodiversity.[5]

## Adoption and ratification

The protocol was adopted on 29 October 2010 in Nagoya, Japan, at the tenth meeting of the Conference of the Parties, held from 18 to 29 October 2010[6] and entered into force on 12 October 2014.

The parties to the treaty decided in 2016 to consider the inclusion of digital sequence information (DSI) in the Nagoya framework.[7] The Access and Benefit-Sharing (ABS) method, if applied to DSI, would have greatly disrupted the operations of the International Nucleotide Sequence Database Collaboration, in which all data is free and unrestricted.[3] The multilateral framework for DSI, established in COP 15 (2022), decouples access from benefit-sharing.[8]

## Obligations

### Access obligations

* Create legal certainty, clarity, and transparency
* Provide fair and non-arbitrary rules and procedures
* Establish clear rules and procedures for prior informed consent and mutually agreed on terms
* Provide for issuance of a permit or equivalent when access is granted
* Create conditions to promote and encourage research contributing to biodiversity conservation and sustainable use
* Pay due regard to cases of present or imminent emergencies that threaten human, animal, or plant health
* Consider the importance of genetic resources for food and agriculture for food security

### Benefit-sharing obligations

### Compliance obligations

* Take measures providing that genetic resources utilized within their jurisdiction have been accessed in accordance with prior informed consent, and that mutually agreed terms have been established, as required by another contracting party
* Cooperate in cases of an alleged violation of another contracting party's requirements
* Encourage contractual provisions on dispute resolution in mutually agreed terms
* Ensure an opportunity is available to seek recourse under their legal systems when disputes arise from mutually agreed terms (MAT)
* Take measures regarding access to justice
* Monitor the use of genetic resources after they leave a country by designating effective checkpoints at every stage of the value chain: research, development, innovation, pre-commercialization, or commercialization

## Implementation

File:National-biodiversity-strategy-align-with-aichi-target-9 (OWID 0646).pngNational biodiversity strategies that align with Aichi Target 9 (invasive species and pathways are identified and prioritized, priority species are controlled or eradicated and measures are in place to prevent their introduction and establishment)

* Establishing national focal points (NFPs) and competent national authorities (CNAs) to serve as contact points for information, grant access, or compliance
* An Access and Benefit-sharing Clearing-House to share information, such as domestic regulatory ABS requirements or information on NFPs and CNAs
* Capacity-building to support key aspects of implementation.

* Develop domestic ABS legislation to implement the Nagoya Protocol
* Negotiate mutually-agreed terms
* Develop in-country research capability and institutions
* Raise awareness
* Transfer technology
* Target financial support for capacity-building and development initiatives through the GEF

### European Union

The European Union has ratified a European Nagoya Protocol regulation to implement the Protocol.[2]

* Scientists must file an unsolicited Due Diligence Declaration to national authorities when a biological resource is used in connection to a funded research project. The declaration promises to obey the Nogoya-related laws.
* Suppliers of biological resources such as DSMZ can certify that a resource is "Nagoya compliant" and provide information that can be used to fill the Due Diligence Declaration.
* Collection of a biological resource (e.g. live cells) need prior informed consent (PIC) and mutually agreed terms (MAT) documentation from National Focal Point and/or Competent National Authorities in the place of collection. Moving it to a different country requires a material transfer agreement (MTA) stating the purpose and restrictions of the transfer. If a researcher aims to deposit in a cultural collection, it should be communicated in the MTA that secondary distribution according to the MTA of the collection is allowed. A compliant culture collection such as DSMZ will check for all of these documentation.[9]

## Relationship to other international agreements

A growing number of Preferential Trade Agreements (PTAs) include provisions related to access to genetic resources or to the sharing of the benefits that arise out of their utilization. Indeed, some recent trade agreements, originating notably from Latin American countries, provide specific measures designed to facilitate the implementation of the ABS provisions contained in the Nagoya Protocol, including measures related to technical assistance, transparency and dispute settlement.[10]

## Criticism

However, there are concerns that the added bureaucracy and legislation will, overall, be damaging to the monitoring and collection of biodiversity, to conservation, to the international response to infectious diseases, and to research.[11][4][12]

Many scientists have voiced concern over the protocol, fearing the increased red tape will hamper disease prevention and conservation efforts. Developing countries have refused to issue permits for basic biodiversity research unrelated to bioprospecting, even prosecuting the scientist in some cases.[3] Scientists worry that threats of possible imprisonment of scientists will have a chilling effect on research.[11][12]

Non-commercial biodiversity researchers and institutions such as natural history museums fear maintaining biological reference collections and exchanging material between institutions will become difficult.[4] Museums have reservations about loaning out to developing countries for fear that the return "transfer" will not be approved.[3]

The bilateral transfer framework of the Nagoya Protocol also has low throughput. In comparison, the International Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture has a multilateral access/transfer framework via the Standard Material Transfer Agreement, allowing 8500 transfers every week.[3] This is different from Article 10 of the Nagoya Protocol, which asks for a multilateral benefit-sharing framework, which has been continuously "revisited" without an actual implementation.[13]

Lack of implementation at the national level was frequently attributed as a major factor behind the failure of Nagoya Protocol.[14]

## See also

* Animal Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture
* Bermuda Principles
* Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety, another supplementary protocol adopted by the CBD
* High Seas Treaty (BBNJ Agreement)
* International Year of Biodiversity
* WIPO Treaty on Intellectual Property, Genetic Resources and Associated Traditional Knowledge (GRATK)

## References

1. ↑ "Parties to the Nagoya Protocol". https://www.cbd.int/abs/nagoya-protocol/signatories/.
2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 "Leibniz Institute DSMZ: Nagoya Protocol". https://www.dsmz.de/collection/nagoya-protocol.
3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 Prathapan, K. Divakaran; Pethiyagoda, Rohan; Bawa, Kamaljit S.; Raven, Peter H.; Rajan, Priyadarsanan Dharma (2018). "When the cure kills—CBD limits biodiversity research". Science 360 (6396): 1405–1406. doi:10.1126/science.aat9844. PMID 29954970. Bibcode: 2018Sci...360.1405P. https://www.science.org/doi/full/10.1126/science.aat9844. Retrieved 2018-11-28.
4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 Watanabe, Myrna E. (June 2015). "The Nagoya Protocol on Access and Benefit Sharing—International treaty poses challenges for biological collections". pp. 543–550. doi:10.1093/biosci/biv056. http://bioscience.oxfordjournals.org/content/early/2015/05/05/biosci.biv056.short?rss=1.
5. ↑ "Nagoya Protocol". 9 June 2015. http://www.cbd.int/abs/about/.
6. ↑ "Strategic Plan for Biodiversity 2011-2020, including Aichi Biodiversity Targets". 21 January 2020. https://www.cbd.int/sp/.
7. ↑ "DECISION ADOPTED BY THE PARTIES TO THE NAGOYA PROTOCOL ON ACCESS AND BENEFIT-SHARING 2/14. Digital sequence information on genetic resource". https://www.cbd.int/doc/decisions/np-mop-02/np-mop-02-dec-14-en.pdf.
8. ↑ Scholz, Amber Hartman; Freitag, Jens; Lyal, Christopher H. C.; Sara, Rodrigo; Cepeda, Martha Lucia; Cancio, Ibon; Sett, Scarlett; Hufton, Andrew Lee et al. (23 February 2022). "Multilateral benefit-sharing from digital sequence information will support both science and biodiversity conservation". Nature Communications 13 (1): 1086. doi:10.1038/s41467-022-28594-0. PMID 35197464. Bibcode: 2022NatCo..13.1086S.
9. ↑ "Leibniz Institute DSMZ: Strain Deposit". https://www.dsmz.de/collection/nagoya-protocol/strain-deposit.
10. ↑ Jean-Frédéric Morin and Mathilde Gauquelin, Trade Agreements as Vectors for the Nagoya Protocol's Implementation, CIGI papers, no 115, 2016, http://www.chaire-epi.ulaval.ca/sites/chaire-epi.ulaval.ca/files/publications/paper_no.115.pdf
11. ↑ 11.0 11.1 Cressey, Daniel (2014). "Biopiracy ban stirs red-tape fears". Nature 514 (7520): 14–15. doi:10.1038/514014a. PMID 25279894. Bibcode: 2014Natur.514...14C.
12. ↑ 12.0 12.1 "A plea for open science on Zika". https://www.science.org/content/article/plea-open-science-zika.
13. ↑ Unit, Biosafety (9 January 2025). "Global multilateral benefit-sharing mechanism" (in en). https://www.cbd.int/abs/art10.shtml.
14. ↑ Dunne, Daisy; Greenfield, Patrick (2024-10-15). "COP16: More than 85% of countries miss UN deadline to submit nature pledges" (in en). https://www.carbonbrief.org/cop16-countries-miss-un-deadline-to-submit-nature-pledges/.

## Further reading

* Smith, David; da Silva, Manuela; Jackson, Julian; Lyal, Christopher (1 March 2017). "Explanation of the Nagoya Protocol on Access and Benefit Sharing and its implication for microbiology". Microbiology (Microbiology Society) 163 (3): 289–296. doi:10.1099/mic.0.000425. ISSN 1350-0872. PMID 28086069.
* Golan, Jacob; Athayde, Simone; Olson, Elizabeth; McAlvay, Alex (3 April 2019). "Intellectual Property Rights and Ethnobiology: An Update to Posey's Call to Action". Journal of Ethnobiology (Society of Ethnobiology) 39 (1): 90–109. doi:10.2993/0278-0771-39.1.90. ISSN 0278-0771.

## External links

* About the Nagoya Protocol (CBD website)
* "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: Nagoya, 29 October 2010". https://treaties.un.org/Pages/ViewDetails.aspx?src=IND&mtdsg_no=XXVII-8-b&chapter=27&clang=_en.

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