THE PROGRAMME

Since the CBD entered into force thirty years ago, ABS has met with surprisingly little critique as an approach to promote equity in science, remedy past and current injustices, and conserve biodiversity. It has been widely embraced by a range of actors, including governments. Despite a plethora of laws and studies about ABS, there have been no comprehensive analyses of the ways ABS impacts biodiversity conservation and Indigenous peoples and local communities (IPLCs), nor of the nature, extent, and impact of benefit sharing on reducing inequalities and alleviating poverty, and building scientific capacity. 

Rethinking Biodiversity-Based Economies for Conservation and Equity is a programme of activities undertaken by the University of Cape Town, People and Plants International, and a range of partners. It builds on a substantial body of work already developed by these partners, which has included scientific articles and policy briefs, webinars and workshops, and video. This prior work has catalysed considerable interest to date. As an example, an influential policy commentary published in Science titled Rethink the expansion of access and benefit sharing, by Sarah Laird, Rachel Wynberg and others, is recognized in the top 5% of all research outputs ever tracked by Altmetric and has been cited more than 90 times in the four years since publication. This interest, combined with a set of interviews conducted with a range of diverse actors to inform development of this programme, confirm that the time is right to re- examine our assumptions about ABS, explore alternative approaches to achieving the objectives of the CBD, the Global Biodiversity Framework, and the SDGs.

The next phase of Rethinking Biodiversity-Based Economies for Conservation and Equity will take the discussion and analysis to another level. This will occur through a structured and systematic approach that will facilitate cutting-edge and transdisciplinary thinking beyond ABS, that will build partnerships and collaborations in doing so, and that will propose new conceptual and policy approaches for achieving equity and conservation in our rapidly changing world.

Specific objectives are:

  • To deepen understanding about the broader historical, cultural, scientific, economic and policy contexts within which ABS falls, with relevance to ABS design and successful implementation.

  • To re-examine assumptions about ABS in achieving the objectives of various international agreements, including the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD), the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework (GBF), the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), the International Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture, the WHO Pandemic Treaty and the UN High Seas Treaty.

  • To review the effectiveness of different approaches to achieve equity, social justice and biodiversity conservation in the commercial use of biodiversity, and biodiversity research.

  • Through a range of approaches, to explore how biodiversity research and biodiversity commercialisation can achieve conservation, equity and social justice. This would include an analysis of approaches that extend beyond the sharing of benefits and which address structural, institutional, and power inequities, and are grounded in science, industry, and conservation practice.

What is ABS

Access and benefit sharing (ABS) is a policy approach that links access to genetic resources and traditional knowledge to the sharing of monetary and nonmonetary benefits. It first found expression in the 1992 UN Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD), but is also part of the International Treaty for Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture (ITPGRFA), the World Health Organization’s Pandemic Influenza Preparedness Framework (PIP), and the Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS). It spans a wide range of sectors and issues, including equity in scientific research, conservation of biodiversity, and support for traditional knowledge and Indigenous and local stewards of biodiversity.

PROGRAMME ACTIVITIES

Rethinking Biodiversity-Based Economies for Conservation and Equity is a two phase programme that includes a 3 year dialogue, research, dissemination, and book production phase (2024 – 2026), followed by a 2 year dissemination and more intensive policy engagement phase (2027 – 2028). It includes a set of on-going dialogues across 4 themes, workshops, policy briefs, a video series, a book, and scientific and popular articles.

Rethinking Biodiversity-Based Economies for Conservation and Equity Dialogues: 2024 – 2026

The Dialogues bring together scholars, civil society organizations, IPLCs, policy makers, the private sector and researchers to analyse and explore experiences of implementing ABS, and the way we address ABS, ethical research, and biodiversity conservation as a global community. Through these shared experiences and new explorations we will think anew about policy approaches and practices that bring about systemic change to address inequalities and unethical behavior in the commercial use of biodiversity, strengthen biodiversity research, catalyse change to reduce biodiversity loss, and bring about social justice and increased benefits for IPLCs and traditional knowledge holders. The goal will be “how to achieve the three objectives of the CBD in today’s world”, and to implement targets of the Global Biodiversity Framework, but with a wide-open scope to explore innovative, different and transformative approaches to achieve these goals, including but not limited to ABS. 

The Dialogues will include voices from those who historically have not been involved in the ABS space, including younger community representatives, scholars and activists, as well as those working in intersecting disciplinary and policy arenas. Background “think pieces” and video will be produced as part of the dialogues, and will be shared with wider audiences in workshops, and global and national policy processes.

Dialogues will take place three times/year for three years (2024 – 2026). Workshops extending the results of dialogues to policy makers and others will be held in 2025 – 2026, and a larger symposium in 2027.

Dialogue Themes

  • Science, biodiversity, and equity

  • ABS Governance

  • Conservation and biodiversity commercialisation

  • Development and post-growth economic models for
    biodiversity conservation, use and commercialisation

Policy briefs

A series of policy briefs and infographics will be produced to serve as resource materials for the 4 thematic dialogues, share the results of dialogues, and include recommendations for policy makers that reflect current national and global challenges and priorities. They will be disseminated through the CBD, including policy processes linked to the Global Biodiversity Framework, ITPGRFA, IPBES, BBNJ, WIPO, WHO and other relevant processes. Policy briefs will distill in accessible ways the core findings of the research, interview, dialogue, and workshop process.

A series of 4 thematic and 4 synthesis policy briefs, and additional policy briefs directed at specific national or regional ABS processes, will be produced throughout the course of the programme. Policy briefs targeting the Decisions and Agendas of global ABS policy processes will be produced in 2025 – 2028.

Videos 

A series of short videos on the 4 key themes will be produced as background material for the dialogues and workshops, and as a complement to the policy briefs. Videos will include the voices of IPLCs, civil society, researchers, governments, and others, from a wide range of countries. 

Thematic, and national and global level policy, videos will accompany the release of policy briefs, and will be produced and disseminated in 2024 – 2028.

Workshops and symposium

A series of national-level workshops will be held to share findings from the programme, and provide hands-on policy advice. Side events and other workshops targeted to particular agenda items and decisions, and growing from the programme dialogues and products, will be held each year of the programme. 

An event will be held at COP16 of the CBD in 2024, and in subsequent years 2 events or workshops per year will be held at relevant policy meetings. Policy processes include those within the CBD, ITPGRFA, BBNJ, WIPO, and WHO.  

A large, global symposium will be held in 2027 to extend the results of the dialogues to a wider audience. Resource materials, including policy briefs, video, and background documents will be produced to support the symposium, and follow up will include policy briefs and sharing of lessons learned. 

Book and Articles

A multi-authored, edited book will be prepared and published by Johns Hopkins University to offer new and critical perspectives on the intersection of ABS with science, development, social justice, and conservation. The book will include chapters authored by selected participants in the dialogues, as well as synthesis chapters summarizing the findings of the programme process. Work has already begun on this edited volume. A series of articles and commentaries will also be produced by the many programme collaborators in order to reach a wider academic and policy audience. The edited volume will be published in 2025, along with a range of peer-reviewed articles and public commentaries from 2025 – 2028.