ACCESS AND BENEFIT SHARING OF BIODIVERSITY AND CONSERVATION CONVENTIONS IN NIGERIA

Abstract

Benefit sharing is a legal term used in the context of access to and utilization of biological resources. It meaning that those who contribute to scientific research and innovation ought to share in the resulting benefits. If benefit sharing with the contributors of biological resources and related knowledge does not take place, scientific advancement is exploitative. The main legal instrument to govern benefit sharing is the UN Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD. (1992). This paper assesses the effectiveness of the ABS regime implemented by the CBD and the NP on the basis of its central instrument. The aim is to accurately document the number of ABS agreements concluded since the entry into force of the regime. To do so, I combine several sources, including first hand data collected from the official information agencies the National Focal Points (NFP) of each of the States Parties to the NP aimed at summarizing the existing explanations of the low number of ABS agreements concluded and evaluate the corresponding causal mechanisms, relying on the results obtained from the number of permits and agreements. The paper makes valuable recommendations going forward.