The Access and Benefit-Sharing Agreement on Teff Genetic - Fridtjof ...

Copyright © Fridtjof Nansen Institute 2012
Title
<strong>The</strong> <strong>Access</strong> <strong>and</strong> <strong>Benefit</strong>-<strong>Sharing</strong> <strong>Agreement</strong> on Teff Genetic Resources:
Facts <strong>and</strong> Lessons
Publication Type <strong>and</strong> Number
FNI Report 6/2012
Author
Regine Andersen <strong>and</strong> Tone Winge
Pages
159 + Annexes 3, 4 <strong>and</strong> 5
ISBN
978-82-7613-646-3
Abstract
ISSN
1893-5486
This report tells the story of an agreement on access to teff genetic resources in
Ethiopia, <strong>and</strong> the fair <strong>and</strong> equitable sharing of benefits derived from their use, that
was hailed as one of the most advanced of its time. This agreement between the
Ethiopian Institute of Biodiversity Conservation <strong>and</strong> the Dutch company Health
<strong>and</strong> Performance Food International was entered into in 2005. It was seen as a
pilot case of the implementation the Convention on Biological Diversity in terms
of access <strong>and</strong> benefit sharing, <strong>and</strong> expectations were high. And yet, implementation
of the agreement failed. <strong>The</strong> Dutch company was declared bankrupt in 2009.
And, as a result of several circumstances, Ethiopia was left with fewer possibilities
for generating <strong>and</strong> sharing the benefits from the use of teff genetic resources
than ever before. How was this possible Exactly what happened, <strong>and</strong> what can
we learn How can we ensure that future access <strong>and</strong> benefit-sharing agreements
will have better prospects of success <strong>The</strong>se are the central questions of this
report, which provides an in-depth analysis of the course of events with regard to
the agreement as well as a related patent on the processing of teff, <strong>and</strong> concludes
by deriving recommendations concerning future access <strong>and</strong> benefit-sharing
agreements as well as for the implementation of the Convention on Biological
Diversity.
Key Words
bioprospecting, access, benefit sharing, genetic resources, teff, Convention on
Biological Diversity, Nagoya Protocol, patent, intellectual property rights
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