ABSTRACT
This chapter limits its discussion to the question of research and development (R&D) under the access and benefit-sharing conditions of the Convention on Biological Diversity and its Nagoya Protocol. The organization of ABS has a big influence on the success of the entire process of R&D on genetic resources. On the one hand, the organization of compliance in the downstream chain of R&D would define the success of benefit sharing and determine how relaxed access can become. Also, the organization of access will influence the demand for genetic resources and associated traditional knowledge (ATK) and the urge of scientific research and industry to use them in R&D activities. The three elements, access (A), benefit sharing (B) and compliance (C), hence shape the discourse in this chapter. The access and benefit-sharing framework of the Convention on Biological Diversity and its Nagoya Protocol envisages a quid pro quo arrangement between providers and users of genetic resources and ATK.
