Publication

This paper examines the growing number of free trade agreement provisions that focus on genetic resources and the benefits they provide. (The provisions center on a variety of issues, including sovereignty over genetic resources; the protection of traditional knowledge; prior informed consent; the disclosure of origins in patent applications, and bio-prospecting activities.) The text further explores the growing prominence of access and benefit-sharing (ABS) provisions within recent trade negotiations and calls for the wider integration of them into agreements governed by the Nagoya Protocol.