Tag Article | Access and Benefit-Sharing Clearing-House

Types of information available

  15 Oct 2018

National records

National records are published by Governments and include national information relevant for the implementation of the Nagoya Protocol as well as information Parties are obliged to provide in accordance with the Protocol. Prior to being made publicly available in the ABS Clearing-House, all national records are approved by the national publishing authority (PA).

  • ABS National Focal Point (NFP) - Responsible to liaise with the Secretariat and make available information on procedures for accessing genetic resources and establishing mutually agreed terms, including information on competent national authorities, relevant indigenous and local communities and relevant stakeholders (Article 13, paragraph 1). The NFP must be designated or modified by completing an official designation form offline and sending it (by fax, email or post) to the CBD Secretariat.
  • Competent National Authorities (CNA) - Entities designated to, in accordance with applicable national legislative, administrative or policy measures, be responsible for granting access or, as applicable, issuing written evidence that access requirements have been met and be responsible for advising on applicable procedures and requirements for obtaining prior informed consent and entering into mutually agreed terms (Article 13, paragraph 2)
  • Legislative, administrative or policy measures on ABS (MSR) - Measures adopted at the domestic level to implement the access and benefit-sharing obligations of the Convention or/and the Nagoya Protocol.
  • ABS Procedures - Straightforward and practical guidance on the steps to access genetic resources in a particular country 
  • National Websites and Databases (NDB) - Information and links to national websites or databases that are relevant for ABS.
  • Internationally Recognized Certificate of Compliance (IRCC) - A certificate constituted from the information on the permit or its equivalent registered in the ABS Clearing-House, serving as evidence that the genetic resource which it covers has been accessed in accordance with prior informed consent and that mutually agreed terms have been established. It contains information that can assist in monitoring the utilization of genetic resources by users throughout the value chain (Article 17).
  • Checkpoints (CP) - Entities designated by Parties to effectively collect or receive relevant information related to prior informed consent, to the source of the genetic resource, to the establishment of mutually agreed terms and/or to the utilization of genetic resources, as appropriate (Article 17, paragraph 1(a)).
  • Checkpoint Communiqués (CPC) - A summary of the information collected or received by a checkpoint related to prior informed consent, to the source of the genetic resource, to the establishment of mutually agreed terms and/or to the utilization of genetic resources and registered in the ABSCH (Article 17, paragraph 1(a)(i)).
  • Interim National report (NR) - Information submitted by Parties in the context of Article 29 of the Protocol to report on the measures that it has taken to implement this Protocol.


Reference records

Reference records include a number of ABS relevant resources and information and can be submitted by any registered user of the ABSCH (Parties, Non-Parties, governments, international organizations, indigenous and local communities and relevant stakeholders).

  • Virtual Library Resources - The virtual library in the ABS Clearing-House hosts a number of ABS relevant resources including, among others, general literature on ABS, awareness-raising materials, case studies, videos, capacity-building resources, etc.
  • Model Contractual Clauses - Model contractual clauses are addressed in Article 19 of the Protocol. They can assist in the development of agreements that are consistent with ABS requirements and may reduce transaction costs while promoting legal certainty and transparency.
  • Codes of Conduct, Guidelines, Best Practices and/or Standards - Codes of Conduct, Guidelines, Best Practices and/or Standards are addressed in Article 20 of the Protocol. They may assist users to undertake their activities in a manner that is consistent with ABS requirements while also taking into account the practices of different sectors.
  • Community Protocols and Procedures and Customary Laws - Community protocols and procedures and customary laws are addressed in Article 12 of the Protocol. They can help other actors to understand and respect the community’s procedures and values with respect to access and benefit-sharing.
  • Capacity-building Initiatives - Information on capacity-building initiatives (projects, programmes, activities) at national, regional and international levels, are shared to promote synergy and coordination on capacity-building and development for access and benefit-sharing.

CBD Secretariat managed records

Information published by the CBD Secretariat. These include meetings, news stories, notifications and statements.

  • News - News stories compiled from various media sources, relevant to access and benefit-sharing.
  • Meetings - Information on upcoming meetings relevant to the implementation of the Protocol.
  • Notifications - Notifications issued by the CBD Secretariat and relevant to the implementation of the Protocol.
  • Press Releases - Press releases issued by the CBD Secretariat relevant to access and benefit-sharing.
  • Statements - Statements relevant to access and benefit-sharing made by the CBD Secretariat.

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