This Fall (or Spring, depending where you are), countries have been busy posting new permits on the ABS Clearing-House, evidence of their decisions to grant prior informed consent (PIC) and of the establish mutually agreed terms (MAT) for accessing genetic resources.
Once issued these permits constitute an internationally recognized certificate of compliance (IRCC).
India is leading in number of permit with 40 recently issued for a total of 185. Since September, Spain also recently published 7 permits, Mexico 3 and Laos 1.
Once published the ABSCH will email a copy of the IRCC to:
- (a) the national focal point and the competent national authority or authorities of the country responsible for issuing the permit or its equivalent;
- (b) the provider (entity that holds the right to grant access to the genetic resources) of the genetic resource, if this information is not confidential; and
- (c) the person or entity that was granted prior informed consent (the user), when not confidential.
Find out more:
The upcoming COP 14 will be an opportunity to exchange with countries that have issued permits to find out about their experiences. For example:
- Mexico will host a side event presenting how they have issued ABS permits according to the current national legislation as a provisional measures while the national legislative or administrative measure are issued. See side event information.
- Kenya will host a side event to present their national IT permitting and monitoring system, establishing a clear and transparent mechanism addressing access to genetic resources. See side event information.
- India will host a side event presenting over a decade of experience in the implementation of ABS mechanism and their wealth of experience establishing ABS guidelines and procedures resulting in a plethora of agreements. See side event information.
See this video to understand how IRCCs are used to monitor the use of genetic resources.
