Schemes of the Nagoya Protocol as the Commons: Framework on Classifying Expected Benefits and Costs for Appropriate Utilization of Genetic Resources

Abstract

"This paper highlights the relationship between sustainable utilisation of genetic resources under the Nagoya Protocol's schemes and principles of the long-ensuring commons through clarification of expected benefits and costs available by introduction of the Protocol. The Nagoya Protocol on Access to Genetic Resources and the Fair and Equitable Sharing of Benefits Arising from their Utilization to the Convention on Biological Diversity was adopted in 2010 in Nagoya, Japan, at the tenth meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD COP10). The Convention (CBD) has three objectives: the conservation of biodiversity, the sustainable use of its components, and the faire and equitable sharing of the benefits arising out of utilisation of genetic resources (ABS). The Nagoya Protocol (NP) is a supplemental agreement to CBD. NP provides a legal framework for ABS that covers all the genetic resources and traditional knowledge(TK). NP is related with the commons, especially from the viewpoints of institutions for sustainable utilisation of the resources and appropriate distributions of benefits and costs for stakeholders. Furthermore, TK covered by TK itself is very similar with the commons, because TK is basically regarded to be genetic resources and knowledge on sustainable utilisation of the resources that are communally owned by local community and/or indigenous people. NP is expected to bring better management of biodiversity. When some stakeholders try to utilise resources under the schemes of NP, increases in benefits are expected, because resources are utilized by more sustainable ways by, for instance, bio-prospecting researches. In contrast, it has to bear some challenges. The stakeholders have to bear increases in costs that are needed when they set new procedures by requirements of NP. Some framework(s) must be useful to compare these costs and benefits especially when new NP is introduced, considering the relationship between NP and the commons."