ABS Clearing House
What is the ABS Clearing House?
The ABS Clearing House is an information-sharing platform which is intended to:
- help researchers to find information about how to legally obtain access to research material (and associated traditional knowledge)
- help provider countries to get information about how their material is used once it leaves the country
The ABS Clearing House should always be your first port of call!
If you need to check whether ABS applies to you, the first place to look for this information is the ABS Clearing House. While it is a great resource, it is not always perfect. Sometimes information is missing or out of date. Keep this in mind and if necessary, check the information with other sources!
What information can you find in the ABS Clearing House?
There is a lot of information in the ABS Clearing House. At first glance, it may seem a little overwhelming but you need to find your way through.
What can you find there?
This information is provided by the Secretariat of the Convention on Biological Diversity. You can 100% rely on this information.
The national focal point, or NFP for short, is officially responsible for making information available on access and benefit-sharing, procedures etc.
In most cases, this is the person you would usually contact first. However, this person may have more of a political function, in which case you may need to contact the competent national authority (see below).
Caution!
- Don’t be surprised if some of the people listed in the ABS Clearing House have an email address from Gmail or yahoo, for example. In some countries, ministerial and other government employees do not have dedicated government email addresses.
- Your email might bounce – sometimes the contact details in the ABS Clearing House are not up to date.
A competent national authority, or CNA for short, is responsible, for example, for granting access, providing evidence that access requirements have been met and advising on applicable procedures etc.
In some countries, there are different CNAs responsible for granting access to different types of material or material collected in different places.
Caution!
- Don’t be surprised if some of the people listed in the ABS Clearing House have an email address from Gmail or yahoo, for example. In some countries, ministerial and other government employees do not have dedicated government email addresses.
- Your email might bounce – sometimes the contact details in the ABS Clearing House are not up to date.
The Nagoya Protocol must be implemented at the national level in order for researchers to have concrete obligations.
Countries may adopt different types of measures, including laws, regulations, policies and procedures.
Caution! Just because there are no measures listed in the ABS Clearing House does not necessarily mean that none exist.
Some countries provide a list of steps or a visualisation of the national access and benefit-sharing process and what steps need to be taken.
Some countries have developed model agreements which are used for benefit-sharing arrangements.
Caution! These model agreements are not always listed in the ABS Clearing House.
An Internationally Recognized Certificate of Compliance (IRCC) indicates that material has been obtained in accordance with national laws on access and benefit-sharing. The Clearing House generates the permit based on information provided by the relevant authority in the provider country.
Sometimes copies of national permits are also uploaded into the ABS Clearing House.
Researchers will not be given an IRCC directly!
If you want to have an IRCC, you will need to check the ABS Clearing House to see if one has been published.
No IRCC? Don’t worry! It’s not compulsory to have an IRCC in order to show that you are Nagoya Protocol compliant in Germany. National permits etc. are sufficient for this purpose.
Some countries have national level websites or clearing houses with detailed information on access and benefit-sharing.
These reports can provide insight into whether there are access and benefit-sharing laws in the country. This can be helpful if laws themselves are not listed in the ABS Clearing House.
Don’t be lulled into a false sense of security – information might be missing! For example, relevant laws might exist but they are not listed in the ABS Clearing House!
Some non-Parties also have national laws on access and benefit-sharing listed under their country profiles.
Information in the ABS Clearing House is not always available in English. You may need to ask colleagues or your collaborating partners to help you overcome language barriers.
Guidelines for researchers on access and benefit-sharing
Various professional associations, including the Consortium of European Taxanomic Facilities (CETAF), German Research Foundation and Swiss Academy of Science, have created guidelines to support academic researchers with ABS.
CETAF Code of Conduct and Best Practice
The CETAF Code of Conduct and Best Practice is recognised by the European Commission. It is a comprehensive guideline for institutions and researchers, which supports compliance with access and benefit-sharing laws as well as the compliance obligations in the European Union.
Utilization of genetic resources and associated traditional knowledge in academic research. A good practice guide for access and benefit-sharing
This Good Practice Guide developed by the Swiss Academy of Sciences provides an overview of ABS and the implications for academic research. These guidelines are intended to support researchers, research managers and heads of departments, providing information that is relevant to both the planning and implementation phases of research projects that are Nagoya Protocol relevant.
DFG Guidelines for Funding Proposals Concerning Research Projects within the Scope of the CBD
The German Research Foundation has explanatory guidelines on access and benefit-sharing (available in English and German), which provide academic researchers with an overview of how the Nagoya Protocol affects their research.
Model agreements for benefit-sharing
Model clauses are standardised contractual clauses that can be used as a basis for benefit-sharing agreements.
A number of model clauses have been developed to support the ABS process, e.g. by professional associations and the governments of countries that provide biological material for research.
For more information, see the page on benefit-sharing.
Useful publications
If you are interested in access and benefit-sharing measures of various countries, there are several useful publications that were published by the German Federal Agency for Nature Conservation.
Implementation of the Nagoya Protocol. Fulfilling new obligations among emerging issues
The first part of this document focuses on access measures in a number of countries around the world: Vietnam, South Korea, Malaysia, Australia, South Africa, Cameroon, Ethiopia, Kenya, Brazil, Argentina, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Peru, France and Spain.
The second part of the document addresses current themes and topics like due diligence obligations, digital sequence information on genetic resources (DSI), contractual rights etc.
You can download the document here.
The Vilm Dialogues
In 2017 and 2018, the German Federal Agency for Nature Conservation hosted two meetings on the island Vilm in the Baltic Sea. People came from around the world came to explain the access measures in their countries.
At the first dialogue in 2017, the ABS measures in Australia, Brazil, Costa Rica, Ethiopia, India, Kenya, Mexico, Peru, Philippines, South Africa and Viet Nam were examined. The final report can be downloaded here.
At the second dialogue in 2018, the ABS measures in Antigua and Barbuda, Benin, Bhutan, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, France, Guatemala, Madagascar, Malaysia, Republic of Seychelles, Uganda were explored. The final report can be downloaded here.
Country specific resources
There are a number of resources out there about ABS in various countries. These include fact sheets, academic papers and national websites (aka “National ABS Clearing House”) etc. Such resources can be very helpful.
While unofficial information sources may be useful, they are also not a replacement for information from the authorities that are responsible for ABS in the provider country. Information from unofficial sources may be incorrect or outdated. You need to check it!
Antigua and Barbuda
Information about in ABS in Antigua and Barbuda can be found in a publication from the German Federal Agency for Nature Conservation, Vilm ABS Dialogue 2018 – Informing about Domestic Measures for Access to Genetic Resources, starting on page 13.
Argentina
Information about ABS in Argentina can be found in a publication from the German Federal Agency for Nature Conservation “Implementation of the Nagoya Protocol. Fulfilling new obligations among emerging issues”, starting on page 73.
The Union on Ethical Biotrade also has a fact sheet about ABS in Argentina.
Australia
Australia has ABS laws at both the national and sub-national (state) levels. Which laws apply will depend upon where you access the material. For information about Australia’s national ABS laws, see here. For information about ABS in the states and territories, see here.
Additional information about ABS in Australia can be found in two publications from the German Federal Agency for Nature Conservation:
- “Implementation of the Nagoya Protocol. Fulfilling new obligations among emerging issues”, starting on page 35; and
- “Vilm ABS Dialogue 2017 – Informing about Domestic Measures for Access to Genetic Resources“, starting on page 93
Austria
Information about the implementation of the Nagoya Protocol in Austria can be found on the website of Austria’s Federal Environmental Agency (available in German only).
Belarus
Information about ABS regulations in Belarus can be found on The National Coordination Centre on Access to Genetic Resources and Benefit-Sharing website.
Belgium
Information about the implementation of the Nagoya Protocol in Belgium can be found on the National Clearing House Mechanism for Belgium website.
Benin
On the website of the Benin Information Exchange Center. Convention on Biological Diversity, you can find more information about the ABS regulations in Benin.
Additional information can be found in a publication from the German Federal Agency for Nature Conservation “Vilm ABS Dialogue 2018 – Informing about Domestic Measures for Access to Genetic Resources“, starting on page 121.
Bhutan
Information about ABS regulations in Bhutan can be found in a publication from the German Federal Agency for Nature Conservation “Vilm ABS Dialogue 2018 – Informing about Domestic Measures for Access to Genetic Resources“, starting on page 97.
Brazil
Information about ABS in Brazil can be found in two publications from the German Federal Agency for Nature Conservation:
- “Implementation of the Nagoya Protocol Fulfilling new obligations among emerging issues“, starting on page 65; and
- “Vilm ABS Dialogue 2017 – Informing about Domestic Measures for Access to Genetic Resources“, starting on page 39.
The Union for Ethical BioTrade also published a factsheet about ABS regulations in Brazil.
There is also a case study on “Phylogenetic analysis of porifera” in Brazil in the publication “ABS compliance for innovative uses of Marine Biological Resources” from the European Marine Biological Resource Center.
Burkina Faso
Information about the implementation of the Nagoya Protocol in Burkina Faso can be found on the website of the Biological Diversity Information Exchange Center-CHM.
Burundi
Here is a link to the Burundi’s Clearing House Mechanism, where you can find information about ABS regulations in Burundi.
Cameroon
Information about ABS regulations in Cameroon can be found on the website of the National ABS Clearing House for Cameroon.
In addition to this you can find more information in a publication from the German Federal Agency for Nature Conservation “Implementation of the Nagoya Protocol Fulfilling new obligations among emerging issues“, starting on page 49.
The Union for Ethical BioTrade has also published a factsheet about ABS in Cameroon.
Central America
The Union for Ethical BioTrade published a factsheet about the implementation of the Nagoya Protocol in Central American countries.
Chile
Information about ABS in Chile can be found on the website of the Union for Ethical Biotrade.
Colombia
On the Website of the Ministry of Environment and Sustainable you can find more information about ABS regulations in Colombia.
Costa Rica
Information about the implementation of the Nagoya Protocol in Costa Rica can be found on the website of the National Commission for Biodiversity Management.
Additional information about ABS in Costa Rica can be found in two publications from the German Federal Agency for Nature Conservation:
- “Implementation of the Nagoya Protocol Fulfilling new obligations among emerging issues“, starting on page 77; and
- “Vilm ABS Dialogue 2017 – Informing about Domestic Measures for Access to Genetic Resources“, starting on page 63.
Czech Republic
On the ABS Information Platform you can find more information about ABS regulations in the Czech Republic.
Denmark
Information about ABS in Denmark can be found on the website of “The Danish Environmental Protection Agency”. Please note that there is additional information for material from collected from Greenland (see G).
Dominican Republic
Information about the ABS process in the Dominican Republic can be found on the website of the Ministry of the Environment and Natural Resources.
Additionally, you can find information in a publication from the German Federal Agency for Nature Conservation, “Vilm ABS Dialogue 2018 – Informing about Domestic Measures for Access to Genetic Resources“, starting on page 87.
The Union for Ethical BioTrade also has a fact sheet about ABS in the Dominican Republic.
Ecuador
Information about ABS in Ecuador can be found in two publications from the German Federal Agency for Nature Conservation:
- “Implementation of the Nagoya Protocol Fulfilling new obligations among emerging issues“, starting on page 83; and
- “Vilm ABS Dialogue 2018 – Informing about Domestic Measures for Access to Genetic Resources“, starting on page 55.
Ethiopia
Information about ABS in Ethiopia can be found in two publications from the German Federal Agency for Nature Conservation:
- “Implementation of the Nagoya Protocol Fulfilling new obligations among emerging issues“, starting on page 55; and
- “Vilm ABS Dialogue 2017 – Informing about Domestic Measures for Access to Genetic Resources“, starting on page 18.
Finland
Information about genetic resources and legislation in Finland can be found on the website of Finland’s national Clearing House Mechanism.
France
Information about ABS regulations in France can be found on the website of the Ministry of ecological transition here and here.
Additional information about ABS in France can be found in two publications from the German Federal Agency for Nature Conservation:
- “Vilm ABS Dialogue 2018 – Informing about Domestic Measures for Access to Genetic Resources“, starting on page 67; and
- “Implementation of the Nagoya Protocol Fulfilling new obligations among emerging issues“, starting on page 91.
A factsheet from the Union for Ethical Biotrade about ABS in France can be found here.
There are also several case studies about ABS in France in the publication “ABS compliance for innovative uses of Marine Biological Resources” from the European Marine Biological Resource Center.
Germany
Information about the ABS process in Germany can be found on the German Federal Agency for Nature Conservation (BfN) website.
Greenland
Information about ABS in Greenland can be found on the website of the Government of Greenland.
Guatemala
Information about ABS in Guatemala can be found in a publication from the German Federal Agency for Nature Conservation “Vilm ABS Dialogue 2018 – Informing about Domestic Measures for Access to Genetic Resources ”, starting on page 111.
Guyana
You can find information about the ABS process in Guyana on the website of the Environmental Protection Agency.
Honduras
Information about the ABS in Honduras can be found on the Miambiente website.
Hungary
On the website of the Hungarian Clearing House you can find information about the implementation of the Nagoya Protocol.
India
You can find information about ABS in India in a publication from the German Federal Agency for Nature Conservation, the “Vilm ABS Dialogue 2017 – Informing about Domestic Measures for Access to Genetic Resources“, starting on page 30.
The Union for Ethical BioTrade also has a factsheet about ABS in India.
Japan
Information about the implementation of the Nagoya Protocol in Japan can be found on the Ministry of Environment website.
Kenya
Information about ABS in Kenya can be found in two publications from the German Federal Agency for Nature Conservation:
- “Vilm ABS Dialogue 2017 – Informing about Domestic Measures for Access to Genetic Resources“, starting on page 55; and
- “Implementation of the Nagoya Protocol Fulfilling new obligations among emerging issues” starting on page 59.
Republic of Korea
You can find information about ABS in the Republic of Korea in the Korean ABS Clearing House .
Additional information about the implementation of the Nagoya Protocol can be found in a publication from the German Federal Agency for Nature Conservation “Implementation of the Nagoya Protocol Fulfilling new obligations among emerging issues” starting on page 23.
The Union for Ethical BioTrade published a factsheet about ABS in South Korea.
Madagascar
Information about the implementation of the Nagoya Protocol in Madagascar can be found on the Information Exchange Center (CHM) of the Convention on Biological Diversity website.
Additional Information about ABS in Madagascar can be found in a publication from the German Federal Agency for Nature Conservation “Vilm ABS Dialogue 2018 – Informing about Domestic Measures for Access to Genetic Resources ”, starting on page 35.
The Union on Ethical BioTrade also published a factsheet about ABS in Madagascar.
Malaysia
Information about ABS in Malyasia can be found in two publications from the German Federal Agency for Nature Conservation:
- “Vilm ABS Dialogue 2018 – Informing about Domestic Measures for Access to Genetic Resources ”, starting on page 23; and
- “Implementation of the Nagoya Protocol Fulfilling new obligations among emerging issues“, starting on page 27.
Malta
Here you can find more information about the ABS process in Malta from the Ministry for Agriculture, Food, Fisheries and Animal Rights.
Mexico
Information about ABS in Mexico can be found in a publication from the German Federal Agency for Nature Conservation, “Vilm ABS Dialogue 2017 – Informing about Domestic Measures for Access to Genetic Resources“, starting on page 101.
Additionally, the Union for Ethical BioTrade published a factsheet about ABS in Mexico.
Morocco
You can find information about the ABS process in Morocco on the National Clearing House Mechanism website.
Netherlands
On the National Focal Point website you can find information about the implementation of the Nagoya Protocol in the Netherlands.
Niger
Information about the ABS process in Niger can be found on the National Clearing House website and the website of the CBD.
Peru
Information about the ABS process in Peru are distributed by the national competent authorities.
Here’s a link to the National Institute of Agrarian Innovation (INIA), the Ministry of the Environment (MINAM), and the National Institute for the Defense of Competition and the Protection of Intellectual Property (indecopi) (available in Spanish only).
Additional information about ABS in Peru can be found in two publications from the German Federal Agency for Nature Conservation:
- “Vilm ABS Dialogue 2017 – Informing about Domestic Measures for Access to Genetic Resources“, starting at page 47; and
- “Implementation of the Nagoya Protocol Fulfilling new obligations among emerging issues” starting on page 83.
The Union for Ethical BioTrade also published a factsheet about ABS in Peru.
Philippines
Information about the ABS process in the Philippines can be found in a publication from the German Federal Agency for Nature Conservation “Vilm ABS Dialogue 2017 – Informing about Domestic Measures for Access to Genetic Resources“, starting on page 71.
Portugal
General information about the ABS process in Portugal can be found in the FAQs of the National Competent Authority.
For information on the Nagoya Protocol, see here. For information on the EU Regulation 511/2014, see here and information on Decree-Law 122/2017 can be found here.
Republic of Seychelles
Information about the ABS process in the Republic of Seychelles can be found in a publication from the German Federal Agency for Nature Conservation “Vilm ABS Dialogue 2018 – Informing about Domestic Measures for Access to Genetic Resources“, starting on page 45.
South Africa
On the website of the Department of Environment you can find information about the ABS process in South Africa.
Additional information about ABS in South Africa can be found in two publications from the German Federal Agency for Nature Conservation:
- “Implementation of the Nagoya Protocol Fulfilling new obligations among emerging issues“, starting on page 41; and
- “Vilm ABS Dialogue 2017 – Informing about Domestic Measures for Access to Genetic Resources“, starting on page 85.
The Union for Ethical BioTrade also published a factsheet.
Spain
Information about the implementation of the Nagoya Protocol from the Spanish government can be found here.
Additional information can be found in a publication from the German Federal Agency for Nature Conservation “Implementation of the Nagoya Protocol. Fulfilling new obligations among emerging issues“, starting on page 99.
There are also several case studies about ABS in Spain in the publication “ABS compliance for innovative uses of Marine Biological Resources” from the European Marine Biological Resource Center.
Sweden
Information from the Swedish Environmental Protection Agency about the ABS process in Sweden is available in Swedish.
Switzerland
Information about the implementation of the Nagoya Protocol in Switzerland can be found on the website of the Federal Office for the Environment.
Uganda
Information about the the implementation of the Nagoya Protocol in Uganda can be found here.
Additional Information about ABS in Uganda can be found in a publication from the German Federal Agency for Nature Conservation “Vilm ABS Dialogue 2018 – Informing about Domestic Measures for Access to Genetic Resources“, starting on page 81.
United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland
Here you can find information about ABS regulations in the UK from the government.
Uruguay
You can find information about the ABS process in Uruguay on the Ministry of Housing and Territorial Planning (MVOTMA) website.
Viet Nam
Vietnam has a national ABS Clearing House with detailed information about the ABS process, including a Guidance Document. You find this here.
Additional information about ABS in Vietnam can be found in two publications from the German Federal Agency for Nature Conservation:
- “Implementation of the Nagoya Protocol Fulfilling new obligations among emerging issues“, starting on page 15; and
- “Vilm ABS Dialogue 2017 – Informing about Domestic Measures for Access to Genetic Resources“, starting on page 13.
The Union for Ethical BioTrade has also published a factsheet about ABS in Vietnam.
Nagoya Look-up Service
What is the Nagoya Lookup Service?
The Nagoya Lookup Service is a tool that can be used by anybody but it might be especially useful for researchers working with biological material who are interested in knowing whether there are any ABS rules that apply to the material they want to use. This might be material that will be collected in the field or material that will be obtained from existing archives or collections.
How does it work?
Just enter the GPS coordinates of the site where the biological material will be sampled or where it originated from and the service will provide you with up-to-date information on the Nagoya Party status of the sampling location as well as providing links to the ABS Clearing House. Anyone using the service will have to contact the national focal point or other relevant authority indicated in the relevant country profile for further information.
The source, which is in the github repository, can be found here. Just follow the instructions in the README.md file to get the service up and running on your computer.
Who created the service?
The Nagoya Lookup Service was developed by Seifert et al. and integrates open source data from the ABS Clearing House, Marine Regions, GeoNames and WikiData. The information provided through the Nagoya Lookup Service does not constitute legal advice.
Simply explained videos
Short explanatory videos can be a great resource for quickly getting an overview of complex topics. Here are some simply explained videos that might help researchers to understand the basics of ABS.
ABS Simply Explained
In this seven minute video by the ABS Capacity Development Initiative, the basic concept of access and benefit-sharing is explained.
What is ABS?
This video from the Union for Ethical Biotrade explored the question “what is ABS?” in just over two minutes.
Monitoring compliance
For an overview on how compliance is monitored, see the short video by the ABS Capacity Development Initiative.
