Au Mexique et au niveau mondial, la protection de la diversite biologique et la defense de la diversite culturelle se sont constituees en enjeu de societe ces trente dernieres annees, au moment ou les biotechnologies s'imposaient comme une avancee technoscientifique a meme de bouleverser notre rapport au vivant et de generer un important debouche commercial. Les controverses autour de la bioprospection et du mais transgeniques, dans le contexte d'un pays qui presente une biodiversite exceptionnelle et la plus importante population indigene du continent americain, nous permettent de mettre en lumiere comment, a travers elles, se confrontent des conceptions et des pratiques antagonistes de la connaissance, de la propriete, de l'agriculture, du developpement, de la globalisation ou encore de l'environnement. Ces controverses sont donc globales au sens ou, en arriere-plan des questions specifiques et techniques qu'elles soulevent, elles cristallisent toute une serie de grands enjeux sociaux et environnementaux contemporains, dans un espace qui s'etire du local au mondial. Au-dela meme des croisements de tous ces enjeux, les controverses semblent reveler un conflit beaucoup plus fondamental quant aux evolutions d'une modernite travaillee par le processus de globalisation et la remise en cause du clivage entre nature et societe. L'opposition aux biotechnologies marque en effet une forme de resistance au processus hyper-moderne de marchandisation generalisee et de technification radicale de l'espace socio-environnementale. Si cette resistance est essentiellement critique, elle fait neanmoins emerger des formes encore en gestation de modernites alternatives.

https://tel.archives-ouvertes.fr/tel-00545542/document

Diversité naturelle et culturelle face aux défis des biotechnologies : enjeux et controverses au Mexique

The appellative “common heritage of mankind” is often used as a description of the property domain that governed plant genetic resources (PGR) at an international level up until the end of the twentieth century. However, the concept is rarely elaborated on. In this article we explore the origins of common property in PGR and the shifting content and shape of the genetic commons over the past several decades. Using the theoretical framework of diverse common property regimes developed by Peter Drahos, we chart the way in which the emergence and interaction of various international regulatory regimes related to PGR reshape common property spaces, rights and obligations. We argue that these international agreements do not regulate a single property domain in isolation, but rather modify the content and boundaries of the complex set of property domains that apply to PGR: private, state, common and public. More than a theoretical conundrum, we show that any realistic appraisal of the implementation of the international regulatory regimes in relation to PGR must acknowledge the conflicting and complex dynamics of these interrelated property domains, as well as the way in which they are being put into place on the ground.

Shifting Common Spaces of Plant Genetic Resources in the International Regulation of Property

http://chm-thai.onep.go.th/chm/ABS/Documents/Research/ABSResearch_06-2004.pdf

The effectiveness of access and benefit sharing in Costa Rica: Implications for national and international regimes

Research projects sponsored by rich countries or companies and carried out in developing countries are often described as exploitative One important debate about the prevention of exploitation in research centres on whether and how clinical research in developing countries should be responsive to local health problems This paper analyses the responsiveness debate and draws out more general lessons for how policy makers can prevent exploitation in various research contexts There are two independent ways to do this in the face of entrenched power differences: to impose restrictions on the content of benefit-sharing arrangements, and to institute independent effective oversight Which method should be chosen is highly dependent on context

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Sharing the benefits of research fairly: two approaches

Access and benefit-sharing (ABS) is a market-based approach aimed at preserving biodiversity. Its effectiveness has been questioned in international discussions for many years. It is evident that the approach’s success has fallen far short of what was expected: degradation of biodiversity continues, and only few benefits arising from the commercial use of biodiversity have been shared with the providers of biodiversity. The reason for this failure is a lack of incentives. However, an analytical assessment of the effectiveness of the concept is lacking so far. The present paper raises the question how ABS must be designed in order to be effective while also helping to protect biodiversity and promote a fair and equitable sharing of benefits arising from its commercialization. This paper identifies six critical factors that determine the effectiveness of ABS governance and discusses under what circumstances a critical factor increases or decreases in effectiveness. Furthermore, the paper analyses so-called countermeasures that impact on these circumstances. In specifying the critical factors and their interplay with the countermeasures, the paper gives guidance on how to develop more effective ABS regimes.

Effective governance of access and benefit-sharing under the Convention on Biological Diversity

In 1992 parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) agreed to develop and implement policies to regulate and facilitate access to genetic resources (AGR) We examine regulations and agreements in Brazil, Colombia, and the Philippines in detail and discuss how these countries are implementing the AGR mandate In particular, we evaluate progress toward achieving the CBD objectives of conserving biological diversity, using its components in a sustainable manner, and equitably sharing the benefits arising from the use of genetic resources We highlight the difficulties in developing and implementing these policies, arising from the conflicting goals of regulating and facilitating AGR, as well as the special character of genetic resources, existing ex situ collections, issues of ownership and tenure, and the dearth of legal, institutional, and scientific capacity in many countries We recommend (1) independent, multidisciplinary evaluation of the success of the access policy in achieving CBD objectives, (2) resolution of the conflict between traditional land tenure and legal property rights of genetic resources so as to match conservation obligations with benefit-sharing rights, (3) recognition that benefits obtained from AGR may be entirely non-monetary, and (4) that countries provide a 'two-track' AGR application process separately for commercial and non-commercial users Abbreviations: AGR - access to genetic resources, CBD - Convention on Biological Diversity, IACBGR - Inter-Agency Committee on Biological and Genetic Resources, IPR - intellectual property rights, NGO - non-governmental organisation, USA - United States of America

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Tonya Barnes

Papers

Regulating access to genetic resources under the Convention on Biological Diversity: an analysis of selected case studies