Initiatives and Projects

Gender equity in the access and equitable sharing of the benefits derived from the biodiversity

Date of execution:

From October 01, 2006 to December 31, 2008

Description

Regarding the Mutually Agreed Terms (MAT), these are established in the CBD as “mutually agreed conditions” and they include a negotiation process between the parts which defines the conditions, outcomes, duties and obligations. To achieve a truly effective participation of all people, men and women, especially from local communities “their capacity for negotiation and understanding of the legal and commercial contexts needs to be strengthen” (Aguilar; 2005).

To promote gender equity in this agreements requires the consideration of such aspects like women’s access and ownership of the resources (particularly land) and income; to adopt measures to ensure that women are supported and empowered with legal and technical assistance; to ensure that all people and groups participating have negotiations abilities, to ensure that the legal framework have gender considerations; to design mechanisms to guarantee the intellectual property of women; among others.

As a result of this analysis we can state that the viability of the achievement of this agreements of the CBD regarding access and equitable distribution of the genetic resources depends in the breakthroughs of the international and national legal frameworks and in the mechanisms that will be designed for their implementations. Up to date, some countries have started the construction of legal instruments considering mechanisms like PIC and MAT. However, most of them have ignored the social dimension and, particularly, the gender approach, which are important requisite din the elaboration and implementation of these tools if we aim to promote equal access to the genetic resources and their benefits.

Since gender equity is absent fromm international discussions on genetic resources, and from all inputs for the mechanisms to access genetic resources and have an equitable distribution of their benefits at a national level, the national processes promoted by the countries have had negative consequences

At a national level, around 50 countries have made some efforts to incorporate in their legal frameworks the access and distribution of the benefits. Among these countries are the ones selected to develop the case studies of this project: Costa Rica and Ecuador. Furthermore, these two countries are part of the Group of Megadiverse Countries and the like (2002), which represent 40% of the biological diversity of the planet, as well as an extraordinary cultural diversity.

The two countries where the case studies will take place have out stand for certain advances in these subject, which allows to have an effective impact in the processes that are already on its way for the inclusion of the gender equity approach. Also, these experiences will serve for the elaboration of global recommendations that may orient similar efforts that will be developed in other countries. In the case of the Ecuador, a project previously supported by HIVOS, allowed to start a very important national process which will serve as a starting point for the case study in the Ecuador.

In Latin America out stands the development of regional legislation, like decision 391 of the Andean Community of Nations (CAN), adopted in July 1996 (Where Ecuador played a very important role) that presents a legal biding framework for the access to genetic resources and benefit sharing. In this text they mention access contracts that will promote the fair and equitable distribution of the benefits.

In Central America there is a protocol of access to genetic and biochemical resources and the traditional knowledge associated. This agreement requires mentioning the economic, social, cultural, scientific and spiritual benefits of the State and interested sectors in order to grant access to the genetic resources. Moreover, it states that the access contracts must include a minimum of related previsions about the distribution of the benefits, which includes the capacity building, the percentage of benefits to be distributed and the socialization of the results of the investigation. It also foresees the inclusion of the terms for the technology transfer in the contracts and the distribution of the benefits derived from this technology for the State.
 
In each of these countries –Costa Rica and Ecuador- are making efforts to have a concrete reference in their legislation to mechanisms of Previous Informed Consent (PIC). Additionally, they are advancing in the discussions about intellectual property rights, certificates of origin and/or legal source, traditional knowledge, among others. This advances are still insufficient but represent opportunities to mainstream gender equity in this processes.

The actors involved in these processes are those interested un genetic resources management; State, national private enterprises, Tran nationals, environmental NGOs, international organizations and, in the best of cases, some local communities directly related with genetic resources and the traditional knowledge associated to them. In these countries some specialized institutions have been contacted, for example, the National Institute of Biodiversity of Costa Rica, InBio

Objectives

General Objective

To promote the access and equitable distribution of the benefits derived fromm the genetic resources with gender equity as a strategy to reduce poverty.

Specific Objectives

• 1) To elaborate general guidelines to consider the gender equity approach in the design and implementation of legal and technical mechanisms aiming to guarantee the equitable access and distribution of the benefits of the genetic resources.

• 2) To develop two case studies on the elaboration of lecal and technical tools with gender equity for the implementation of the Previous Informed Consent (PIC) and the Mutually Agreed terms (MAT), which would allow to accumulate experience and elaborate a methodological proposal to be considered in other countries.

• 3) To impact in international forums involved in the implementation of the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) to mainstream gender in their recommendations for the implementation of the Previous Informed Consent (PIC) and the Mutually Agreed terms (MAT),

• 4) To consolidate virtual networks of exchange of information, discussion and advocacy, about national legal frameworks and mechanisms for the access and equitable sharing of the natural resources with gender equity approach.

   

Outcomes

Coordination with IUCN Gender Adviser – IUCN SUR- IUCN ORMA

Case Studies: Ecuador, Brazi , Costa Rica.

World Workshop

Document general guidelines

Methodological Proposal at World level

Production, translation, publication and dissemination

Contact with CBD and identification of contacts at a global level

Elaboration of plan of incidence

Advocacy in COP 2008: forums, coalition, women participation, etc.

Incidence in working groups of the CBD

Virtual Network of information and discussion