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

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.