title: Governing synthetic biology in the light of the Access and Benefit Sharing regulation (ABS).
abstract: Synthetic biology is a change of paradigm, i.e. from the exploitation of natural and genetic resources to lab production of biological entities. This transitional shift represents a great challenge for developing countries, particularly those which host biodiversity, and users of genetic resources, since the latter might not be longer required to access to actual genetic resources (tangible genetic resources) but rather genetic resources' information (intangible genetic resources) in order to replicate those resources in labs. This could mean that users of genetic resource would not have to comply with the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) and its complementary treaty, the Nagoya Protocol, known also as the Access and Benefit Sharing regime (ABS). Both international instrument demands that States create legal mechanisms to secure access and benefit sharing, i.e., users of genetic resources are required to obtain prior informed consent (PIC) from host countries of biodiversity and reach mutual agreed terms (MATs), in which users and countries agree how to share the benefits arise from the utilization of genetic resources. The ABS regime is particularly relevant since its implementation at national and regional level has created tensions between users of genetic resources and developing countries. This situation could lead to users removing interest in the exploitation of genetic resources, subsequently, meaning that their focus would move towards technologies that rely less on tangible genetic resources, including synthetic biology. This papers aim to discuss the scope of the CBD and the Nagoya Protocol in the light of synthetic biology and the implications for developing countries.
authors.forename: Carlos
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Augusto
authors.forename: Conde
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Gutiérrez
mesh_terms: D005796:Genes; D007391:International Cooperation; D058615:Synthetic Biology / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence