THE INTERFACE BETWEEN ACCESS AND BENEFIT-SHARING AND BIOTRADE IN NAMIBIA: EXPLORING POTENTIAL AREAS OF SYNERGY

The document examines Namibia's efforts to implement the Nagoya Protocol through a draft ABS Bill and its potential impact on the existing biotrade sector. It highlights the risk of regulatory burdens and conceptual ambiguity between 'genetic resources' and 'biological resources', while suggesting that a well-integrated framework could protect traditional knowledge and empower indigenous and local communities (ILCs).

• Namibia has a significant history of commercialising indigenous natural products (INPs), with some activities dating back to the 1960s with devil's claw, and the sector was estimated in 2012 to represent approximately 4.5% of the country's gross domestic product.
• Despite having various strategies and acts related to biodiversity, Namibia had not promulgated a formal law on access and benefit-sharing (ABS) for its genetic resources as of the report's writing, though a draft ABS Bill was submitted to Parliament in 2015.
• The draft ABS Bill relies on the principles of prior informed consent (PIC) and mutually agreed terms (MAT), but it lacks specific definitions for 'indigenous community/people' and 'commercial use/exploitation'.
• There is a risk that the adoption of the ABS Bill could negatively impact the INP industry if the scope of the framework is poorly defined, potentially leading to regulatory burdens that discourage partners and stifle research.
• A conflict has emerged between traditional authorities and indigenous and local communities (ILCs) in Namibia, with traditional authorities mistakenly believing they are the sole eligible beneficiaries of ABS benefits.
• The document identifies a conceptual 'grey area' between the commercialisation of genetic resources (ABS) and the trade of biological resources (biotrade), noting that genetic resources are a subset of biological resources.
• The case of Hoodia gordonii illustrates the history of biopiracy in Southern Africa, where the San communities' traditional knowledge was used by the CSIR to patent appetite-suppressing compounds without the communities' initial consent or benefit.
• To avoid administrative burdens, the author suggests integrating the responsibilities of the Ministry of Environment and Tourism (MET) and the Ministry of Water, Agriculture and Forestry (MWAF), and recognizing existing PIC and MAT agreements as sufficient for ABS compliance.

APA

SULEMAN, K. K. (2017). THE INTERFACE BETWEEN ACCESS AND BENEFIT-SHARING AND BIOTRADE IN NAMIBIA: EXPLORING POTENTIAL AREAS OF SYNERGY. South African Institute of International Affairs. https://saiia.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/Occasional-Paper-256.pdf

Chicago

SULEMAN, KASSAHUN KELIFA. THE INTERFACE BETWEEN ACCESS AND BENEFIT-SHARING AND BIOTRADE IN NAMIBIA: EXPLORING POTENTIAL AREAS OF SYNERGY. South African Institute of International Affairs, 2017. https://saiia.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/Occasional-Paper-256.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=SULEMAN |first1=KASSAHUN KELIFA |title=THE INTERFACE BETWEEN ACCESS AND BENEFIT-SHARING AND BIOTRADE IN NAMIBIA: EXPLORING POTENTIAL AREAS OF SYNERGY |publisher=South African Institute of International Affairs |date=April 2017 |url=https://saiia.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/Occasional-Paper-256.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{suleman2017interface, author = {SULEMAN, KASSAHUN KELIFA}, title = {{THE INTERFACE BETWEEN ACCESS AND BENEFIT-SHARING AND BIOTRADE IN NAMIBIA: EXPLORING POTENTIAL AREAS OF SYNERGY}}, institution = {South African Institute of International Affairs}, year = {2017}, month = apr, url = {https://saiia.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/Occasional-Paper-256.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }