| Overview : The Nagoya Protocol on Access to Genetic Resources and the Fair and Equitable Sharing of Benefits Arising from their Utilization (ABS), a supplementary agreement to the Convention on Biological Diversity, was adopted on 29 October 2010 in Nagoya (Japan) and entered into force on 12 October 2014, it provides a transparent legal framework for the effective implementation of the 3rd objective of the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD). The Nagoya Protocol applies to genetic resources that are covered by the CBD and to the benefits arising from their utilization, it also covers traditional knowledge (TK) associated with genetic resources held by indigenous and local communities. Contracting parties to the Nagoya Protocol need to fulfill core obligations to take measures in relation to access to genetic resources, benefit-sharing and compliance. The UNDP-GEF Global ABS Project “Strengthening human resources, legal frameworks, and institutional capacities to implement the Nagoya Protocol” is a 3-year project that specifically aims at assisting 24 countries in the development and strengthening of their national ABS legal frameworks, human resources, and administrative capabilities to implement the Nagoya Protocol. The project seeks to achieve this through its 4 components namely: Component 1: Strengthening the legal, policy and institutional capacity to develop national ABS legal frameworks; Component 2: Building trust between users and providers of genetic resources to facilitate the identification of bio-discovery efforts; and Component 3: Strengthening the capacity of indigenous and local communities to contribute to the implementation of the Nagoya Protocol. Component 4: Implementing a Community of Practice and South-South Cooperation Framework on ABS.
The implementation of the basic measures of the Nagoya Protocol in South Africa similarly to the other participating countries will unleash a wide range of monetary and non-monetary benefits for providers of genetic resources. Some of these benefits should be reinvested in the conservation and sustainable use of the biological resources from where the genetic resources were obtained. This will fulfill the three objectives of the CBD. As per the approved Annual Work Plan for the year 2019 for South Africa, the body of work will require a national consultant to design and develop a user-friendly and well-illustrated website for the BioProducts Advancement Network South Africa (BioPANZA), which will aim to facilitate coordination within the different clusters of the bioprospecting/biotrade sub-sector. | 
