| Overview : South Africa, through the Department of Environmental Affairs (DEA) is part of the UNDP-GEF Global ABS Project titled: “Strengthening human resources, legal framework and institutional capacities to implement the Nagoya Protocol” which aims to facilitate the implementation of the Nagoya Protocol on Access and Benefit Sharing (ABS). Under Component 2 of the project, Building trust between users and providers of genetic resources to facilitate the identification of bio-discovery efforts, a pilot study on the Compound Library at the University of Pretoria is envisaged. The Biodiversity Economy of South Africa encompasses the businesses and economic activities that either directly depend on biodiversity for their core business or that contribute to conservation of biodiversity through their activities. The bioprospecting/biotrade sector of the Biodiversity Economy is defined as the research on, or development or application of, indigenous biological/genetic resources for commercial or industrial exploitation and includes the utilization of information regarding any traditional uses of such resources by indigenous communities; as well as the trading in and exporting of indigenous biological/genetic resources. The South African bioprospecting sector depends primarily on Research and Development (R&D) for product development and innovation however this is limited to a few institutions in the country or only focuses on specific segments of the market. Furthermore, academic environments are protective of their research knowledge which restricts access to this research to only few selected institutions. The growth of this sector within the country is fundamentally linked to a strong R&D focus. The sector requires research and development of resources that are currently being utilised in the market. This R&D will also facilitate expansion of the market through opportunities offered by new genetic and biological resource utilisation and product development. The entire bioprospecting/biotrade value chain could benefit from a strong and growing R&D sector in the country. Furthermore, in a sector directly dependent on genetic/biological resources and fluctuating markets, substantive and ongoing research is crucial. One of the fundamental objectives of the National Biodiversity Economy Strategy (NBES), is the establishment of a national repository of indigenous biological extracts and compounds, hence, the establishment of a National Compound Library (NCL) is a crucial development for the South African bioprospecting/biotrade sector. The NCL has the potential to act as a central hub for relevant information, house indigenous genetic and biological materials and compounds that are of commercial interest, standardise procedures and methodology for the sector, and serve as a sustainable use mechanism. The NCL will also play an important role in increasing the quantity and quality of indigenous biological compounds. Furthermore the NCL would enable quick investment access, an effective permitting system and provide a solution to benefit-sharing agreement issues. The development of such an institution is regarded as a medium to long term goal; however an immediate action is to conduct a pilot study on an existing functional compound library located at the University of Pretoria (UP). As per the approved Annual Work Plan for 2019/2020 for South Africa, the body of work will require a national consultant to conduct an operational feasibility study on the compound library piloted at the University of Pretoria. | 
