Covering ABS : Addressing the Need for Sectoral, Geographica, Legal and International Integration in the ABS Regime

The most difficult and least-addressed ABS implementation issue is that of coverage.

On the one hand, the CBD's ABS provisions appear to give every country full rights over all genetic resources found in the country, even if the exact subspecies or variety is also found in other countries.

On the other hand, however, even within a single country, each biome may be separately regulated, and each community or landowner may be given the right to control access to and receive benefits for the genetic resources of every specimen taken from their land or sold by them.

This book analyses the basic concept of ABS, examining the overall mechanisms that could be used to make the system work internationally.

This is IUCN Environmental Policy and Law Paper Number 67/5.