Webinar: Beating the Biopirates? A journalist's guide to biodiversity access and benefit-sharing.
Channel: Earth Journalism Network
Date: 24/02/2021

There’s a multi-billion-dollar yearly trade in medicines, foodstuffs and industrial products derived from plants, animals, fungi and bacteria. But many such products have been commercialised without any of the profits returning to the countries and communities whose biodiversity and traditional knowledge made the innovation possible. And in some cases, biological resources have been accessed illegally.

That’s why, in 2010, parties to the UN Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) reached a new agreement — called the Nagoya Protocol — to ensure legal access and guarantee that any benefits arising from the use of genetic resources are shared fairly and equitably. But what exactly is "access and benefit-sharing?" What are countries doing to meet their CBD commitments and ensure that companies meet their legal obligations? Are benefits flowing where they should? This webinar for journalists explains the complexities of this agreement and explores how it serves as a rich source of untold stories.