The Nagoya Protocol on Access to Genetic Resources and the Fair and Equitable Sharing of Benefits Arising from their Utilization to the Convention on Biological Diversity, also called the Nagoya Protocol on Access and Benefit Sharing (ABS), is an agreement added to the 1992 Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) in 2010. Its goal is to help achieve one of the CBD’s three main objectives: ensuring fair sharing of benefits from using genetic resources, which helps protect and use biodiversity wisely. The protocol requires countries that agree to it to create rules about accessing genetic resources, sharing benefits, and following the agreement.

The protocol was signed on October 29, 2010, in Nagoya, Japan, and became active on October 12, 2014. As of August 2025, 142 countries and groups, including 141 United Nations member states and the European Union, have officially agreed to the protocol.

In practice, the protocol gives each country control over its biological resources, making the illegal use of these resources without permission unlawful. Some people worry that the extra rules and paperwork might make it harder to monitor biodiversity, protect species, respond to diseases, and conduct scientific research.

Aims and scope

The Nagoya Protocol covers genetic resources that are included in the CBD, as well as the benefits from using these resources. It also includes traditional knowledge connected to these genetic resources and the benefits from using that knowledge.

The goal of the protocol is to help achieve one of the three goals of the CBD: to ensure fair sharing of benefits from using genetic resources, which helps protect and use biodiversity in a way that lasts over time.

Adoption and ratification

The protocol was accepted on October 29, 2010, in Nagoya, Japan, during the tenth meeting of the Conference of the Parties, which took place from October 18 to 29, 2010. It became official on October 12, 2014.

In 2016, the countries involved in the treaty discussed whether to include digital sequence information (DSI) in the Nagoya framework. Using the Access and Benefit-Sharing (ABS) method for DSI could have caused major problems for the International Nucleotide Sequence Database Collaboration, where all data is freely available without restrictions. A new system for handling DSI, created during COP 15 in 2022, separates access to information from sharing benefits.

Obligations

The Nagoya Protocol outlines rules that countries must follow regarding access to genetic resources, sharing benefits, and ensuring compliance.

Domestic-level access measures aim to:

• Make laws and rules clear, fair, and easy to understand
• Ensure rules and processes are fair and not based on unfair decisions
• Set clear rules for getting permission from the people who own the genetic resources and making agreements that all parties agree to
• Require a permit or similar official approval when access is allowed
• Support research that helps protect and use biodiversity wisely
• Consider situations where urgent problems, like health threats to people, animals, or plants, require quick action
• Recognize the importance of genetic resources used in food and farming for keeping food supplies safe

Domestic-level benefit-sharing measures aim to ensure that countries sharing genetic resources receive fair and equal benefits from their use. This includes research and development on genetic or biochemical traits of resources, as well as later uses like creating products or selling them. Benefits can include money, like royalties, or non-money items, such as sharing research findings. All benefits must be agreed upon by all involved parties.

A major change in the Nagoya Protocol is the requirement for countries to support rules that help follow their own laws and agreements made with other countries.

Countries must:

• Ensure that genetic resources used in their country were accessed with permission and that agreements were made as required by other countries
• Work together if one country claims another has broken its rules
• Encourage agreements that include ways to solve disputes
• Provide ways for people to seek help from their country's legal system if disputes arise from agreements
• Make sure people can get justice if needed
• Monitor the use of genetic resources after they leave the country by checking at each step: research, development, innovation, pre-commercialization, or commercialization.

Implementation

The Nagoya Protocol's success depends on how well countries apply it at home. The Protocol offers tools to help countries that have signed the agreement, such as:

• Setting up national focal points (NFPs) and competent national authorities (CNAs) to act as contact points for information, grant access, or ensure rules are followed
• Creating an Access and Benefit-sharing Clearing-House to share details like a country’s rules for sharing benefits or information about NFPs and CNAs
• Providing training and support to help countries carry out the Protocol’s requirements

Based on a country’s assessment of its own needs and goals, training and support can help with:

• Creating laws within the country to follow the Nagoya Protocol
• Making agreements that both sides agree on
• Building research skills and institutions within the country
• Teaching people about the Protocol
• Sharing technology
• Using funds from the Global Environment Facility (GEF) to support training and development projects

The European Union has created a rule called the European Nagoya Protocol to follow the original agreement.

• Scientists must submit a Due Diligence Declaration to national authorities when using a biological resource in a research project that is funded. This declaration shows they will follow Nagoya-related laws.
• Suppliers of biological resources, such as DSMZ, can confirm that a resource is "Nagoya compliant" and provide information to help complete the Due Diligence Declaration.
• Collecting a biological resource (e.g., live cells) requires prior informed consent (PIC) and mutually agreed terms (MAT) from a National Focal Point or Competent National Authority in the location where the resource is collected. Moving the resource to another country needs a material transfer agreement (MTA) that explains the purpose and rules for the transfer. If a researcher plans to deposit the resource in a cultural collection, the MTA must state that the collection can share the resource according to its rules. A compliant culture collection, such as DSMZ, will check that all required documents are provided.

Relationship to other international agreements

More trade agreements now include rules about using genetic resources and sharing the benefits from their use. Some recent agreements, especially from countries in Latin America, include steps to help follow the rules about benefit-sharing from the Nagoya Protocol. These steps include providing help from experts, making sure information is clear, and having ways to solve disagreements.

Criticism

Some people are worried that new rules and laws may harm efforts to study and protect biodiversity, conserve nature, respond to diseases, and conduct research. Many scientists are concerned that more paperwork and restrictions could make it harder to prevent diseases and protect wildlife. In some developing countries, permits for basic research on biodiversity that is not related to finding useful materials have been denied. In some cases, scientists have even been punished for this research. Scientists are afraid that the possibility of being imprisoned might stop people from doing important research.

Researchers and organizations, such as natural history museums, are worried that keeping and sharing biological samples between institutions may become more difficult. Museums are hesitant to send samples to developing countries because they are unsure if the samples will be allowed to return.

The Nagoya Protocol has a system for sharing resources between countries, but it works slowly. In contrast, the International Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture uses a faster system that allows about 8,500 transfers of materials each week. This is different from the Nagoya Protocol’s plan for sharing benefits, which has not been fully put into practice.

Experts say that the failure to follow the Nagoya Protocol at the national level has been a major reason for its limited success.