National Record Type:1 #ABSCH-MSR
Legislative administrative
or policy measures on access and benefit-sharing (MSR)
Fields marked with an asterisk are mandatory. Failure to provide information for these fields may result
in the record not being made available to the ABS Clearing-House.
INTRODUCTION
Article 14 paragraph 2 (a) of the Nagoya Protocol provides that Parties shall make available to the ABS
Clearing-House information on legislative, administrative and policy measures on access and benefitsharing.
Access and benefit-sharing measures may include national or regional strategies, policies, legislation or
regulations. They may also include measures undertaken at the subnational or community level. This form
can also be used to make available additional explanatory information on how to meet ABS requirements.
Please submit a new form for each ABS measure. You will need to submit as many forms as the number
of ABS measures that are available within your jurisdiction.
With a view to provide the most accurate overview of the national ABS legal framework, the ABS
Clearing-House allows for the possibility of reflecting amendments to existing measures and linking
different measures, for instance a regulation that implements legislation, or a guideline that provides
further guidance on how to implement a given provision.
Information registered should be as clear and concise as possible while bearing in mind that the
information should guide potential users to comply with the country’s legal requirements. Including
courtesy translation of the information, and explanatory information, flow charts, or step-by-step guides
on how to apply for prior informed consent are very useful for reaching out to users and ensuring that
they are aware of the national requirements for access.
General information
1. *Is this a new record or a
modification to an existing
record:2
New record
OR
Update of an existing record
<clearing-house record number>
2. *Country:
3. Is this an amendment to
previous legislative,
1
<Country name>
Yes OR
No
If yes, * please enter the clearing-house record number containing
National records contain information that is typically required to be reported as part of a Party’s obligations under the Nagoya
Protocol on Access and Benefit-sharing and must be validated by the ABS CH publishing authority prior to being made available
in the ABS Clearing-House. The information submitted through this common format will be made available at
https://absch.cbd.int/search/national-records/MSR.
2 To view the record number, go to http://absch.cbd.int/ and select the applicable record under your country profile. The number
ID is listed as “Record identifier” (example: ABSCH-XX-XX-XXXXXX).
administrative or policy
measure?:3
the measure being amended
<clearing-house record number>
AND
Please insert the summary of the amendment(s)4 <Text entry>
4. *Title of the legislative
administrative or policy
measures on access and
benefit-sharing:
<Text entry>
5. *Legal status of the measure:5
Not legally binding
└ Please provide the date of adoption <YYYY-MM-DD>
└Indicate the date the measure is no longer in force if the
measure has a limited application in time <YYYY-MMDD>
OR
Legally binding
└ If selected, the date of entry into force is a required field
└ Please provide the date of entry into force <YYYY-MMDD>
└Indicate the date the measure is no longer in force if the
measure has a limited application in time <YYYY-MMDD>
OR
Draft
OR
Retired
└ Please provide the date from which the measure was no
longer applicable <YYYY-MM-DD>
6. *Type of document/measure:6
3
Law
This section is only relevant when the measure being submitted is amending an existing measure. If the measure being
registered in the ABS Clearing-House is an amendment to an existing measure or a part of it, make sure that the measure being
amended is already registered in the ABS Clearing-House in order to be able to provide a link to the existing record. This will
allow the two records to be displayed together
4 This will help users to understand the relationship between the two measures. The summary should be as simple and as concise
as possible.
5 Examples of non-legally binding ABS measures are national strategies, policy documents, guidelines, etc. For non-legally
binding ABS measure, the date of adoption is to be provided. A measure is legally binding when it creates obligations and rights
which are legally enforceable. In this case, the date of entry into force of the ABS measure is to be provided. Measures in draft
form can also be included in the ABS Clearing-House with a view to sharing information on progress towards implementation.
Once the draft measure is adopted or entered into force, the status of the measure can be updated without needing to register the
existing information again. Sometimes measures have a limited applicability in time. If you are introducing this type of measure,
you are required to include the expiry date. Including retired measures can be useful for providing legal certainty about genetic
resources and associated traditional knowledge accessed under a previous legal framework. If a measure already registered in the
ABS Clearing-House is retired or is no longer applicable, you only need to edit the measure and change its status to retired,
indicating the date from which the measure was no longer applicable.
Regulatory or administrative measures
Guidelines
Strategy/Action plan
Policy document
Explanatory information
Other (specify) <Text entry>
7. *Area of jurisdiction:7
Regional / Multilateral
└ *<Country name> and/or
<Geographical or political/economic group(s)>
National /federal
Sub-national
└ *Name of the sub-national jurisdiction: <Text entry>
Community
└ Name of the community: <Text entry>
Other (specify): <Text entry>
8. Brief description of the
document including objective
and scope (max. 300 words):8
6
<Text entry>
A law is usually legislation (a statute) enacted by state government; a regulatory or administrative measure is usually an
instrument or process of controlling by rule or restriction, having legal force, issued by an administrative agency or a local
government; guidelines are usually a document by which to determine a course of action, sometimes aimed to streamline
particular processes according to a set routine or sound practice; a strategy and/or action plan provides direction for future
activities: these types of policy measures might include a set of principles, research subsidies and incentives, voluntary
agreements, etc.: explanatory information may include explanatory memoranda, flow charts that describe national ABS
processes, or an overview of the national framework in place or being developed in a country.
7 Please specify the geographical area of application of the ABS measure. The measure could apply at regional or multilateral,
national or federal, subnational or community levels. For multilateral or regional measures, please indicate which countries are
covered by the measure by selecting from the drop down menu the relevant geographical or political/economic group. The list is
extensive; therefore it is likely that that the specific group to which the measure applies is already listed. However, if the measure
applies to a group of countries that is not covered by any of the existing groups, select each of the countries concerned by the
measure separately from the drop down menu.
8 The brief description of the document including objective and scope is meant to serve as a short summary of the measure. This
information will be displayed in the summary of the record, so it is important that the description is clear and concise.
Document details
9. *Document text (in its
original language):
<Select language>
Please provide document text:9
<Attachment>
or <URL and website name>
10. Translation in one of the
official UN languages:
<Select language>
Please provide document text:10
<Attachment>
And/or <URL and website name>
Official translation
11. Relationship with other
measures:11
Courtesy translation
Enter the clearing-house record number containing the measure
made reference to: <clearing-house record number>
AND
Please describe the relationship <Text entry>
Regulatory contact information
12. *Contact Institution:
Please enter the clearing-house record number containing this
information or, if not registered, attach a “Contact details”
common format.12
<clearing-house record number>
Elements of the measure13
Competent national authority/ies
Reference to relevant articles and sections
<Reference to relevant articles and sections>
Scope of the measure
-Type of organism:
9 An
attachment is preferred. Otherwise, provide the location of the document, i.e. web address including the URL of the website
(e.g. http://absch.cbd.int/) and the name of the website (e.g. “Access and Benefit-sharing Clearing-House”).
10 An attachment is preferred. Otherwise, provide the location of the document, i.e. web address including the URL of the website
(e.g. http://absch.cbd.int/) and the name of the website (e.g. “Access and Benefit-sharing Clearing-House”).
11 Please indicate if there is any relationship between this document/measure and other law, regulation, guidelines, administrative
or policy measures. For example, if the measure being submitted is implementing an existing law. This information will assist in
displaying information on the national legal framework. This section of the form will allow you to link two measures in case they
are related, for example if the measure being submitted is implementing an existing law. The two measures will then be displayed
together.
12 All ABS Clearing-House common formats are available at http://absch.cbd.int/help
13 Please select which elements are included in the measure being registered and identify the relevant articles or sections of the
measure for each of the selected elements. This information will assist to in displaying information on the national legal
framework.
Plants 14
Animals
Microorganisms15
Domestic species
Fungi
Wild species
<Reference to relevant articles and sections>
<Reference to relevant articles and sections>
<Reference to relevant articles and sections>
<Reference to relevant articles and sections>
<Reference to relevant articles and sections>
<Reference to relevant articles and sections>
- Area of access of the genetic resource:
Agricultural areas
Dry and sub-humid areas
Forests
Inland waters
Islands
Marine and coastal areas
Mountains
Protected areas
Ex situ collections
Soil or/and water samples
Traditional knowledge associated
genetic resources
Other (specify): <Text entry>
<Reference to relevant articles and sections>
<Reference to relevant articles and sections>
<Reference to relevant articles and sections>
<Reference to relevant articles and sections>
<Reference to relevant articles and sections>
<Reference to relevant articles and sections>
<Reference to relevant articles and sections>
<Reference to relevant articles and sections>
<Reference to relevant articles and sections>
<Reference to relevant articles and sections>
with <Reference to relevant articles and sections>
<Reference to relevant articles and sections>
Access
Access to genetic resources, including prior <Reference to relevant articles and sections>
informed consent
For commercial purposes
<Reference to relevant articles and sections>
For non-commercial purposes
<Reference to relevant articles and sections>
Access to traditional knowledge associated <Reference to relevant articles and sections>
with genetic resources, including prior informed
consent or approval and involvement
For commercial purposes
<Reference to relevant articles and sections>
For non-commercial purposes
<Reference to relevant articles and sections>
Other (specify): <Text entry>
<Reference to relevant articles and sections>
Benefit-sharing
Mutually agreed terms
<Reference to relevant articles and sections>
Monetary benefits
<Reference to relevant articles and sections>
Non-monetary benefits
<Reference to relevant articles and sections>
Other (please specify): <Text entry>
<Reference to relevant articles and sections>
14
This includes algae.
15
This could include, among others, archaea, bacteria, chromista, protozoa and viruses.
Compliance
Compliance with domestic legislation or
regulatory requirements
<Reference to relevant articles and sections>
On access to traditional knowledge
associated with genetic resources and benefitsharing
<Reference to relevant articles and sections>
On access to genetic resources and
benefit-sharing
<Reference to relevant articles and sections>
Non-compliance with domestic legislation <Reference to relevant articles and sections>
or regulatory requirements
Monitoring the utilization of genetic resources
Checkpoints
<Reference to relevant articles and sections>
<Reference to relevant articles and sections>
Permits or their equivalent constituting
an internationally recognized certificate of
compliance
Compliance with mutually agreed terms
Other (please specify): <Text entry>
<Reference to relevant articles and sections>
<Reference to relevant articles and sections>
<Reference to relevant articles and sections>
Relationship with other instruments
Plant genetic resources for food and <Reference to relevant articles and sections>
agriculture exchanged using the standard
material transfer agreement of the
International Treaty on Plant Genetic
Resources for Food and Agriculture
Other (please specify): <Text entry>
<Reference to relevant articles and sections>
Transboundary cooperation
<Reference to relevant articles and sections>
Awareness-raising
<Reference to relevant articles and sections>
Capacity
<Reference to relevant articles and sections>
Other (please specify): <Text entry>
<Reference to relevant articles and sections>
Additional information
13. Any other relevant
information:16
<Text entry>
and/or <URL and website name>
and/or <Attachment>
14. Notes:17
16
<Text entry>
Please use this field to provide any other relevant information that may not have been addressed elsewhere in the record.
“Notes” field is for your personal notes or comments and will be hidden when viewing the record. This field is not meant to be
used for confidential information.
17
Record validation (offline submission only)
*Country:
<Country name>
*Name of the ABS-CH publishing
authority:
<Text entry>
*Date:
<YYYY-MM-DD>
I hereby confirm that the above information is correct and agree to its inclusion in the ABS
Clearing-House.
*Signature of the ABS-CH
publishing authority
Submission addresses:
This form should be completed and sent by e-mail to secretariat@cbd.int
or alternatively by
 Fax at +1 514 288-6588; or
 Postal mail to:
Secretariat of the Convention on Biological Diversity
413 rue Saint-Jacques, suite 800
Montreal, Québec, H2Y 1N9
Canada