International agreement and local legislative to implement ABS in Sabah
The Nagoya Protocol was adopted on 29th October 2010 at CBD COP10 in Nagoya, Japan. With the adoption, contracting parties must implement Nagoya Protocol on ABS. Malaysia ratified CBD on 24th June 1994 and officially became a Contracting Party. The Access to Biological Resource and Benefit Sharing Act 2017 (Act 795) is an act to implement the Nagoya Protocol at the national level.
In 2017, the bill to amend Sabah Biodiversity Enactment 2000 to meet the obligation of Nagoya Protocol on ABS was passed. The amendment is important as it offers a transparent framework to facilitate users to access to biological resources and ensures that the benefits arising from its utilisation are shared equitably and fairly between the users and providers. With the amendment, all users local and international must apply for an Access Licence before they can conduct research and development activities involving biological resources or traditional knowledge in Sabah. If the research involves commercialisation, then the user must reach Benefit Sharing Agreement with the State Government of Sabah.
Under the Enactment, the Director of SaBC is responsible to administer all the approval and issuance activities of the Access and Export Licence as agreed upon and consulted by the council.
