Background

China is a mega-diverse country, home to some 10% of all known plant species and 14% of fauna. Of its 34,984 known species of higher plants, 50% are endemic. Some 13,800 species of China’s flora and fauna have identified medicinal properties. The country’s long agricultural history has produced a rich diversity of agricultural varieties and subspecies, through natural and artificial selection. China’s population includes multiple ethnic groups in geographically diverse areas, who possess wide-ranging traditional knowledge related to crops, livestock, poultry, fish, traditional medicine, processing techniques, prescriptions and therapies, traditional farming methods and production models, traditional culture, folklore and biological products.

These biological resources and associated traditional knowledge offer huge potential for the development of biotechnology and for providing sustainable benefits to the country. However, the conventional means of reaping benefits from biodiversity has been changing internationally. For decades, companies with advanced technologies have been accessing to biological and genetic resources (GR) free of charge, and developed medicines, cosmetics and healthcare products by using of such resources and huge amount of profits have been generated over the course, while providers of such resources and holders of associated knowledge, on the other hand, haven’t got any benefits as they should have. To address this challenge, a new instrument was agreed upon in October. 2010, after ten years of negotiation under the framework of the Convention on Biological Diversity, which is 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 (Nagoya Protocol, NP hereafter). It is required in the Protocol that genetic resources shall only be accessed following Prior Informed Consent (PIC) granted by providers of such resources and holders of associated knowledge, and the benefits arising from utilization of biological resources and associated traditional knowledge shall be shared fairly and equitably with holders under Mutually Agreed Terms (MAT) agreed by providers and users via signing contract. It is specifically stipulated in the Protocol that when access to genetic resources and associated traditional knowledge from indigenous and local communities (ILCs), PIC shall be granted by ILCs, and benefits sharing arrangements shall be negotiated with and agreed by ILCs.

Although, the Nagoya Protocol entered into force in October 2014, most countries haven’t yet developed relevant national legislation for the purpose of implementing the Protocol effectively. Therefore, huge gap exists in terms of matching up with the provisions set up by the Protocol. Chins officially became a party to the Nagoya Protocol on September 6, 2016, while national legislation, regulations, relevant policies and regimes that link up to the Protocol are still lacking.

The long-term goal that this project will pursue is a robust legal and institutional framework for implementing access and benefit sharing regime in China, ensuring fair and equitable sharing of benefits arising from the utilization of genetic resources and associated traditional knowledge (ATK) with the providers of the genetic resources and the holders of ATK in accordance with the Nagoya Protocol and national laws and regulations. This framework will also contribute to the conservation and sustainable use of biodiversity.

For the purpose of implementing the project, international experiences in terms of development and implementation of national legislation on ABS are urgently needed. Practical experiences and lessons learned from countries which are rich in biodiversity and associated traditional knowledge and experienced in developing domestic conservation laws and regulations to safeguard its resources and knowledge shall be prioritized. 

Duties and Responsibilities

Duties and Responsibilities

The international legal expert (ILE) will be responsible for technical supports on ABS legislation in China by providing the experience from the selected countries.

The ILE is also responsible to providing overall strategic oversight for international ABS regime (including legislation, policies, standards, guidelines administrative measures)and experiences in implementation. Furthermore, the ILE is also expected to provide suggestions for the formulation of China’s national ABS regulation and other legal instruments. (This would be very general perspectives or suggestions for China’s national legislation on ABS) The ILE will closely work with the Project Manager (PM) and Chief Technical Advisor (CTA) of the project to perform tasks as follows:

  • Provide analysis of GR and ATK ownership system, access and permission system, and benefit sharing arrangement, the setting of check point; and international compliance system in selected countries;
  • Provide analysis of the implementation of the law framework in the selected countries;
  • Provide case studies of successful benefit sharing and the detailed items in the agreement;
  • Provide analysis of international ABS process, including ABS framework, legislation review,  technical guidelines, analysis of coming negotiation focuses and countries’ positions;
  • Provide technical analysis on policy for establishment of an national ABS framework;
  • Advise on the development of PIC, MAT, guidance for ABS contract negotiations;
  • Sum up the experience of selected countries’ practices on national ABS legislation and implementation, mainly in GR provider countries as well as some user countries;
  • Provide relevant case studies, testified good practices and recommendations for developing China’s ABS legislation and making policy arrangements that tailored to China’s specific circumstances. These recommendations are expected to be adaptive to the fundamental realities of China and can be applied directly or indirectly into the formulation of China’s national ABS regulation and other instrument documents.

Key Indicative Indicators for the Consultant’s Performance

Develop a report covering but not limited to key issues listed as below:

  • Experiences gained and lessons learned by selected countries during implementation of the Nagoya protocol, such as India, Brazil, Peru, Mexico, South Africa, Malaysia, Philippines and two representatives of developed countries. These experiences (and lessons) on ABS are not limited in legislation, but extend to institutional arrangement at national and local levels, policy-making, technical guidelines and standards, contract models, indigenous and local community’s participation, capacity-building, public education and awareness raising, monitoring mechanism and check points, settlement of disputes as well as tested good/unsuccessful practices of PIC and MAT and of fair and equitable benefit sharing;
  • Recommendations on ABS legislation and relevant measures shall be drawn for China’s reference based on the information collected and analysis made, the recommendations will be for both national ABS legislation and local policy/measure formulation. 

Outputs should be submitted at different stages:

  • Work plan should be submitted two weeks after sign the contract;
  • Outline of the report should be submitted two months after sign the contract;
  • Draft report should be submitted three to four months after sign the contract;
  • Final report should be submitted five months after sign the contract.

Payment terms:

  • First payment: 20% contract price shall be paid after the work plan has been submitted and accepted by PMO;
  • Second payment: 50% contract price shall be paid after the draft report has been submitted and accepted by PMO;
  • Third payment: 30% contract price shall be paid after the final report has been submitted and accepted by PMO. 

Competencies

  • With education or training background of international law, legislation, policy development and execution;
  • Experienced in the area of international negotiation regarding legal perspective of biodiversity conservation issues;
  • Familiar with multi-lateral environmental conventions, and their negotiation such as the Convention on Biological Diversity and its ABS Protocol;
  • Profound knowledge on biodiversity conservation, resources and ecosystem management;
  • Experienced in multi-national conservation projects, familiar with the structure and requirements of GEF project is a plus;  
  • Demonstrated coordinating skills with team members from multiple culture backgrounds, familiar with the rules working with indigenous and local minority communities is a plus;
  • Rich experience in the suggested  candidate countries which have existing national ABS legislation and implementation practices, especially rich experience or practical work in India, Malaysia, Brazil and other relevant countries ;
  • Excellent writing skills, especially in the preparation of official documents and reports.

Required Skills and Experience

Education:

  • An advanced degree in legislation, conservation, natural resources management, environmental science or related fields, preferably in genetic resources management and associated traditional knowledge.

Experience:

  • At least 15 years of professional experience in the field of legislation, biodiversity, ecosystems, environmental management, in particular experience on genetic resources management and associated traditional knowledge access;
  • Working experience with international organizations or having worked as consultant is an advantage, preferably with knowledge of GEF, UNDP policies, procedures and practices;
  • Experiences working in countries with ABS laws, and enforcement experiences such as India, Brazil, or other candidate countries in the relevant fields such as administration or academic research, and experiences working in international organizations. Besides, experience working in China is a strong asset;

Language:

  • Fluency in written and spoken English. 

Documents to be included when submitting application

Please note that the system will not accept the uploading of more than one document so please merge or scan all your documents into one prior to uploading.

 

Evaluation Criteria

Candidates will be assessed based on the following technical criteria:

Technical Evaluation (70); Financial Evaluation (30)

The final evaluation method will be based on a cumulative analysis of both the technical and financial proposals.