Access to genetic resources between biodiversity protection and intra-generational solidarity

In Italy, even before the recent Constitution amendment of article 9, biodiversity protection was at the centre of the national strategy adopted with the ratification law of the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD). The CBD establishes the sovereign rights of nations to control access to their biological diversity to safeguard, inter alia, an equitable sharing of the benefits arising out of the utilization of genetic resources. The Nagoya Protocol, a supplementary agreement to the CBD implemented in Europe with two Regulations, sets out the general framework for access and benefit-sharing established in Articles 8(j) and 15 of the CBD. Having pointed out that EU States, such as Italy, have recently implemented these regulations, the author suggests endorsing a study on access and benefit-sharing (ABS legal instruments) in order to make the system for exchanging genetic resources more effective in the interests of the community. A sustainable use of biological diversity is preserved thorough the ABS mechanism. It is fundamental to cope with climate change and achieve food security. Therefore, this key objective requires solidarity between present and future generations.