Page 77 - ABIHPEC ANUARIO 2018

2018 YEARBOOK ENVIRONMENT 77

and economic exploration, with the guarantee WE WERE THE FIRST
of the distribution of benefits generated and the INSTITUTION TO LAUNCH
rights of peoples and communities. A GUIDE, WHICH AIMS TO
EDUCATE COMPANIES IN
In the bill, a genetic heritage is defined as THE INDUSTRY ABOUT THE
“genetic information with a plant, animal, microbi- USE OF GENETIC HERITAGE
al, or other species origin, including substances de- WITHOUT ISSUES RELATED TO
rived from the metabolism of these living things.� DISTRIBUTION OR FINES

In 2016, a new legislation came into effect, Rose Hernandes
which aims to simplify the extensive bureau- ABIHPEC's Environment Director
cracy involved in the prior authorization of ac-
cess to Brazilian genetic heritage and associ- CHECK
ated traditional knowledge prescribed by the THE GUIDE
extinct Provisional Measure mentioned above.
“We migrate from a paradigm focused on combat-
ing biopiracy to another that prioritizes innovation,
legal certainty and the guarantee of rights relat-
ed to the responsible use of Genetic Heritage (GH)
and Associated Traditional Knowledge (ATK), and
guaranteeing the sharing of benefits, with well-de-
fined rules�, as contextualized by Rafael de Sá
Marques, chairman of the Genetic Heritage
Management Council (CGen) of the Ministry
of Environment.

A consequent gain from these changes is
ABIHPEC's participation in the Genetic Her-
itage Management Council, which previously
counted only on the performance of members
of the government. “The CGen has been a very rich
and democratic discussion space, which has played
a significant role in bringing together and building
consensus among the key players in the regulation
process, especially between industry and tradition-
al peoples and communities, between academia and
the industry, between government and civil society�
said Rafael.

This council intends to make the national
system of access and benefit sharing an instru-
ment of economic, social, cultural and environ-
mental development of Brazil, offering the con-
servation of its extensive biodiversity.