Difficulties and Advances in the Development of National Legislation as to the Access to Genetic Resources and Associated Traditional Knowledge

The legal framework regulating access to genetic resources, to associated traditional knowledge, to technology, to technology transfer for its use and conservation and to the benefit sharing in Brazil is a provisional or Interim measure. Interim Measures in our legal normative acts have the force of law, which can be adopted by the President in cases of urgency and relevance. The provisional character of the legislation regulating the issue has been lingering for ten years, and there is still no date for issuing the law that will replace it. In 2003 the Technical Board's Legislative Council for the Management of Genetic Heritage (CGEN) coordinated the preparation of a draft bill, aiming to replace the Provisional and to regulate the International Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture, adopted by the UN Food and Agriculture in 2001 and ratified by Brazil in 2006. The APL was sent to the Casa Civil and after some discussion it was subject to public consultation in 2007. Currently, the APL is at the Casa Civil waiting to be forwarded to the Congress by the President. The aim of this study is a comparative analysis between the draft bill prepared by CGEN, which was submitted to public consultation by the Casa Civil, and the Provisional 2.186-16/01, highlighting the progress made and the points that still need refinement.