In Burundi as elsewhere in the world, samples of genetic resources may be commissioned by foreign firms in order to determine the properties of these resources, to isolate the active ingredients and to develop commercial products. These products, when they prove to be interesting and accepted according to the required standards, are patented in the name of the legal or natural person who developed them, without compensation to the country of origin.

However, the Nagoya Protocol specifies what aspects States should consider when developing their ABS legislation, in particular the conditions relating to access rights, the possible use of resources, the participation of nationals in carrying out the research project, the transfer of know-how and equipment, the possible sharing of benefits arising from the commercial use of the resources in question and the acquisition of new technologies.

In addition, the draft law on biodiversity, which is being analyzed by the authorized bodies, has already laid the groundwork for regulating issues of access to genetic resources and the fair and equitable sharing of benefits arising from them, but has left it up to the regulatory text to go into detail. Similarly, the study on the analysis of the legal framework for ABS in Burundi highlighted the absence of a national regulation on ABS that could clearly show how access to genetic resources takes place, how benefits are shared as well as compliance with obligations and proposed to develop a legal text on ABS.

Finally, the ABS strategy and action plan provide for the development of a legal text on APA as soon as possible.

It is therefore within this framework that this draft decree was developed to fill the legal void and to counter the fraudulent use of genetic resources and associated traditional knowledge in order to thus be able to implement the provisions of the Nagoya Protocol.