The Nagoya protocol, known as “access and benefit sharing” (APA), written in October 2010, during the 10th Conference of the Parties (COP) to the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD), establishes “biopiracy” as a legal object and aims to put an end to this unfair practice. Indeed, its article 1 gives it the objective “the fair and equitable sharing of the benefits arising from the use of genetic resources, in particular through adequate access to genetic resources and appropriate transfer of relevant technologies, taking into account all rights to these resources and technologies and through adequate financing, thus contributing to the conservation of biological diversity and the sustainable use of its components” .

The aim is to make the use of genetic resources subject to three conditions: obtaining the consent of the supplier country prior to any prospecting and collecting process; the payment of monetary or non-monetary compensation, which may take the form of financial royalties or cooperation in research and development; and a reinvestment of part of the benefits in the conservation and sustainable use of biodiversity.

Since the CBD secretariat has no coercive means and the international community is not ready to work in line on this issue, the Nagoya Protocol is the only international instrument that makes it possible to act against “biopiracy”. However, it should not be considered a panacea; the effectiveness of its implementation will depend on the determination of the signatory parties to incorporate into their law provisions that are binding on users within their jurisdiction.

Burundi has adhered to the Nagoya Protocol according to law No. 1/21 of 23 June 2014. With this accession, the Government of Burundi, through the Ministry of Water, Environment, Land Use and Urban Development, is taking all the useful and necessary measures to guarantee the implementation of the Protocol in Burundi. Furthermore, article 21 of this Protocol provides that each Party shall take measures to raise public awareness of the importance of genetic resources and traditional knowledge associated with genetic resources, and of issues related to access and benefit-sharing. This guide to raising awareness among target groups on the challenges of the Nagoya Protocol is therefore part of this framework.