ABSTRACT
This chapter provides an overview of the Ecuadorian access and benefit-sharing (ABS) law and outlines certain substantive and procedural problems that hinder its effective implementation. This chapter has been structured in three parts: Part I briefly explains the origins and foundations of the Ecuadorian ABS law in Decision 391. It examines how the principles embodied in that communitarian norm are reflected in the Ecuadorian Constitution of 2008 and Executive Decree No. 905. Part II identifies two normative problems of the existing ABS regime. The first relates to the broadly and unclearly defined sovereign rights of the State over its genetic resources (GRs). The second relates to the difficulties in addressing the question of GRs separately from that of traditional knowledge (TK). Part III illustrates the access procedure established in 2011 and points out the complexities involved. The conclusion provides some suggestions for reforms that may be needed to overcome the problems and hurdles of the existing regime.
