ABSTRACT
It is recognized that laws and regulations on ABS and issues of utilization of GRs are very complicated. They closely relate to policies and laws on biodiversity, agriculture, intellectual property rights (IPRs), trade, commerce, development and poverty alleviation. Even in the field of law, complicated and layered relations are seen ranging from the global level to the local level and from the public level to the private level. They include the CBD and other global treaties, regional agreements such as the Andean Agreement, bilateral agreements which set out mutually agreed terms and national laws and regulations of both provider and user countries, local laws and ordinances, and also private contracts, which serve as material transfer agreements (MTAs).
