Nepal: Innovative mechanisms for putting farmers’ rights into practice

Innovation at work Until the beginning of the 1990s, ABS was an unknown concept in Nepal. There was no recognition that an ABS regime could form the basis for the protection of the rights of local, indigenous and farming communities over genetic resources and associated traditional knowledge. Notwithstanding a substantial international focus on these issues and their strong relevance for biodiversity-rich countries such as Nepal, Nepal’s constitution of 1990 did not address this area. It was only after Nepal became a party to the CBD in February 1993 that the government and some NGOs began to discuss the importance of mainstreaming ABS issues in national policies. Similarly, following the country’s engagement in the FAO Commission on Plant Genetic Resources, national-level discussions were held to undertake initiatives for the conservation, management and use of plant genetic resources for food and agriculture (PGRFA) and, in the process, seek options to address farmers’ concerns with regard to PGRFA and associated traditional knowledge.