ABS Caravan

The ABS Caravan is made up of a series of training and awareness workshops on ABS, at the rate of about 30 participants per workshop, with representatives of civil society and the research sector involved in the management of genetic resources of the country. Based on the observation that there is a lack of awareness of decision-makers and local populations on the issues of setting up legal mechanisms for the protection of genetic resources, the project team also noted that a lack of communication on the subject could hinder the formation of important partnerships and synergies for action on biological diversity in Morocco, as well as the deployment of a national ABS legal framework.

Also, these workshops provide elements of knowledge, both to NGOs and local elected representatives, and to research institutions at local level, on the importance and the need to regulate access, use and fair and equitable sharing. benefits from their biological heritage.

During each stage of the Caravan, the content, the presentation language and the examples used were adapted to the knowledge, resources and preferences of the local contacts. This adaptation is particularly necessary and visible during simulations of negotiations of ABS contracts between the participants, who more easily manage to appropriate the ABS mechanism under the Nagoya Protocol, and are more aware of the importance of implementing a legal framework to protect local resources and the rights of local populations on the benefits arising from these resources.

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