Sharing of Benefits

Abstract

Benefit sharing is a legal term used in the context of access to and utilization of biological resources. Its meaning is simple: those who contribute to scientific research and innovation ought to share in the resulting benefits. If benefit sharing with the contributors of biological resources and related knowledge does not take place, scientific advancement is exploitative. The main legal instrument to govern benefit sharing is the UN Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD. (1992). Retrieved from http://www.cbd.int/convention/text).

On a broader understanding of benefit sharing, results from scientific research should be shared with society as a whole and in particular with developing countries. This more aspirational meaning of benefit sharing is expressed, for instance, in the UNESCO’s Universal Declaration on Bioethics and Human Rights (UNESCO. (2005). Universal Declaration on Bioethics and Human Rights. Retrieved from http://www.unesco.org/new/en/social-and-human-sciences/themes/bioethics/bioethics-and-human-rights/).

This chapter examines both aspects of benefit sharing and aligns them with different conceptions of justice. The access and benefit-sharing requirements of the CBD – which covers plants, animals, microorganisms, and traditional knowledge – will be described as a justice-in-exchange mechanism. The same applies to the benefit-sharing provisions for human biological resources as found in the Declaration of Helsinki (2008). The distributive justice aspects of benefit sharing, which conform strongly to the human rights framework, will be examined using the above mentioned UNESCO Declaration. Four cases are provided for illustration purposes.