1. PART I: INTRODUCTION
The issue of conservation of biological diversity in Uganda constitutes one of today’s greatest
challenges, for the following main reasons:
a) the concern about biodiversity stemming largely from an increased awareness and scientific
agreement that the current rate of species extinction is extremely high compared to the natural
average rate;
b) as the new biotechnologies greatly enhance the potential utility areas of the country’s genetic
resources, the economic interests linked to these resources are soaring;
The combined effect of these two trends is thus a greatly enhanced interest in property rights and
controlled access to genetic resources.
1.1. Objective and Scope of the Guidelines
It is the policy and legal requirement of the Government of Uganda that access and export of the
country’s genetic resources be regulated. The overall objective of the Guidelines for Access to Genetic
Resources and Benefit Sharing in Uganda, therefore, is to provide for simple arrangements and
procedures including measures for accessing biological and genetic resources of Uganda, their
products and derivatives for scientific research, commercial and any other purposes connected
therewith and to ensure equitable sharing of the benefits accruing therefrom in accordance with the
National Environment (Access to Genetic Resources and Benefit Sharing) Regulations, 2005.
These Guidelines lay out the conditions under which access to Uganda’s genetic resources shall be
granted and the sharing of benefits arising out of the utilisation of genetic resources shall be qualified
as fair and equitable. Access to the genetic resources, or parts thereof, naturally occurring or
naturalised, genetic resources bred, or intended for commercial purposes within Uganda, or for export,
whether in-situ or ex-situ conditions is prohibited under the country’s policies and laws unless an
Access Permit has been obtained from the Competent Authority. In this context, the Competent
Authority is the Uganda National Council for Science and Technology (UNCST).
It is expected that these Guidelines for Access to Genetic Resources and Benefit Sharing in Uganda
will assist the relevant stakeholders including government, the private sector, NGOs, local
communities, academic and research institutions, foreign institutions and independent researchers to
access Uganda’s genetic resources for academic, research, commercial and other uses in a clear and
simplified manner with easily understood procedures and conditions guiding that access.
1.2. Interpretation
The terms used in these Guidelines have the same meaning as is given to them under the CBD;
CITES; the National Environment Act Cap 153; and the National Environment (Access to Genetic
Resources and Benefit Sharing) Regulations, 2005. Some of them have been adapted to suit the
national conditions. A glossary is provided for those terms that are specifically used in these
Guidelines.
1.3. International Legislative Background
Until the early 1980s, conservation of biological diversity, whether national or international, was still
focused on wild species of plants and animals. An important shift came when questions of access to,
and control over, plant genetic resources were raised in the UN Food and Agricultural Organisation
(FAO) by governments of the developing world. Since then, the controversial issue of property rights
and access to genetic resources has been dealt with in several international arenas, most importantly
the CBD, the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Fauna and Flora (CITES)
and the agreement on Trade Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPs) under the World
Trade Organisation and the African Model Law.
Uganda signed the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) on June 12, 1992 and ratified it on
September 8, 1993. One of the objectives of the CBD as set out in its Article 1 is the “fair and
equitable sharing of the benefits arising out of the utilisation of genetic resources, including by
appropriate access to genetic resources and by appropriate transfer of relevant technologies, taking
Guidelines for Access to Genetic Resources and Benefits Sharing
1