In a move that ushers in a new era for the sustainable management of biological and genetic resources, Namibia has introduced new Access and Benefit-Sharing (ABS) Guidelines for this purpose, along with an online permitting system. 

The initiative is led by the Ministry of Environment, Forestry, and Tourism in partnership with local and global development partners.

ABS is a framework under the Convention on Biological Diversity that governs the fair and equitable sharing of benefits arising from the utilisation of genetic resources.