A new indicator for the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework: Capturing non-monetary benefit data from access and benefit-sharing agreements.

Abstract

The 2022 Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework (KMGBF) moves international efforts to conserve biodiversity into a quantitative era. Fair and equitable benefit-sharing is one of the three objectives of the Convention on Biological Diversity, which means that to achieve the KMGBF, its parties will need to begin quantifying the benefits received from access and benefit-sharing (ABS). This mandate represents a big challenge as countries will need to begin to measure both monetary and non-monetary benefits from ABS agreements. Non-monetary benefits, in particular, can be more difficult to measure than monetary benefits, resulting in lower scientific understanding and integration of scientific results into national policy choices. In the present article, we propose a new methodology to deliver data to the KMGBF on non-monetary benefit-sharing indicators using scientific publications that cite ABS permits and put forth recommendations for improving the visibility of non-monetary benefits.