Legislation Tracker

Which countries are taking measures that encourage companies to contribute to the Cali Fund?

The international agreement establishing the Cali Fund invites countries to "take administrative, policy or legislative measures" that incentivise contributions to the Cali Fund.

0

countries with legislation encouraging Cali Fund contributions

0

countries where such legislation is under discussion

Namibia

  • Friends of the Cali Fund Member: no
  • CBD Party
  • Nagoya Party
  • BBNJ Agreement Party
  1. No Legislation or administrative measure proposed yet
  2. Legislation or administrative measure proposed
  3. Legislation introduced
  4. Legislation passed into law
  5. Legislation or administrative measure in effect

Overview

Namibia has not adopted Cali Fund-specific legislation or administrative measures. Its 2017 ABS Act already reaches DSI-related subject matter, so DSI derived from Namibian genetic resources falls under national permit and benefit-sharing requirements. Its focus has been on strengthening the multilateral mechanism through the African Group.

Proposed legislation / administrative measure

No measure has been proposed. In its March 2025 submission to the CBD (notification 2024-114), Namibia called for modalities to identify all DSI users, through a registration or notification system with a designated authority such as the CBD Secretariat, separate from the thresholds that decide who pays into the Cali Fund. It also proposed self-declaration with targeted audits and whistleblower mechanisms for entities claiming not to use DSI, a matchmaking platform for non-monetary benefits, and limiting the exemption for public databases and research institutions to those that do not profit from selling DSI.

ABS legislation

Access to Biological and Genetic Resources and Associated Traditional Knowledge Act 2 of 2017, with implementing regulations. One of the strongest provider regimes in Africa.

Regulatory context

Permits are required for access to Namibian biological and genetic resources and associated traditional knowledge, with prior informed consent and benefit-sharing agreements negotiated through a designated authority. Traditional knowledge holders have a defined consent role. Namibia was among the African states that shared implementation experience in CBD and IDLO capacity-building work, alongside Ethiopia and South Africa.