Brazil’s leadership in bioeconomy highlights the role of genetic resources and associated traditional knowledge

Brazil is moving decisively to strengthen the governance of its genetic resources and associated traditional knowledge by taking significant steps to improve transparency, compliance and access and benefit-sharing across its growing bioeconomy. The country’s environmental authorities – the Conselho de Gestão do Patrimônio Genético (CGen) and the Instituto Brasileiro do Meio Ambiente e dos Recursos Naturais Renováveis (IBAMA) – have recently introduced new measures that not only formalize oversight procedures but also invite public participation in biodiversity policy making and implementation.

Recently, through Resolution No. 46/2025, CGen standardized the administrative verification procedure for activities involving access to Brazil’s genetic heritage (patrimônio genético) and associated traditional knowledge (conhecimentos tradicionais associados – CTA) established in Article 36 of the Decree n. 8.772/2016. The procedure, effective from 4 July 2025, outlines how authorities will verify registrations and notifications in the National System for the Management of Genetic Heritage and Associated Traditional Knowledge (SisGen), which manages information on Brazilian genetic resources and traditional knowledge involving access activities (research and/or technological development) and economic exploitation of final products or reproductive material resulting from access.

The standardization of the verification procedure represents a major step in strengthening Brazil’s ability to monitor its biodiversity and traditional knowledge. It encompasses clear rules for administrative checks, improving traceability and reducing the risk of misuse or irregularities, by reinforcing compliance with the country’s biodiversity law, which governs access, benefit-sharing and the economic exploitation of products or reproductive material resulting from research or technological development with Brazilian genetic resources and associated traditional knowledge. The measure increases legal certainty for users – from researchers to companies in biotechnology, pharmaceuticals and agriculture, as it introduces stricter oversight and demands more robust internal compliance systems to prevent penalties or administrative sanctions.

Complementing this move, on 2 June 2025, IBAMA launched a public consultation to improve how genetic resource use is reported to environmental authorities, with a goal to align environmental data collection with Brazil’s productive sectors and integrate biodiversity considerations into the broader environmental compliance framework.

In parallel, CGen has also moved forward with creating a Reference Database for Traditional Knowledge providers, designed to help users identify the holders of each knowledge, ensuring prior informed consent and promoting fair benefit-sharing with Indigenous peoples, traditional communities and family farmers.

These combined measures mark a turning point in Brazil’s bioeconomy governance. For companies and research organizations, the updates mean closer scrutiny and a greater emphasis on transparency. Ensuring that all uses of genetic material or traditional knowledge are properly registered in SisGen and subject to verification will be essential for maintaining compliance. For Indigenous Peoples, traditional communities and family farmers, the creation of a recognized database provided in CGen’s Resolution 46/2025 enhances visibility, empowers their governance systems by giving them greater control over how their knowledge is used and how the associated benefits are shared.

Brazil’s new regulatory moves also reaffirm its global leadership in biodiversity governance. By linking environmental monitoring, genetic resource management and community participation, the country is further aligning its domestic policy with the principles of the Convention on Biological Diversity and the Nagoya Protocol on Access and Benefit-Sharing. The result is a system that aims to be even more transparent and traceable for managing biodiversity – one that seeks to balance research and commercial development with the improved protection of ecosystems and cultural heritage.

Although challenges remain in ensuring consistent implementation and equitable benefit-sharing, CGen’s Resolution and IBAMA’s public consultation are important additional steps towards social justice and long-term sustainability. Together, they signal a new phase in Brazil’s longstanding commitment to regulating access to its rich biodiversity with a view to ensuring that the benefits derived from it are equitably and fairly shared among the relevant custodians of genetic resources.