Ghana’s biological assets remain vulnerable to exploitation without compensation five years after the country ratified a landmark international agreement, because the domestic legislation needed to enforce it has still not been passed, the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research – Plant Genetic Resources Research Institute (CSIR-PGRRI) has warned.
Dr Daniel Ashie Kotey, Director of CSIR-PGRRI, made the warning at a stakeholder workshop in Accra convened to deepen awareness and strengthen implementation of the Nagoya Protocol on Access and Benefit Sharing (ABS), an international framework governing access to genetic resources and the equitable distribution of benefits derived from their use.
Ghana ratified the protocol in 2019. Two years later, CSIR-PGRRI was designated as the National Competent Authority and Focal Point responsible for overseeing its implementation. Despite that administrative progress, Kotey said the absence of a firm legal regime continues to limit Ghana’s capacity to protect and monetise its biological wealth.
“This is essential to ensure Ghana benefits from the use of its genetic resources and prevents exploitation without compensation,” he said.
The assets at stake are substantial. Ghana’s genetic resources span plant species and biological materials found across forests, farms and households, all carrying significant commercial and scientific value. Under the protocol, any transfer of such materials outside the country must follow strict procedures including registration, inventory tracking and prior approval. Without supporting legislation, Kotey said, those procedures lack the enforcement teeth needed to hold foreign researchers and commercial entities accountable.
He also framed the issue as a long-term environmental imperative, warning that accelerating biodiversity loss and climate change made the protection of genetic resources increasingly urgent. Failure to secure those assets now, he argued, would erode the capacity of future generations to sustain agricultural productivity and respond to ecological stress.
Mr Forson Djotor, Scientific Coordinator and Head of Secretariat of the Ghana Science Association, echoed the call for urgency, pointing to another gap: awareness. He observed that knowledge of the Nagoya Protocol remained limited even within the scientific community, which he said could quietly undermine its effectiveness regardless of what legislation eventually passes. He called for sustained public education alongside policy action and adequate government funding.
Kotey urged Parliament and government to fast-track the domestication of the protocol into national law, arguing that legislation was the only instrument capable of empowering regulatory bodies, closing existing loopholes and providing a durable foundation for long-term biodiversity protection.
