Malaysia legislation

Section 4

of ACCESS TO BIOLOGICAL RESOURCES AND BENEFIT SHARING ACT 2017

Section 4

In this Act, unless the context otherwise requires—

“advisory body” means a body comprising representatives of indigenous community and local community established by the

Competent Authority under subsection 9(2);

“Advisory Committee” means a committee established by the

National Competent Authority under section 11;

“animal” includes—

(a)

any mammal (other than man), bird, reptile, amphibian, arthropod, or other vertebrate or invertebrate, whether alive or dead, and the egg, young or immature form derived from them;

(b)

any readily recognizable part or derivative of an animal;

(c)

wildlife as defined under the Wildlife Conservation Act 2010 [Act 716]; and

(d)

fish as defined in the Fisheries Act 1985 [Act 317];

“authorized intermediary” means any person named by the applicant for a permit under section 12 or 15 to take the biological resource or traditional knowledge associated with biological resource on its behalf;

“biological resource” includes—

(a)

the genetic resources, organisms, microorganisms, derivatives and parts of the genetic resources, organisms, microorganisms or derivatives;

(b)

the populations and any other biotic component of an ecosystem with actual or potential use or value for humanity; and

(c)

any information relating to paragraphs (a) and (b);

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“clearing house mechanism” means a web-based information portal established by the National Competent Authority under section 32;

“Competent Authority” means the Competent Authority as specified in the First Schedule;

“Convention” means the Convention on Biological Diversity;

“derivative” includes a naturally occurring biochemical compound derived, developed or synthesized, from a biological resource or resulting from the genetic expression or metabolism of the biological or genetic resource, or part, tissue or extract, whether it contains functional units of heredity or otherwise, and information in relation to derivatives;

“genetic resource” means any material of plant, animal, microorganism, fungi or other origin that contains functional units of heredity and that has actual or potential value for humanity;

“indigenous community” means a group of persons comprising—

(a)

in the case of Peninsular Malaysia, aborigines as defined in the Aboriginal Peoples Act 1954 [Act 134]; or

(b)

in the case of Sabah and Sarawak, natives as defined in

Clause (6) of Article 161a of the Federal Constitution, and who speak an aboriginal or a native language and habitually follow and embody an aboriginal’s or a native’s traditional way of life, customs and beliefs;

“local community” means a group of individuals who have settled together and continuously inherit production processes and culture or a group of individuals settled together in a village or area and under an eco-cultural system;

“microorganism” means any organism of microscopic size and parts of organism of microscopic size, including sterile organisms, viruses and viroids;

“Minister” means the Minister charged with the responsibility for natural resources and environment;

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“non-commercial” means for academic purposes or non-profit oriented;

“permit” means a permit issued by a Competent Authority under section 13 or 16, as the case may be;

“permit holder” means a person holding a permit issued by a

Competent Authority under section 13 or 16;

“plant” includes—

(a)

any species of plant or any part of such species whether alive or dead and includes the stem, branch, tuber, bulb, corm, stock, budwood, cutting, layer, slip, sucker, root, leaf, flower, fruit, seed or any other part or product whatsoever of a plant whether severed or attached; and

(b)

any readily recognizable part or derivative of a plant;

“premises” includes any hut, shed, structure, platform, house, building, conveyance and land whether or not enclosed or built upon;

“prescribed” means prescribed by regulations made under this

Act;

“propagating material” means any biological resource material including material of plant or animal origin or any part of the biological resource material, used for multiplication or reproduction;

“research and development” includes the study or systematic investigation or technological application by analyzing, sampling, bioassaying and inventorising or other methods for any purpose including taxonomic research, and potential commercial product development;

“resource provider” includes—

(a)

Federal Government, or State Authority, possessing biological resources in in-situ conditions;

(b)

Federal Government, or State Authority, in respect of ex-situ biological resource, where the resource originates;

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(c)

a government department, agency or public higher education institution holding a biological resource in ex-situ conditions, whether in a collection or otherwise, where the origin of the biological resource cannot be ascertained with due diligence;

(d)

Federal Government or, State Authority, from where the resource is accessed in situations where—

(i)

the biological resource is held in ex-situ conditions by a private body; or

(ii)

the biological resource is taken from private land;

and

(iii)

the origin of the biological resource cannot be ascertained with due diligence.

(a)

in relation to an animal, to harvest, catch, capture, trap and kill or obtain in any other way;

(b)

in relation to a plant specimen, to collect, harvest, pick, gather and cut or obtain in any other way;

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(c)

in relation to other biological resources including microorganisms, to collect, pick or obtain in any other way; or

(d)

to obtain a biological resource in any other way;

“threatened taxa” means critically endangered, endangered or vulnerable species as listed respectively in Appendices I, II and

III of the Third Schedule of the International Trade in Endangered

Species Act 2008 [Act 686].

Access to a biological resource

(e)

the indigenous community and local community, where the resource is on land to which they have a right as established by law;

(f)

the indigenous community and local community, where they are the holders of the traditional knowledge associated with a biological resource including members of the community who are traditional healers; or

(g)

an individual, where the biological resource is taken from the body of that individual;

“State Authority” means the state authority of the relevant state in Malaysia and in the case of Federal Territories, the Minister for the Federal Government charged with the responsibility for

Federal Territories;

“take” includes—