The Nagoya Protocol on Access to Genetic Resources and the Fair and Equitable Sharing of Benefits Arising from their Utilization was adopted at the tenth meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity on 29 October 2010, in Nagoya, Japan. This Protocol aims at further implementing one of the three objectives of the Convention: the fair and equitable sharing of benefits arising from the utilization of genetic resources (ABS).

The Open-ended Ad Hoc Intergovernmental Committee for the Nagoya Protocol on ABS (ICNP) was established by Parties to the Convention to undertake the preparations necessary for the first meeting of the Parties serving as the meeting of the Parties to the Protocol, at which time it will cease to exist.

At its tenth meeting (decision X/1), the Conference of the Parties decided that the ICNP would meet twice and established a work plan for the ICNP. Decision XI/1 of the eleventh meeting of the COP decided to reconvene the Intergovernmental Committee for a third meeting to address outstanding issues in its work plan, in preparation for the first meeting of the Conference of the Parties serving as the meeting of the Parties to the Protocol.

The first meeting of the ICNP was held from 6 to 10 June 2011 in Montreal, Canada and the second meeting of the ICNP was held from 2 to 6 July 2012 in New Delhi, India and the third meeting will be held in Pyeongchang, Republic of Korea, from 24 to 28 February 2014.