The new Brazilian legislation on access to the biodiversity (Law 13,123/15 and Decree 8772/16).

The Provisional Act (Medida Provisória – MP) 2,186-16, of August 23, 2001, was the first legal framework to regulate access to Genetic Heritage (GH)1 and Associated Traditional Knowledge (ATK)2 in Brazil for purposes of scientific research, bioprospecting, and technological development. This MP was also responsible for the creation of the Genetic Heritage Management Council (CGen). However, this MP had very negative impact on scientific research, displeasing the academic community, which felt obstructed by bureaucratization and criminalized by administrative penalties, discouraging Research & Development (R&D) of Brazilian biodiversity resources. The construction of a new legislation was complex, considering the different interests and visions among diverse sectors of civil society, represented by the academia, business sector, and holders of associated traditional knowledge, as well as the different sectors of government. Thus, it was almost 15 years before the publication of the “New Law on Biodiversity”, Law 13,123 of May 20, 2015, which came into force on November 17, 2016. However, regulation occurred only six months after the