General Guidance
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- Ensure that raw materials are purchased from permitted suppliers (i.e., Suppliers in possession of either a Biotrade Permit or an integrated Biotrade and Bioprospecting permit.) These are in cases where formulators or contract manufacturers do not engage with the communities directly,
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- Consult the SANBI website- to identify plant materials that are indigenous to South Africa and additionally reference some basic information on the traditional uses of such plant materials. (www.plantzafrica.com )
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- Specific new innovation concepts could require consultation with various role players to reach consensus and identify accountabilities,
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- Telephonic discussions with the DEA followed by mail correspondence-assist DEA for traceability and matter progression,
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- The DEA accommodates company -specific meetings at their Pta offices- to provide guidance on the process in order to ensure compliance with the BABS Amendment Regulations,
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- DEA, Bioprospecting and Biodiversity Economy Directorate will inform the DEA Compliance and Enforcement team of companies that they are currently working with on achieving compliance,
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- An umbrella permit application can be made for a number of plant materials and products falling within the same category,
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- Permit validity in general would be for 5 years – dependent on type and nature,
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- Other role players in the value chain such as contract manufacturers and brand owners could be accommodated by raw material suppliers in product utilisation via the set-up of inclusive BSA ‘s (Benefit Sharing Agreements),
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- DEA tools available on their website for industry guidance includes: BABS Guidelines, Posters, FAQ, BABS Regulations, Biodiversity Act, Application Forms, MTA template, BSA template, Community Resolution template and Consent Letter for Subsequent Biotrader template.(www.environment.gov.za )
How to determine if a plant is indigenous to South Africa
STEP 1: Go to: http:// posa.sanbi.org/searchspp.php to get to “Plants of Southern Africa, an online checklist” [POSA].
STEP 2: Navigation and interpretation of the site is through the help function: http://posa.sanbi.org/help.php . S
TEP 3: Users should note for their records; the last date of update of the POSA resource.
STEP 4: At POSA, one can select various genera and species.