Prof. Jorge Cabrera,
Costa Rica,
CISDL Lead Counsel, Biodiversity Law

Prof. Jorge Cabrera Medaglia, B.C.L (University of Costa Rica), LL.M (University of Costa Rica), M.B.A. (National University of Costa Rica), is Lead Counsel for International Sustainable Biodiversity Law with the CISDL. As a Professor of Environmental Law in Postgraduate studies of agrarian and environmental law, at University of Costa Rica, and a Professor of International Trade for the School of Business Administration, University of Costa Rica, he also serves as a tutor for WIPO’s distance courses on intellectual property. Prof. Cabrera acts as a legal advisor to Costa Rica’s National Biodiversity Institute (INBio). He has acted as a Consultant for UNCTAD, ECLAC, IICA, SICA, CCAD, IPGRI, CYMMIT, REMERFI, CATIE, University of California, Environmental Law Center of IUCN in Bonn, COSUDE, EU projects, IISD, TNC, IDB, and the Institute of Economic Development of the World Bank, amongst others. Prof. Cabrera is also a member of the International Advisory Committee of Public Interest Intellectual Property Association (PIIPA), the International Advisory Group of the UNEP initiative on capacity building on access to genetic resources, and the National Biodiversity Commission of Costa Rica. He has acted as a negotiator at the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) on behalf of the Government of Costa Rica, served as co-chair of the CBD’s Expert Panel on Access and Benefit Sharing and chair of the CBD Sub-working Group on IPR and Capacity-Building, and served a member of the delegation to the WIPO Committee on Genetic Resources and Traditional Knowledge and the Group of Like-minded Megadiverse Countries. He is also Vice-President of the Costa Rican Academy of Agrarian Law, and a Founding Member of the Costa Rican Academy of Environmental Law, the Latin American Association for Environmental Law, and the Mesoamerican Association of Environmental Law. He has published in the areas of intellectual property rights, access to benefits sharing, biosafety, trade and environment, and has served as a legal advisor and instructor on these issues in Africa, Asia and Latin America.

Recent publications of note include: “El impacto de las leyes de acceso sobre el flujo de los recursos filogenéticos” Revista Acta Académica, UACA, No 29, noviembre del 2001 (The Impact of Access Laws on Germplasm Flows); “New Trends in the Development of Environmental Law in Costa Rica”, Revista Ambientico, No 100, enero del 2002; “El acceso a los recursos genéticos y los derechos de propiedad intelectual”, with Enrique Alarcón, Investigación agrícola y derechos de propiedad intelectual, IICA, Brasilia, 2000 (Access to genetic resources and intellectual property rights); “Derechos de propiedad intelectual y biodiversidad” Revista Mensual de Gestión Ambiental, Número 16, abril del 2000, Universidad Carlos III, Madrid (Intellectual Property Rights and Biodiversity); Derecho agrario y desarrollo sostenible, with Olman Rodríguez, & Enrique Ulate, Law Textbook, University of Costa Rica (Agricultural Law and Sustainable Development); “Biotecnología y Derecho agrario: perspectivas e implicaciones internacionales”, in Derecho Agrario del Futuro, Ricardo Zeledón et al, Editorial Guayacán, 2000. (Biotechnology and Agrarian Law: International Perspectives); “Organismos genéticamente modificados para uso en agricultura: reflexiones desde el derecho agrario y ambiental” Boletín Judicial Agrario, Corte Suprema de Justicia, No 2, agosto del 2000. (Genetically Modified Organisms: reflections from agrarian and environmental law); and “Oportunidades de desarrollo sostenible para los países de Centroamérica” in Comercio, Medio Ambiente y Desarrollo Sustentable, Enrique Leff & Mindahi Bastida, eds, UNEP-IISD, México, 2001 (Opportunities for Sustainable Development for the Central American Region).