This Enactment, consisting of 38 sections, aims to establish the Sabah Biodiversity Council and the Sabah Biodiversity Centre to conserve and sustainably use biological resources, regulate access to them and related traditional knowledge, and ensure fair sharing of benefits from their use. Section 3 establishes the Sabah Biodiversity Council, whose role is to advise the Government on conserving and sustainably managing biological resources and related traditional knowledge, ensure these are managed in line with international standards, strengthen state management systems, and monitor biotechnology policies. It also supports fair and equitable benefit-sharing and upholds customary laws, practices, and community protocols of native and local communities. Under Section 9, the Sabah Biodiversity Centre is established, responsible for providing the Government with accurate biodiversity information, guiding sustainable use of biological resources through policies and research guidelines, and collaborating with other bodies to improve conservation. The Centre also promotes the discovery of new natural and biotechnological products, maintains a comprehensive database of biodiversity-related records, and builds a network of researchers and institutions to support the documentation and management of biological resources and associated traditional knowledge. The Biodiversity Centre Fund, established by Section 14, shall be used for (i) the payment of the expenses of, or connected with, the administration of the Council; (ii) the administration, management and operation of the Biodiversity Centre; and (iii) the payment of all expenses necessary for carrying out the purpose of this Enactment.
Part IV explains how access to biological resources and traditional knowledge is regulated, focusing on research and development activities. A person is considered to have access when taking or collecting such resources for research purposes, while ordinary activities like fishing, gathering food, or customary community use are excluded. The Enactment protects specified biological resources and requires anyone seeking access for research to obtain a licence, which is granted only after evaluation of environmental impacts, conservation value, and effects on native and local communities. Access for commercial or potentially commercial purposes additionally requires a benefit-sharing agreement and the prior informed consent of the relevant communities, which must be obtained according to their customary laws and practices. The Director oversees licence applications, evaluates compliance, regulates export, and ensures that benefits and payments support conservation and sustainable use of biological resources.
The key offences established under the Enactment are (i) unauthorized access, removal, publication, or withholding of information; (ii) dealing in protected biological resources (i.e., buying, selling, keeping, exporting, or importing scheduled resources); (iii) failure to disclose interest by a member of the Council or its committees.