Representatives from 14 countries of the South and South-east Asian region have prepared a statement asking the Government representatives attending the Fourth Conference of Parties (COP-4) to the Convention of Biological Diversity (CBD), to develop consensus and initiate action to implement the provisions of access and benefit-sharing.The statement was prepared as a consensus document at the end of a three-day regional workshop on access and benefit sharing (ABS), organised by IUCN - the World Conservation Union - and the M.S. Swaminathan Research Foundation.Each of the countries was represented by Government officials, non-Government representatives and academics.