In this first chapter, we set the scene for our endeavor in three main steps. First, we briefly present the background and cornerstones of international ABS governance, from the CBD to the 2010 Nagoya Protocol. This discussion provides a baseline for the elaboration of key elements of ABS governance after the Nagoya Protocol in later chapters. Second, we introduce the conceptual framework of the book, by elaborating on the analytical concepts of ‘architecture’ and ‘agency’ in relation to ABS as an issue of ‘allocation and access’. As mentioned, this discussion attempts to embed the volume in the broader debates of global environmental governance. Third, the chapter provides a brief overview of the structure of the volume and the content of the individual contributions. Overall, the book analyses the role of a variety of actors in the emergence of the Nagoya Protocol and provides an up-to-date assessment of core features of the architecture of global ABS governance after the Nagoya Protocol.