Why this workshop?

>> We need your input to avoid a worst case scenario for your research!

The Convention on Biological Diversity, where decisions are made on the Nagoya Protocol, has proposed to include Digital Sequence Information (DSI) within the scope of the protocol. While this has raised great concern across the international scientific community, that feels DSI should remain a common good, some parties to the Nagoya Protocol have already started to include DSI in their regulations.

In order to be able to avoid a worst case scenario for your research, we need your input. In particular we would like to know which of the current options on the table could have a serious negative impact on your research, and why this would be the case. We will collect this information via this workshop, and channel it into the ongoing political process. In addition, you can fill out this short questionnaire.

We realize that your schedules are packed and this highly political and bureaucratic topic is not very appealing. But if you work with genetic resources, please do consider joining, for the decisions that will be taken may have serious impact on your future research. If we act now, we may still be able to avoid the most undesirable situations later on.

Background information on Nagoya

On 12 October 2014 the Nagoya Protocol, an international agreement on fairly sharing benefits that derive from the use of genetic resources, went into effect. For us as TU Delft it means that when we wish to use a genetic resource for research, we must check whether its country of origin has established rules for access. In some cases, certain documents are needed before using the resource is considered legal. We use a LabServant module for managing Nagoya Protocol compliance, the Nederlandse Voedsel- en Warenautoriteit checks whether we do this correctly.

• Convention on Biological Diversity: CBD
• Nagoya Protocol
• LabServant module for managing Nagoya Protocol compliance
• Nederlandse Voedsel- en Warenautoriteit (NVWA) checks our Nagoya Protocol compliance
• Signatories of the European Scientific Community (2021) Keep digital sequence information a common good (coordinated by DSMZ )
• Nature Communications article by the DSMZ team, published on 23 February 2022: Multilateral benefit-sharing from digital sequence information will support both science and biodiversity conservation
• A number of Parties to the Nagoya Protocol have already started to include DSI in Domestic Measures on DSI and Benefit-sharing (see for example Annex A page 32 of this draft report to the CBD).
• Questionnaire where you can give your input.