Evolving Political Issues Affecting International Exchange of Arachis Genetic Resources

Abstract While plant genetic resources continue to be essential for world food security, the exchange of these resources between countries has become increasingly encumbered during recent years. The free and open access to genetic resources that previously was considered the “common heritage of mankind” has been fundamentally changed by international multilateral agreements that recognize national sovereignty over genetic resources. Since the entry into force of the Convention on Biological Diversity in 1993, many countries have implemented laws regulating access to their genetic resources. The development of legislation in several countries comprising the primary areas of origin and diversity of Arachis makes issues associated with germplasm exchange particularly relevant to investigators working with peanut. This paper describes some recent USDA experiences with obtaining access in Latin American countries harboring peanut genetic resources. Also discussed are implications and prospects for future international germplasm exchange, including aspects of collaborative research and benefit sharing with germplasm donor countries. Within this new political climate, the establishment of mutually beneficial precedents for accessing foreign genetic resources will be crucial for ensuring the continued exchange, conservation, and use of Arachis germplasm in the future.

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Farmers’ Rights and Digital Sequence Information: Crisis or Opportunity to Reclaim Stewardship Over Agrobiodiversity?

Frontiers in Plant Science ◽

10.3389/fpls.2021.686728 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 12 ◽

Author(s):

Rachel Wynberg ◽

Regine Andersen ◽

Sarah Laird ◽

Kudzai Kusena ◽

Christian Prip ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Genetic Resources ◽

Biological Diversity ◽

Plant Genetic Resources ◽

Benefit Sharing ◽

Convention On Biological Diversity ◽

Sequence Information ◽

Access And Benefit Sharing ◽

Food And Agriculture ◽

The Relationship ◽

The Way

Contestations about the way in which digital sequence information is used and regulated have created stumbling blocks across multiple international policy processes. Such schisms have profound implications for the way in which we manage and conceptualize agrobiodiversity and its benefits. This paper explores the relationship between farmers’ rights, as recognized in the International Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture, and the dematerialization of genetic resources. Using concepts of “stewardship” and “ownership” we emphasize the need to move away from viewing agrobiodiversity as a commodity that can be owned, toward a strengthened, proactive and expansive stewardship approach that recognizes plant genetic resources for food and agriculture as a public good which should be governed as such. Through this lens we analyze the relationship between digital sequence information and different elements of farmers’ rights to compare and contrast implications for the governance of digital sequence information. Two possible parallel pathways are presented, the first envisaging an enhanced multilateral system that includes digital sequence information and which promotes and enhances the realization of farmers’ rights; and the second a more radical approach that folds together concepts of stewardship, farmers’ rights, and open source science. Farmers’ rights, we suggest, may well be the linchpin for finding fair and equitable solutions for digital sequence information beyond the bilateral and transactional approach that has come to characterize access and benefit sharing under the Convention on Biological Diversity. Existing policy uncertainties could be seized as an unexpected but serendipitous opportunity to chart an alternative and visionary pathway for the rights of farmers and other custodians of plant genetic resources.

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Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture: Legal and Institutional Frame and New Perspectives

AGRICOLTURA ISTITUZIONI MERCATI ◽

10.3280/aim2009-003003 ◽

2011 ◽

pp. 41-76

Author(s):

Irene Superina

Keyword(s):

Genetic Resources ◽

Biological Diversity ◽

Plant Genetic Resources ◽

Benefit Sharing ◽

Convention On Biological Diversity ◽

Access And Benefit Sharing ◽

International Protection ◽

International Treaty ◽

Food And Agriculture ◽

Research Sector

This document begins by describing and analysing the international institutional framework, within which both the Convention on Biological Diversity (Cbd), the Trip's about international protection of intellectual property and the International Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture (Itpgrfa) had been originated. The regimes on access and benefit sharing applying to Pgrfa's (plant genetic resources for food and agriculture) are looked into in detail. Then, the new proposal under finalization within Cbd (Cbd Abs) is analized, which could become effective very soon. Finally, a particular focus is put on the research sector on Pgrfa's and how it has been treated and regulated. In connection to this, Itpgrfa 2001 is compared with the forthcoming new Cbd Abs regime, that could open new scenarios and new perspectives for this sector.

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Marine Genetic Resources in Areas beyond National Jurisdiction: Access and Benefit-Sharing

The International Journal of Marine and Coastal Law ◽

10.1163/157180812x637984 ◽

2012 ◽

Vol 27 (2) ◽

pp. 375-433 ◽

Cited By ~ 12

Author(s):

Petra Drankier ◽

Alex G. Oude Elferink ◽

Bert Visser ◽

Tamara Takács

Keyword(s):

Genetic Resources ◽

Biological Diversity ◽

Plant Genetic Resources ◽

Benefit Sharing ◽

Convention On Biological Diversity ◽

Access And Benefit Sharing ◽

Food And Agriculture ◽

Food And Agriculture Organization ◽

National Jurisdiction ◽

Legal Frameworks

Abstract This report examines whether it is possible for the research and use of marine genetic resources in areas beyond national jurisdiction (ABNJ) to follow an approach based on the system that is being used with plant genetic resources in areas within national jurisdiction, as developed by the Food and Agriculture Organization. Part IV of the International Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture contains the multilateral system of access and benefit-sharing. In addition, the report considers the implications of relevant provisions as contained in the Law of the Sea Convention, the Convention on Biological Diversity, the Antarctic Treaty System, as well as instruments on intellectual property rights. The report concludes with an assessment of the options within existing legal frameworks for accommodating an access and benefit-sharing system for marine genetic resources originating from ABNJ, and provides suggestions to move the international debate forward.

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The Potential of Private Standards for Valorizing Compliance with Access and Benefit Sharing Obligations of Genetic Resources and Traditional Knowledge

Agronomy ◽

10.3390/agronomy11091823 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 11 (9) ◽

pp. 1823

Author(s):

Hanna Schebesta

Keyword(s):

Genetic Resources ◽

Biological Diversity ◽

Plant Genetic Resources ◽

Research Strategy ◽

Benefit Sharing ◽

Convention On Biological Diversity ◽

Access And Benefit Sharing ◽

Nagoya Protocol ◽

Food And Agriculture ◽

Private Standards

International legal instruments such as the Nagoya Protocol on Access to Genetic Resources and the Fair and Equitable Sharing of Benefits Arising from their Utilization to the Convention on Biological Diversity (“Nagoya Protocol”) and the International Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture (“ITPGRFA”) are meant to create incentives for fairly sharing the benefits of the utilization of genetic resources. These commitments have, however, been assessed by many stakeholders as an obstacle rather than an incentive to commercial activities. If this is indeed the case, ABS obligations may do more harm than good and raises the fundamental question: can ABS obligations be translated from an obstacle into an opportunity? The article discusses consumer-based mechanisms as positive drivers for benefit sharing by using private standards to incentivize ABS obligation compliance. This approach goes further than using private standards as implementation tools, and suggests that they could leverage advantages for industry from the consumer perspective, specifically a consumer-facing label on products. We suggest a research strategy addressing this approach.

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Asian Germplasm in American Horticulture: New Thoughts on an Old Theme

HortScience ◽

10.21273/hortsci.48.9.1073 ◽

2013 ◽

Vol 48 (9) ◽

pp. 1073-1077 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Richard T. Olsen

Keyword(s):

Genetic Resources ◽

Biological Diversity ◽

Plant Genetic Resources ◽

The United States ◽

Benefit Sharing ◽

Convention On Biological Diversity ◽

Access And Benefit Sharing ◽

History Of ◽

Inspection Service ◽

High Level

North American horticulture cultivates an astonishing diversity of ornamental species, from nearly every floristic region, but its landscapes are dominated by temperate species drawn from eastern Asia. The East Asiatic floristic region is one of the most diverse in the world with a high level of endemism across taxonomic ranks and ancient relicts of a once widespread flora. From this, a large number of ornamental genera and species have been introduced, from either a long history of cultivation in Asia or directly from the wild, where they have since become fixtures in European and American gardens. The success of Asian germplasm in American horticulture is attributable, in part, to a shared evolutionary history, climate matching, and pre-adaptability. Continuing access to these genetic resources is now governed by national legislation and influenced by an evolving international regime of access and benefit-sharing influenced by the Convention on Biological Diversity. Furthermore, updated plant quarantine regulations have added additional requirements for the importation of foreign plant genetic resources. The newly created category within the USDA Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) Q37 regulations known as “not authorized pending pest risk analysis” (NAPPRA) restricts the import of plants for planting that may harbor pests or become pests that are not already established within the United States. To this end, scientists involved in the collection or use of Asian plant genetic resources are affected by recent changes in international and national laws, regulations, and access and benefit-sharing regimes.

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Linking access and benefit-sharing for crop genetic resources to climate change adaptation

Plant Genetic Resources ◽

10.1017/s1479262114001038 ◽

2014 ◽

Vol 14 (1) ◽

pp. 11-27 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

Tone Winge

Keyword(s):

Climate Change ◽

Genetic Resources ◽

Climate Change Adaptation ◽

Biological Diversity ◽

Plant Genetic Resources ◽

National Level ◽

Benefit Sharing ◽

Convention On Biological Diversity ◽

Access And Benefit Sharing ◽

Crop Genetic Resources

This article links the concept of access and benefit-sharing as it pertains to crop genetic resources to climate change adaptation and argues that systems for access and benefit-sharing can, and should, be designed to contribute to climate change adaptation for agriculture. The access and benefit-sharing provisions of the two international agreements that together provide the international legal framework for access and benefit-sharing – the Convention on Biological Diversity (with its Nagoya Protocol) and the International Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture – are presented and analysed. How these agreements are implemented is central to adaptation, as the effects of climate change threaten crop genetic resources and future adaptive capacity, and, if properly maintained and utilized, crop genetic resources will be essential to climate change adaptation across the globe. This article, therefore, argues that an important adaptation strategy linked to such implementation is to direct benefit-sharing for crop genetic resources towards adaptation efforts and to ensure facilitated and efficient access to crop genetic resources for adaptation purposes. Some options for how this can be pursued at both the international and national level are offered.

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Convention on Biological Diversity: Towards a sustainable future

Social Change ◽

10.1177/004908570303300311 ◽

2003 ◽

Vol 33 (2-3) ◽

pp. 173-191

Keyword(s):

Genetic Resources ◽

Biological Diversity ◽

Technology Development ◽

Sustainable Use ◽

United Nations Environment Programme ◽

Benefit Sharing ◽

Convention On Biological Diversity ◽

Biological Resources ◽

Transfer Benefit ◽

Global Agreement

In an era of a rapidly shrinking biological resources, the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) is a historic landmark, being the first global agreement on the conservation and sustainable use of biological diversity. The CBD is one of the few international agreements in the area of natural resource conservation in which sustainability and equitable benefit-sharing are central concerns. The CBD links traditional conservation efforts to the economic goal of using biological resources sustainably and sets forth principles for the fair and equitable sharing of the benefits arising from the use of genetic resources, notably those destined for commercial use. Importantly, the CBD also gives traditional knowledge its due place in the sustainable use of genetic resources. The CBD also covers the rapidly expanding field of biotechnology, addressing technology development and transfer, benefit-sharing and biosafety, in an equitable framework. In the coming years, the CBD is likely to have major repercussions on the way biodiversity is conserved and benefits thereof, shared between the developing and developed worlds. The following commentary on the CBD has drawn heavily from a document produced by Secretariat of the Convention on Biological Diversity, at the United Nations Environment Programme. Articles 1 to 21 of the CBD have also been reproduced here in order to disseminate knowledge regarding the principles of the CBD-Editor.

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ACCESS AND BENEFIT SHARING UNDER NAGOYA PROTOCOL AND SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT: A CRITICAL ANALYSIS

Agora International Journal of Juridical Sciences ◽

10.15837/aijjs.v9i3.2110 ◽

2015 ◽

Vol 9 (3) ◽

pp. 38-45

Author(s):

STELLINA JOLLY

Keyword(s):

Sustainable Development ◽

Genetic Resources ◽

Biological Diversity ◽

Environmental Law ◽

Developing Nations ◽

Benefit Sharing ◽

Convention On Biological Diversity ◽

Access And Benefit Sharing ◽

Nagoya Protocol ◽

Equitable Sharing

The debate over control and ownership of natural and bio genetic resources has a chequered history in International environmental law. Historically genetic resources were considered and acknowledged as part of common heritage of mankind. But with the development of technologies and the heightened north south divide over the issue of sovereign right over natural resources the developing nations became extremely concerned with the exploitation of biological and Genetic resources. Access to benefit sharing (ABS) was considered as an answer to balance the interests of developed and developing nations and to conserve and protect bio diversity. Adopted on October 2010 in Nagoya, Japan by the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) of 1992, the Nagoya Protocol on Access to Genetic Resources and the Fair and Equitable Sharing of Benefits Arising from their Utilization (NP) has come into force after its 50th ratification on 2013. Nagoya protocol details on procedure for access and benefit sharing, disclosure mechanism, principles of transparency and democracy. The paper analyses the protection of access and benefit sharing envisaged under Nagoya protocol and its possible role in promoting sustainable development in the develoing nations.

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