CETAF Code of Conduct on Access and Benefit-Sharing . Updated 29 October 2018

Abstract

CETAF, the Consortium of European Taxonomic Facilities, is a networked consortium of non commercial scientific institutions in Europe formed to promote training, research and understanding of systematic biology and palaeobiology. Together, CETAF institutions hold very substantial biological (zoological and botanical), palaeobiological, and geological collections and provide the resource for the work of thousands of researchers in a variety of scientific disciplines. CETAF has developed and adopted this Code of Conduct for Access and Benefit-Sharing, together with the annexed Best Practice, as a response to Article 20 in the Nagoya Protocol, Regulation 511/2014 of the European Parliament and Council of 16 April 2014 on compliance measures for users from the Nagoya Protocol on Access to Genetic Resources and the Fair and Equitable Sharing of Benefits Arising from their Utilisation in the Union (hereafter the ‘EU Regulation’) and the subsequent Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2015/1866 of 13 October 2015 laying down detailed rules for the implementation of Regulation (EU) No 511/2014 of the European Parliament and of the Council as regards the register of collections, monitoring user compliance and best practices (hereafter the ‘Implementing Act’) and specifically in response to Articles 8 and 13 of the EU Regulation. Throughout the Code of Conduct, Best Practice and other annexed documents, the term ‘Biological material’ is to be read as including the genetic resources that are within that material. The principles and practices stated below are designed to fully support CETAF members’ operations as taxonomic collection-holding and non-commercial biological research institutions in complying with Access and Benefit Sharing (ABS) legal and ethical requirements1. The documents (i) outline the Code of Conduct governing principles under which collections are managed and collection-based research conducted in CETAF member institutions; (ii) provide details of best practices to ensure implementation of those principles, and guidance on ABS-relevant actions to be taken by institutions and individuals in common workflows (Best Practices, Annex 1); (iii) provide a selection of tools and check lists to support the advice given (Practical Guidance, Annex 5). The CETAF Code of Conduct was developed by CETAF’s Legislations and Regulations Liaison Group. They drew on their understanding of the processes and practices of their institutions, their understanding of the Nagoya Protocol and its implications, and a wide range of existing Codes of Conduct and Best practice documents, including particularly the Principles on Access to Genetic Resources and Benefit-Sharing for Botanic Gardens2, the Swiss Academy of Sciences model Agreement on Access and Benefit Sharing for Non-Commercial Research3, and the Code of Conduct of the International Plant Exchange Network (IPEN)4.