Best Practice Guidelines on Access and Benefit Sharing for EMBRC (Deliverable 3.1). Version 04.

Abstract

New legal frameworks related to the use of genetic material have been introduced to protect biodiversity and the sovereign rights of the countries over their natural resources and traditional knowledge (Convention on Biological Diversity - CBD). These new rules and regulations will help eradicate biopiracy on genetic resources, and ensure that any benefits derived from the utilization of national genetic material, is passed back to the country of origin (Nagoya Protocol). However, these new rules have imposed considerable legal and administrative burdens on scientists exploring the biodiversity, particularly in the academic sector. Moreover, these new rules complement those regulating the access to the sea under national jurisdiction (ie. United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea in Exclusive Economic Zones) and protected areas (e.g. Antarctic Treaty System). One aim of the EMBRC preparatory phase 2 project is to facilitate access to and use of marine biological resources by ensuring EMBRC-users compliance to this framework in areas within and beyond national jurisdiction. To achieve this, Workpackage 3 (WP3) will prepare the ground for EMBRC culture collections (CCs) to be registered by the European Commission in the European Union Register of Collections and having practices of EMBRC service providers and its community of users recognized under the EU Access and Benefit Sharing (ABS) Regulation. This will greatly facilitate user access by facilitating the exercise of “due diligence” of their lawful use of genetic resources provided by EMBRC. The Deliverable D3.1 presented herein is comprised of Best Practice Guidelines (BPG) for EMBRC culture collections (CCs) to comply with the applicable international framework for accessing and using marine bioresources (UN Convention on the Law of the Sea, Convention on Biological Diversity and its Nagoya Protocol on Access to Genetic Resources & Benefit Sharing, EU ABS regulation) for approval by the European Commission under the EU ABS Regulation (Regulation (EU) N° 511/20141).