The Plant Press

From The Plant Press, Vol. 28, No. 1, January 2025.

Researchers call for better coordination of the rules for benefit sharing for the use of digital sequence information

- Adapted from EINPresswire.com 

The 16th United Nations Biodiversity Conference (COP16) was held in Cali, Colombia, in October. At the conference researchers and international partners elucidated a message on the management for the global harmonization of the different regulations on digital sequence information, as its negotiations are already well advanced. The importance of having freely accessible digital sequence information globally has been demonstrated in the fight against COVID. International cooperation and the sharing of the virus’ genetic sequence information were prerequisites for the rapid development of diagnostic procedures and vaccines. 

“Various United Nations bodies are simultaneously developing rules for the benefit sharing of digital sequence information. It is extremely important for research to have global harmonization of these rules,” informs Amber Hartman Scholz (Leibniz Institute DSMZ-German Collection of Microorganisms and Cell Cultures), the corresponding author of the article, “Harmonize rules for digital sequence information benefit-sharing across UN frameworks,” published in Nature Communications (https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-024-52994-z). Smithsonian Institution’s W. John Kress serves as a co-author on the article.

Open and free access to digital sequence information (DSI) is a basis of life science research. In their article, the authors call for the development of harmonized mechanisms for the use of DSI that are compatible with scientific practices and database structures. At the same time, these mechanisms should maximize shared use to achieve the goals of the legal frameworks. “International policymakers have the mandate to conduct negotiations in their area. But science knows no legal and jurisdictional boundaries. Researchers use genetic data and need open access to the large central public databases around the world. If negotiators develop new rules for use in the commercial sector with UN instruments, these rules clash with the scientific practice,” explains Dr. Amber Hartman Scholz.

A harmonized multilateral system for Open DSI must have clear and simple standardized terms of use for all publicly available data. The authors of the Nature Communications publication call for international and uniform legal certainty in the interest of scientific progress. Harmonizing the existing frameworks is challenging because they each serve a different purpose: conservation and sustainable use of biological diversity (Convention on Biological Diversity/Nagoya Protocol/Biodiversity Beyond National Jurisdiction), detection, prevention and eradication of diseases (Pandemic Influenza Preparedness, World Health Organization’s Pandemic Agreement) and food security (International Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture). Each set of rules has different decision-making processes, compliance measures and designated national negotiators (often from different governmental departments) with mandates that don’t overlap or even compete for budgets and political priorities. If benefit-sharing from DSI is designed in isolation for each of these forums rather than in an interconnected global context, there is a real risk that legal uncertainty and red tape will reduce the value of the data.