Genetic resources legislation, GBIF GB14 nodes meeting (2007)

GBIF NODES9, GB14, Amsterdam, October 15 2007GBIF NODES9, GB14, Amsterdam, October 15 2007

Cover Cover slideslideGenetic

ResourcesInternational legislation to promote the utilization of plant genetic resources

Agenda item 12.1 Demystifying data sensitivity to increase data provisionOctober 15, 2007, NODES 9, GB14, Amsterdam

Dag Terje Filip EndresenNordic Gene Bank (Sweden)Bioversity International (Italy)

TAPIR PyWrapper, October 15 2007, NODES9, GB14, AmsterdamTAPIR PyWrapper, October 15 2007, NODES9, GB14, Amsterdam 2

TOPICSTOPICS

First steps, domestication 1961 Technical Meeting 1981 IU 1996 Global Plan of Action 2002 International Treaty 2007 Standard Material

transfer Agreement


Centers of origin of cultivated plantsCenters of origin of cultivated plants

Centers of origin


The first stepsThe first steps

The grains, fruits, and vegetables we eat today have their origins in wild plants first domesticated thousands of years ago.

Nikolai Ivanovich Vavilov, (Николай

Иванович Вавилов, 1887-1943) St Petersburg, Russia. Best known for having identified the centres of origin of cultivated plants.

Harry V. Harlan (1930s) Sir Otto Frankel (1950s)

EUCARPIA (1956)


Food and Agriculture Organization of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations(FAO)United Nations(FAO)The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations leads international efforts to defeat hunger. Serving both developed and developing countries, FAO acts as a neutral forum where all nations meet as equals to negotiate agreements and debate policy. FAO is also a source of knowledge and information. We help developing countries and countries in transition modernize and improve agriculture, forestry and fisheries practices and ensure good nutrition for all. Since our founding in 1945, we have focused special attention on developing rural areas, home to 70 percent of the world's poor and hungry people. FAO's activities comprise four main areas:

• Putting information within reach.

• Sharing policy expertise.

• Providing a meeting place for nations.

• Bringing knowledge to the field.

[http://www.fao.org/]

FAOFAO


Bioversity is the world's largest international research organization dedicated solely to the conservation and use of agricultural biodiversity. It is non-profit and independently operated.

Main focus areasThe purpose of Bioversity ’s work is to ensure that individuals and institutions are able to make optimal use of agricultural biodiversity to meet current and future development needs of people and societies. To achieve this purpose, Bioversity concentrates on six focus areas:

• developing and implementing strategies for global collaboration to conserve and use genetic resources for food and agriculture that focus on policies, genetic resources information systems and awareness raising;

• monitoring the status and trends of useful diversity, including locating diversity in situ and genetic erosion;• enhancing the ex situ conservation and use of diversity of useful species;• conservation and sustainable use of important wild species;

• managing agricultural biodiversity for better nutrition, improved livelihoods and sustainable production systems for the poor; and

• conserving and promoting the use of diversity of selected high value crops for the poor

http://www.bioversityinternational.org

Bioversity InternationalBioversity International


The first international The first international meetingsmeetings

1961 Technical meeting on Plant Exploration and Introduction (FAO).

1967 Technical conference on the Exploration, Utilization and Conservation of Plant Genetic Resources (IBP, FAO).

1973 Technical conference on Crop Genetic Resources (Beltsville, USDA).

Scientific basis and political support for the upcomming ex situ conservation of plant genetic resources.


The 1980 - 1990sThe 1980 - 1990s

1980s Political pressure raised the economic and strategic value of genetic resources.

Developing countries started to ask for national control of the genetic resources.

1981 - International Undertaking (IU, FAO), framed genetic resources as the common heritage of humanity. (Voluntary statement)

But contradicted by the IPR of established by the CBD in 1993.

The IU was also challenged by the GATT and TRIPS agreements of the World Trade Organization (WTO, 1995).


CBDCBD - Convention on Biological Diversity - Convention on Biological Diversity

1992 - Born out of the Earth Summit in 1992, the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) is the first global agreement on the conservation on the conservation and sustainable use of biological diversity (168 signatures).

The Convention has three main goals: - The conservation of biodiversity, - Sustainable use of the components of

biodiversity, and - Sharing the benefits arising from the

commercial and other utilisation of genetic resources in a fair and equitable way


Global Plan of Action (GPA)Global Plan of Action (GPA)

The Conference of Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity at its Second Session in 1995 declared its support for the development of a Plan "for Food and Agriculture'‘.

1996 - Global plan of Action (GPA)- Global Plan of Action for the Conservation and

Sustainable Utilization of Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture.

- International Technical Conference on Plant Genetic Resources, Leipzig, Germany, 17-23 June 1996.

- The Global Plan of Action has been endorsed by the Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity and by Heads of State and Government at the World Food Summit.

[http://www.fao.org/ag/AGP/AGPS/GpaEN/gpatoc.htm]


ITPGRFAITPGRFA 2001 International Treaty on Plant

Genetic Resources for Food an Agriculture (ITPGRFA).

2004 ITPGRFA came into force.- ITPGRFA establishes a Multilateral System of Access and

Benefit-sharing for plant genetic resources, for an agreed list of crops, established on the basis of interdependence and food security.

- ITPGRFA provides for benefit-sharing through information exchange, technology transfer, capacity-building, and the mandatory sharing of the monetary and other benefits of commercialisation of products incorporating material accessed from the Multilateral System.


ITPGRFAITPGRFA

The International Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources (ITPGRFA) was adopted by the FAO Conference on 3 November 2001.

It came into force on 29 June 2004 (reaching 40 countries). ITPGRFA is now ratified by more than 110 countries.

“The objectives of this Treaty are the conservation and sustainable use of plant genetic resources for food and agriculture and the fair and equitable sharing of the benefits arising out of their use, in harmony with the Convention on Biological Diversity, for sustainable agriculture and food security.

Its scope is all plant genetic resources for food and agriculture.

[http://www.fao.org/ag/cgrfa/itpgr.htm]


sMTAsMTA

A list of crop species from more than 60 genera is included in the “Annex 1” of the ITPGRFA.

The Standard Material Transfer Agreement (sMTA) is a product of the ITPGRFA (2006).

Each time material from any of the crops listed in annex 1 is requested from a genebank, a sMTA need to be made.

The sMTA can be made by:- Signing it (ink on paper)- Click-wrap (clicking a check box on a web page)- Shrink-wrap (the printed sMTA agreement will

follow the seed shipment, breaking the seed bag require acceptance of the included agreement)


sMTAsMTA

Your breeding product derived from material received under the sMTA condition is legally covered by the agreement.

If you restrict the availability or limit the use of your product for further use in plant breeding or research, you are obligated to pay a fee to the international fund established by the treaty.

If you only take out a UPOV type plant variety protection for your new product, you are NOT required to pay a fee to the international fund.

If you commercialize a derived product, you are encouraged to make voluntary contribution to the international fund. (NOT required to!)


sMTAsMTA

Material derived from material received under the sMTA requires a new sMTA made if distributed further. (share-alike)

The normal payments scheme requires you to pay 1.1% of the Sales of the Product less 30%; i.e. 0.77%.

Payments at a discounted rate of 0.5% over the period of validity of the option (10 years renewable);- Payments on both the Sales of Products

incorporating Material accessed from the Multilateral System and the sales of other products belonging to the same crop as that Material;

- Payments are to be made whether or not the Product is available without restriction;


Sharing of benefitsSharing of benefits

How will benefits be shared?- The Treaty provides for sharing the

benefits of using plant genetic resources for food and agriculture through

• information-exchange, • access to and the transfer of technology, • and capacity-building.

- Provide funds for activities to help small farmers in developing countries.

- This funding strategy includes the share of the monetary benefits paid under the Multilateral System.


OutlookOutlook

Will the Treaty allow new crop varieties or genes from food crops, if extracted, transformed or modified and included in new varieties, to be patented and have other intellectual property rights (IPR) claims? - If permitted this would facilitate removal of these vital

genetic resources from the public domain.- The spread of patented genes in the environment

would undermine Farmers' Rights.

Will the Treaty be recognised by the WTO? And in particular in respect to the TRIPS Agreement?

Will the Treaty's Governing Body insist of full international recognition of Farmers' Rights?


Science, plants and politicsScience, plants and politics

Recommended reading:

Scientists, Plants and Politics. A history of the plant genetic resources movement.

Author: Robin Pistorious (Vavilov-Frankel Fellow - 1993) Year: 1997 Pages: 134 Format: 17x24 Softcover ISBN-10: 92-9043-308-6 ISBN-13: 978-92-9043-308-8 Language: English


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Genetic resources legislation, GBIF GB14 nodes meeting (2007)

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