Policies and Business Models for Genetic

Resources Access and Conservation

COP23 Side Event 13.11.2017 www.bmel.de

Thomas Meier, BMEL

Importance of PGRFA for Food Security

→PGRFA are basic for further

breeding & adaptation to

changing environment

→Long history of interregional

and even international

exchange

→Today high interdependence

of countries

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High interdependence in breeding and agriculture

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Importance of PGRFA for Food Security

→PGRFA are basic for further breeding & adaptation to

changing environment

→Long history of interregional and even international

exchange

→Today high interdependence of countries

→Common responsibility of countries

→SDG 2: End hunger, achieve food security and improved

nutrition, and promote sustainable agriculture

→2.5 By 2020 maintain genetic diversity of

seeds, cultivated plants …

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When did we start?

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• 1972 - UN Conference on the Human Environment,

Stockholm

• 1983 Commission on

Genetic Resources for

Food and Agriculture

established

Recommendation 39:

Governments, in cooperation with the

Secretary-General of the UN and FAO,

agree to an international program to

preserve the world's genetic resources

→ International Undertaking on Plant Genetic

Resources (1983)

→PGRFA are the common heritage of the whole

humanity

→Free exchange of material among all countries

→The Convention on Biological Diversity (1993)

Art. 15 (1) Recognizing the sovereign rights of States

over their natural resources, the authority to determine

access to genetic resources rests with the national

governments and is subject to national legislation.

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Common Heritage vs. Sovereign Rights

International Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture

ITPGRFA

→ Adopted in 2001 (7 years);

→ Entered into force 2004;

→ Operational since 2007 (MLS/SMTA);

→ Membership: 143 Contracting Parties (2017)

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Multilateral System guarantees facilitated

access and Benefit-Sharing for 64 most

important crops

No need to determine country of origin for

respective PGRFA

Standard Material Transfer Agreement

(SMTA)

• Research, breeding and training for food

and agriculture

• Certain obligations for recipient including

Benefit-Sharing established in SMTA

• Transfer to a third party under SMTA

Monitoring via Treaty-Secretariat, all SMTA

reported

No need to demonstrate due diligence

Bilateral System: each access requires

negotiations with provider country (PIC and

MAT)

Individual Benefit-Sharing-contracts

(case-by-case)

National ABS-Regulation to be published in

the ABS-Clearinghouse

Control obligations for countries, where

use takes place with providing information to

ABS-Clearinghouse

• Due Diligence obligation for users to

demonstrate their compliance with the

respective MAT

ITPGRFA and Nagoya Protocol / CBD

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Recalling the Multilateral System of

Access and Benefit-sharing established

under the ITPGRFA developed in

harmony with the Convention;

Recognizing the interdependence of all

countries with regard to GRFA as well as their

special nature and importance for achieving

food security worldwide and for sustainable

development of agriculture in the context of

poverty alleviation and climate change and

acknowledging the fundamental role of the

ITPGRFA and the FAO CGRFA in this regard;

The scope of the Treaty:

→ ALL plant genetic resources for food and agriculture

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Artikel 10 Multilateral System of Access and Benefit-sharing

Art. 10 (2) In the exercise of their

sovereign rights, the Contracting

Parties agree to establish a

multilateral system […] both to

→ facilitate access to PGRFA, and to

→share […] the benefits arising from

the utilization of these resources

[…].

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The Multilateral System ...

... consists of genetic material of a

set of 64 crops, listed in Annex I to

the International Treaty;

Those crops provide about 80% of

our food from plants.

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→ Öffentliche

Sammlungen der

Vertragsstaaten

→ Art. 15

Sammlungen

(CGIAR etc.)

→ Natürliche und

juristische

Personen (private

Sammlungen)

Das MLS soll die in Annex I des Vertrags gelisteten Nahrungs- und Futterpflanzen

umfassen, die unter der Verwaltung und Kontrolle der Vertragsparteien stehen und öffentlich

zugänglich sind

Quelle: 2. State of the World-Bericht über Pflanzengenetische Ressourcen, 2010.

Geographische Verbreitung von Genbanken mit >10 000 Akzessionen

(Nationale und regionale Genbanken in blau; Genbanken der CGIAR-Centres in beige;

Weltweiter Saatguttresor in Spitzbergen in grün)

Multilateral System = virtual Global Genbank

The Multilateral System

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115.000 Akzessionen

PGRFA exchange (Jan 2016)

→1,7 million included accessions documented

→47.000 SMTA transferred since 2007

→More than 3,2 million accessions transferred

→600 – 800 documented transfers every day

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What are the objectives of the Treaty?

→The conservation and sustainable use of

plant genetic resources for food and

agriculture

→The fair and equitable sharing of benefits

derived from their use, in harmony with the

Convention on Biological Diversity, for

sustainable agriculture and food security

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Benefit Sharing in the MLS

→Facilitated access to the PGRFA is a major

benefit of the MLS

→the exchange of information;

→access to and transfer of technology;

→capacity building; and

→the sharing of monetary and other benefits

from commercialization

→Voluntary Contributions (> 20 Mio. USD)

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Benefit Sharing in the MLS

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a. 20 Mio. USD voluntary contributions of CP, but no use

based payments to the BSF

b. GB decided to start negotiations to

a. increase user-based payments and contributions to

the Benefit-sharing Fund in a sustainable and

predictable long-term manner

b. enhance the functioning of the Multilateral System

by additional measures - expand the MLS

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Next Steps

COP23 Side Event 13.11.2017 www.bmel.de

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Standard Material Transfer agreement

→General provisions including definitions

→Rights & obligations of provider

→Allowed uses

→Benefit sharing

→Rights & obligations of recipient

→Clear cut-off point

→Any enclosure of genetic material

→Contract in Perpetuity

→Dispute Settlement

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