Digital Sequence Information on Genetic Resources and the Convention on Biological Diversity

There is disagreement whether international agreements over genetic resources (GR) under the Convention on Biological Diversity, including the Nagoya Protocol, cover Digital Sequence Information (DSI). DSI is data on the composition of GR, which may be downloaded from databases and used by entities who have no contractual relationship with the country of origin of the original GR from which the data were derived, and with no applicable legal requirement to agree on benefit-sharing with that country. Proposals for inclusion of DSI under the CBD are intended as changing this situation and increasing benefit-sharing. However, inclusion of DSI under the CBD is contested, and there is a legal basis for both inclusion and exclusion, so any eventual decision must be based on policy agreement by parties. To date there has been little explicit basis for a definition of DSI; here a distinction between ‘inclusive’ and ‘exclusive’ definitions is discussed, the latter using the scope of the CBD to support the concept to include only Nucleotide Sequence Data. Irrespective of inclusion under the CBD countries are including DSI in national ABS legislation, through inclusion in PIC and MAT on newly accessed GR, stating sovereign rights over DSI already generated, and through article 5 (1) of the Nagoya Protocol. These approaches are discussed, and the need for further consideration of the practical implications of article 5 (1). Ultimately a strong focus of future discussions should be benefit-sharing and the ethical position of users.