Being the holder of a collection of genetic resources

Guidance as to what collection holders, such as museums and botanical gardens, need to think about.

Guidance

Target group

  • Holder of a collection of genetic resources (e.g., museums of natural history and botanical gardens).

To make it easier for users and member states to fulfil the ABS Regulation and the purpose of the Nagoya Protocol, certain special functions have been introduced that affect all collection holders in the EU:

  • A general certificate that a collection meets certain conditions – a so-called registered collection – has been instituted, whereby the user need not obtain his or her own certificate/permit when the registered collection’s genetic resources are used.
  • An organisation of users may agree on common routines by which to live up to the requirements regarding due diligence – so-called best practice – that are approved by the European Commission.

Registering collections

A person wishing to register a collection should obtain assurance that for all material, for which access occurred after 12 October 2014, there is information concerning

  • traceability and
  • conditions, if any, of its use. 

Registration requirements

In order for the collection or part thereof to be registered, it must fulfil the criteria specified in Article 5 of the ABS Regulation. The information requirement for application can be found in Appendix 1 to the ABS Implementation Regulation.

Best practice

For the collection holder it can be helpful to know that the Consortium of European Taxonomic Facilities has produced a CETAF Code of Conduct and Best Practice for Access and Benefit-sharing to support collections affected by the Nagoya Protocol and the ABS Regulation.

Swedish Environmental Protection Agency verifies

Before a collection can be registered, the Swedish Environmental Protection Agency must verify it.

Regular inspections

The Swedish Environmental Protection Agency must conduct regular inspections of the registered collections. 

Contact person for registration

A collection wishing to be registered is welcome to contact the registrar of the Swedish Environmental Protection Agency.

Laws/Regulations

Definitions

Definitions

For the purposes of this Regulation, the definitions of the Convention and the Nagoya Protocol as well as the following definitions apply:

  • access  means the acquisition of genetic resources or of traditional knowledge associated with genetic resources in a Party to the Nagoya Protocol
  • association of users  means an organisation, established in accordance with the requirements of the Member State in which it is located, that represents the interests of users and that is involved in developing and overseeing the best practices referred to in Article 8 of this Regulation
  • collection means a set of collected samples of genetic resources and related information that is accumulated and stored, whether held by public or private entities
  • genetic material  means any material of plant, animal, microbial or other origin containing functional units of heredity
  • genetic resources  means genetic material of actual or potential value
  • illegally accessed genetic resources  means genetic resources and traditional knowledge associated with genetic resources which were not accessed in accordance with the national access and benefit-sharing legislation or regulatory requirements of the provider country that is a Party to the Nagoya Protocol requiring prior informed consent
  • internationally recognised certificate of compliance means a permit or its equivalent issued at the time of access as evidence that the genetic resource it covers has been accessed in accordance with the decision to grant prior informed consent, and that mutually agreed terms have been established for the user and the utilisation specified therein by a competent authority in accordance with Article 6(3)(e) and Article 13(2) of the Nagoya Protocol, that is made available to the Access and Benefit-sharing Clearing House established under Article 14(1) of that Protocol
  • traditional knowledge associated with genetic resources  means traditional knowledge held by an indigenous or local community that is relevant for the utilisation of genetic resources and that is as such described in the mutually agreed terms applying to the utilisation of genetic resources
  • user means a natural or legal person that utilises genetic resources or traditional knowledge associated with genetic resources
  • utilisation of genetic resources  means to conduct research and development on the genetic and/or biochemical composition of genetic resources, including through the application of biotechnology as defined in Article 2 of the Convention
  • prior informed consent (PIC) a permit or an equivalent document that has been issued at the time of access as proof of the compliance of applicable laws and regulations
  • mutually agreed terms (MAT): a contract between a provider of genetic resources or associated traditional knowledge and a user, within which the obligations are described that ensures that any potential benefit is shared fairly and equitably. Additional requirements may exist for subsequent users or at the time of product release to market

Background

Background

The aims of the UN Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) are the conservation of biological diversity, the sustainable use of its components and the fair and equitable sharing of the benefits arising out of the utilization of genetic resources. At the Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) in 2010, the Nagoya Protocol governing access to genetic resources and fair and equitable sharing of their use was adopted.

In the EU, the Nagoya Protocol is implemented by Regulation (EU) No 511/2014 of the European Parliament and of the Council on compliance measures for users from the Nagoya Protocol on Access to Genetic Resources and the Fair and Equitable Sharing of Benefits Arising from their Utilization in the Union (also called the ABS Regulation).

This Regulation entered into force in October 2014. On 12 October 2015, one year after its entry into force, the Regulation’s provisions on the obligations of users of genetic resources began to apply within the EU.

Sweden is a signatory to the Nagoya Protocol, but has not yet ratified it. According to the Government Offices of Sweden, Sweden plans to ratify the Nagoya Protocol at the latest 90 days before the first meeting of the Parties to the Nagoya Protocol on Access and Benefit-Sharing in December 2016, in order to be a full member at this meeting. Before it can ratify the Protocol however, Sweden must have penalty provisions in place and a regulatory framework for access to traditional knowledge that is not acquired in the context of access to genetic resources. These provisions are likely to be decided on before the summer of 2016.

Tasked with the implementation of the ABS Regulation

In February 2015, the Swedish Environmental Protection Agency was tasked by the Government of Sweden with preparing for the implementation of the EU Regulation 511/2014 (ABS Regulation) on the implementation of the Nagoya Protocol. This task entailed:

  • Suggesting how best to organize and exercise national supervision of the ABS Regulation cost-effectively
  • Setting up a national focal point in the Internet-based Access and Benefit-Sharing Clearing House (ABS Clearing House) that has been established to provide information about access to genetic resources and benefit-sharing from the utilization of these resources
  • Initiating dialogue with representatives of users of genetic resources in both private and public sector activities in order to materially assist the implementation and facilitate compliance with the ABS Regulation.

How the Swedish EPA has been working on this task

In June 2015, the Swedish Environmental Protection Agency submitted a proposal to the Government concerning the supervision organization. This proposal suggested that both the Swedish Environmental Protection Agency and the Swedish Board of Agriculture should be competent authorities and share supervisory responsibility for the implementation. However, in January 2016 it became clear that the Swedish EPA needed to shoulder the entire responsibility for supervision, and therefore remains the only competent authority in Sweden. Since January, the Swedish EPA has been preparing in various ways to take on this responsibility, for example by developing a risk-based supervision plan and Guides for users.

The Swedish EPA has set up a national focal point by publishing Guides and other information on the Web.

The Swedish EPA now also has an organization for dealing with questions from stakeholders, and is ready to accept declarations from users.

Dialogue has been initiated through a hearing in the spring of 2015, and via e-mail communications with users of genetic resources.

On 22 April 2016, a seminar will be held to communicate the application of the ABS Regulation to different categories of users.

A report on this task was presented on 31 March 2016, at which time the Guides were also published.