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Symposium on food security and biodiversity: Benefit sharing
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International Treaty on Plant Genetic
Resources and its Benefit Sharing Provision
Presentation by Alwin Kopse Swiss Federal Office for Agriculture on world food day 2003
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The objectives of the International Treaty (IT)
are:
- The conservation and sustainable use of plant
genetic resources for food and agriculture;
- The fair and equitable sharing of the benefits
arising out of the use of PGRFA;
- Fostering sustainable agriculture and food
security.
These objectives are in harmony with the
Convention on Biological Diversity and
have close linkages to the FAO and the CBD.
The provisions of the IT cover matters such as
the conservation, exploration, collection,
characterisation, evaluation and documentation
of PGRFA, as well as sustainable use of
PGRFA, farmers’ rights and the Multilateral System
of Access and Benefit Sharing.
Ex situ collections held by the International Agricultural Research Centres of the
Consultative Group on International Agricultural
Research and other institutions
are also covered by the IT, along with international
PGR networks such as the Global Information
System on PGRFA. The
Treaty also deals with financial strategy and
institutional provisions, such as for the
governing body, the secretariat, and with compliance
and similar.
The Multilateral System of Access and
Benefit Sharing
Designed for efficiency, effectiveness and transparency,
the MS facilitates access to PGRFA
and ensures that benefits are shared in a fair
and equitable way. The MS covers those
PGRFA listed in Annex I (65 crops and forages)
and under the management and control of
the contracting parties and in the public domain.
It also covers PGRFA held in ex situ collections
of the international agricultural research
centres (IARCs) as listed in Annex I. Other
holders of PGRFA listed in Annex I are invited
to include these resources in the Multilateral
System.
Access provisions
Facilitated access to the MS is provided
pursuant to a standard material transfer agreement
(MTA) to contracting parties, as well
as “legal and natural persons under the jurisdiction
of any Contracting Party”. Within
two years of the entry into force of the IT, the Governing Body shall decide whether access
shall continue to be facilitated to those natural
and legal persons who have not included
the PGRFA in the MS. No tracking of individual
accessions is necessary and it is free of
charge, or, when fee is charged, it shall not exceed
the minimum costs involved.
The IT also states that access to PGRFA under
development is to be at the discretion of
their developer and that access to PGRFA found
in in situ conditions is to be provided according
to national legislation or, in the absence of
such legislation, in accordance with such
standards as may be set by the Governing Body.
Access to PGRFA protected by IPRs and other
property rights is directed to be consistent with
relevant international agreements, and with
national laws, with the availability to seek recourse
in case of contractual disputes arising
under the MTA.
However, the content of the MTA is not yet
completely defined. The MTA has to contain
the following:
- access to be provided only for the purpose of
utilisation and conservation for research,
breeding and training for food and agriculture
- recipients shall not claim any intellectual
property or other rights that limit the facilitated
access to the PGRFA, or their genetic parts
or components, in the form received from the
MS
- continued availability of the PGRFA
- provisions on monetary benefit sharing
- other relevant provisions of the IT (e.g., on
data to be made available)
Benefit sharing and the MS
Facilitated access constitutes itself a major
benefit of the MS. Other benefit sharing mechanisms
include the exchange of information,
access to and transfer of technology, capacity
building and the sharing of monetary and
other benefits of commercialisation. Benefits
are to flow primarily (directly or indirectly)
to farmers in all countries, especially in developing
countries, although the importance of the
involvement of the private sector is recognised.
Sharing the benefits of commercialisation
Two types of monetary benefit sharing are
covered in the IT: mandatory – if the product
incorporating material from the MS is not
available without restrictions to others for further
research and breeding; and voluntary – if
such a product is available without restrictions
to others for further research and breeding.
The level, form and manner of the payment is
to be determined by the Governing Body, in
line with commercial practice and payment isto be made to an appropriate mechanism,
such as a Trust Account. The Governing Body
also has rights to assess whether the mandatory
payment requirement shall apply in cases
where the product is available without restriction
to others for further research and breeding
within five years from the entry into force of
the IT.
As well as the overall content of the MTA,
some issues remain for further discussions at
the international level. Interpretation of the
terms in the form received and available
without restrictions remain
contentious and it is important to develop further
the strategy and criteria for distributing
the benefits and those strategies and mechanisms
involving the private sector.
In short, the rules for access and for benefit
sharing have to be seen as a package and
it must be held in mind that the MS still under
construction. Although the IT may be imperfect,
it stands as a reflection of how far the international
community was prepared to go in
November 2001 and should be recognised as one
international regime for benefit sharing as
called for in the final documents of the World
Summit on Sustainable Development (WSSD).
We look forward to the upcoming negotiations
as an additional instrument to improve
the system of access and benefit sharing for
PGRFA.
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