Wednesday, November 20, 2013

Sharing Genetic Resources and Nagoya Protocol

By:  Natya Hans


The Nagoya Protocol (on Convention of Biological Diversity) was a legal frame work adopted by the  United Nations (UN)  to ensure fair share of genetic resources and hence contributing to the conservation and sustainable use of biodiversity.  In the video, the scholars discuss how the protocol may affect researchers in the field of Synthetic Biology. Although US is not a signatory to the protocol, the scholars still put suggest the US researchers to  engage in these discussions regarding use of resources on synthetic biology, verify the source of the genetic material being used and to be compliant to the domestic laws of the country. 
The report discusses the  uncertainty regarding what sort of genetic material should be covered. Would it apply to the samples collected before the amendments to the treaty were made? What about the digital resources that are cshared through internet databases?  The whole report can be downloaded here: http://www.synbioproject.org/process/assets/files/6672/_draft/nagoya_final.pdf

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