Study for the European Commission on 'Possible Ways to Address Digital Sequence Information –Legal and Policy Aspects': Consultancy project conducted for the European Commission: ENV.F.3/SER/2019/6175145

In 2016, the Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity ('CBD') recognised for the first time the relevance of, and potential issues surrounding, digital sequence information on genetic resources ('DSI') for the achievement of the CBD's three objectives: namely, the conservation of biological diversity, the sustainable use of its components and, notably, the fair and equitable sharing of the benefits arising out of the utilization of genetic resources. In light of the need for a coordinated and non-duplicative approach, the issue was simultaneously raised by the Conference of the Parties serving as the Meetings of the Parties ('COP-MOP') to the Nagoya Protocol on Access and Benefit-Sharing ('the Nagoya Protocol'). An Ad Hoc Technical Expert Group (AHTEG) was established and multiple studies have been undertaken or are currently being conducted to shed light on the highly technical and complex issue of how DSI relates to the scope and workings of the international regime on access and benefit-sharing ('ABS). DSI has been debated during the 2018 COP and COP-MOP, and it is expected that DSI will remain a critical topic at the CBD COP15 as well as in other international fora. Specifically, DSI is also being discussed under the Pandemic Influenza Preparedness Framework (PIP Framework) of the World Health Organisation (WHO), the International Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture (ITPGRFA) as well as current UN negotiations for a legally binding instrument on marine biodiversity of areas beyond national jurisdiction (BBNJ).