COP16 – Negotiations on Multilateral Mechanism for Benefit-Sharing of DSI [digital sequence information]

DSI and Benefits Sharing: Public Consultations
A key outcome from COP16 held at Cali, Columbia was around benefits sharing and digital sequence information [DSI]. COP16 made progress in the areas of synthetic biology and other matters, and we urge readers to review the full media release: Biodiversity COP 16: Important Agreement Reached Towards Goal of “Making Peace with Nature”, November 2, 2024. In our view, establishing “the Cali Fund” [excerpt from media release below] was a milestone that will have ripple effects in the decades ahead. We also include below the IFPMA response.

Biodiversity COP 16: Important Agreement Reached Towards Goal of “Making Peace with Nature”
November 2, 2024, CBD Secretariat.
[Excerpt]
…Call Fund is Launched: Sharing the Benefits of Digital Genetic Information
Having agreed at COP 15 to establish a multilateral mechanism, including a global fund, to share the benefits from uses of digital sequence information on genetic resources (DSI) more fairly and equitably, delegates at COP 16 advanced its operationalization – a historic decision of global importance.

This complex decision addresses how pharmaceutical, biotechnology, animal and plant breeding and other industries benefiting from DSI should share those benefits with developing countries and Indigenous Peoples and local communities.

Under the agreed guidelines, large companies and other major entities benefiting commercially from DSI uses should contribute to “the Cali Fund,” based on a percentage of their profits or revenues. The model targets larger companies most reliant on DSI and exempts academic, public research institutions and other entities using DSI but not directly benefiting.

Developing world countries will benefit from a large part of this fund, with allocations to support implementation of the KMGBF, according to the priorities of those governments.

At least half of the funding is expected to support the self-identified needs of Indigenous peoples and local communities, including women and youth within those communities, through government or by direct payments through institutions identified by Indigenous peoples and local communities. Some funds may support capacity building and technology transfer.

Strong monitoring and reporting will ensure industries see the impact of their contributions in a transparent and open way, and regular reviews will build the mechanism’s efficiency and efficacy over time.
This agreement marks a precedent for benefit-sharing in biodiversity conservation with a fund designed to return some of the proceeds from the use of biodiversity to protect and restore nature where help is needed most….

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Conclusion of COP16 Negotiations on Multilateral Mechanism for Benefit-Sharing of DSI
IFPMA Statement 02 Nov 2024
On the conclusion of the COP16 negotiations on proposals to include digital sequence information (DSI) within the scope of the Convention of Biodiversity (CBD), IFPMA delivered a Statement:

“The pharmaceutical industry has long supported the Convention on Biological Diversity’s objective to protect our natural world and will continue to engage in discussions on mechanisms that safeguard biodiversity while fostering scientific research and innovation”.
“The decision adopted today does not get the balance right between the intended benefits of such a mechanism and the significant costs to society and science that it has the potential to create”.

“The ability to rapidly use scientific data known as “digital sequence information” (DSI) is essential for developing new medicines and vaccines. Any new system should not introduce further conditions on how scientists access such data and add to a complex web of regulation, taxation and other obligations for the whole R&D ecosystem – including on academia and biotech companies. New technologies that use DSI can contribute to conservation and sustainable use of biodiversity and should be encouraged”.

“Ahead of COP17, it is critical that governments work to ensure the implementation of any new mechanism on digital sequence information does not stifle the medical research and innovation that can bring the next wave of medical progress to people around the world.”