EMBRC is pleased to announce that it has published two new guides on Access & benefit-sharing (ABS): ‘The EMBRC guide to ABS compliance: Recommendations to marine biological resources collections’ and users’ institutions’ and ‘Seek, keep & transfer: A step-by-step guide to ABS compliance when utilizing marine genetic resources’.
Both of these documents were developed through the EMBRC-coordinated European Blue Biobank (EBB) project*, which is primarily funded by the INTERREG Atlantic Area programme.
The first publication, ‘The EMBRC guide to ABS compliance’, aims to promote compliance with ABS regulations. These regulations are derived from the Nagoya Protocol and implemented in Europe through the EU ABS Regulation that came into force in 2014 as well as Member States’ access legislation, where applicable. This regulatory framework, although effective in protecting the rights of the provider country, puts a burden on the user to demonstrate lawful utilisation. This guide aims to ease this burden by clearly explaining how to legally comply and lawfully use genetic resources. It is primarily intended for collections and users’ institutions.
The second publication, ‘Seek, keep & transfer’, is a short guide intended to serve as a practical to-do list for individual scientists from academia or the private sector conducting research on marine genetic resources. In particular, the guide recommends that users follow a 6-step, iterative process, presenting actions and tips for each step.
For more information on the two ABS guides, click here
* EMBRC's Spanish partner, University of Vigo (UVIGO), is the EBB project coordinator
