News on ABS/DSI Access and Benefit Sharing

Preparations for the UN Biodiversity Conference:
From late July to mid-August, 2026, the CBD’s scientific committee (SBSTTA 28) and Subsidiary Body on Implementation (SBI 7) met in Nairobi, Kenya, to draft recommendations for the upcoming UN Biodiversity Conference (scheduled for 19–30 October 2026 in Armenia). Regarding ABS/DSI, the following points were significant: 

Nagoya-Protocol: 

• Regarding the Second Assessment of the Effectiveness of the Nagoya Protocol on Access to Genetic Resources and the Fair and Equitable Sharing of Benefits Arising from their Utilization, the Subsidiary Body on Implementation recommended that this and future reviews focus more strongly than before operational functionality of the systems in practice and on the concrete results and shared benefits (both monetary and non-monetary) actually achieved. SBI also agreed that further efforts are needed to effectively implement the Nagoya Protocol. Proposals on which consensus was reached included, for example, better-presented information on the ABS Clearinghouse platform, enhanced capacity-building in developing countries, and improved involvement of indigenous peoples and local communities in implementation processes. However, views remain widely divided on demands such as tightening compliance measures or launching a negotiation process to establish a Global Multilateral Benefit-Sharing Mechanism under Article 10 of the Protocol (which would apply in cases where bilateral agreements are not possible). The SBI recommendation can be found here; the contentious points are indicated in square brackets and will remain under discussion at the 6th Meeting of the Parties to the Nagoya Protocol (COP-MOP 6) in Armenia.

DSI:

• SBI was originally tasked with addressing three core questions: (1) Are additional modalities needed to implement the multilateral mechanism (MLM) for benefit-sharing arising from the use of DSI? (2) Are other instruments or models—such as databases—required to ensure transparent and accountable access to DSI? (3) What methodology should be used in the future to measure the effectiveness of the MLM, including the Cali Fund? However, at the insistence of the African Group, a significant portion of the negotiating time was devoted to the operational aspects of the Cali Fund. The African Group questioned the legitimacy of the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) concluded between the CBD Secretariat and the United Nations Multi-Partner Trust Fund Office (MPTFO) and demanded its renegotiation with the involvement of member states. 
  As outlined in the SBI recommendation on DSI, COP 17 is recommended to determine a way forward regarding the MoU to ensure greater transparency for member states. Overall, a trend emerged indicating that many countries feel insufficiently represented in smaller bodies; for instance, it was reaffirmed that the Parties (through SBI and COP) should retain decision-making authority over governance structures, institutional arrangements, and operational matters.  
  Little progress was made on the three core questions due to time constraints and widely divergent positions. Negotiations on questions 1 and 3 will continue at COP 17. Regarding the need for new databases SBI recommends that the database study commissioned by the CBD Secretariat first undergoes a peer review, thereby allowing Parties, indigenous peoples and local communities, database operators, and relevant experts to submit comments. The final study would then be submitted first to the SBI for review and subsequently to COP 18 for consideration.

DSI-Webinar:

• The DSI Informal Dialogue Partnership (Centro de Colaboración Cívica and GeoMedia) is providing practical information and analysis for negotiators, interest groups, and rights holders ahead of COP17 during a DSI webinar on October 2 at 2:00 p.m., titled „DSI-Updates and Insights on Databases, Non-Monetary Benefit Sharing, NBSAPs and Allocation Support Tools. Here you can find more information including the registration link. 

PABS System (ABS System of the Pandemic Agreement):

• From September 14 to 18, 2026, the intergovernmental negotiating group on the WHO Pandemic Agreement continued negotiations at its 8th session. The WHO press release  of September 18 speaks generally of progress but does not address specific details. The question of whether binding benefit-sharing agreements are necessary was evidently particularly contentious. While industry strictly rejects this (see IFPMA Statement), the Global South (including the African group and the Caribbean states) agreed that legal certainty could only be guaranteed through fixed contracts with manufacturers, in order to avoid relying on ad-hoc donations in the event of a pandemic (see also Health Policy Watch).

Nagoya-Protocol: 

• The Conference of the Parties serving as the meeting of the Parties to the Nagoya Protocol (NP COP-MOP) decided to conduct the second assessment and review of the effectiveness of the Protocol at its sixth meeting (Decision NP-3/1). It will be based on the first national reports on the implementation of the Nagoya Protocol, as well as on a survey conducted by the CBD Secretariat and on a the „Scoping study on the possible reasons and underlying root causes for the challenges to effective implementation and compliance and on possible ways to enhance implementation“, which you can find here on the Webpage of SBI-7: The authors have identified, inter alia, the heterogenous landscape of national ABS systems, challenges to find information on how to comply with those measures and difficulties with establishing mutually agreed terms.  The study therefore suggests moving from a fragmented bilateral regulatory approach towards a more standardised, cooperative and user-friendly approach for ABS. Whether these findings will be incorporated into the decision text will be decided in October at the UN Biodiversity Conference in Armenia, when the member states of the Nagoya Protocol meet for the sixth time (COP-MOP 6 of the Nagoya Protocol). The Subsidiary Body on Implementation, which meets in Nairobi (Kenia) from 4 to 12 August, is tasked with preparing a draft decision on this matter. We will keep you informed about the results.
• Just in time, the host country of the UN-Biodiversity Conference 2026, Armenia, has ratified the Nagoya Protocol and will bring the total number of Parties to 143 as of September 2026. 

DSI discussions at the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD):

• As informal input for further negotiations at the CBD, the webinar “Exploring the Implications of CBD COP16/2 Provisions on the Multilateral Mechanism for Benefit-Sharing from Digital Sequence Information (DSI-MLM)” took place on July 9. Among other topics, the webinar featured a discussion of terms in DSI Decision 16.2 that remain unclear—such as “publicly available DSI”, “direct and indirect use of DSI”, and the significance of the decision specifying an indicative payment rate. You can find the results as well as discussion contributions from the event’s chat in the report, which is available here.
• DSI is also on the agenda of the Subsidiary Body on Implementation (SBI-7) in Nairobi. The discussion here focuses, for example, on whether additional modalities are needed for the successful implementation of the DSI-MLM that were not yet addressed or specified in COP Decision 16/2. Points of contention include, for example, the need for new versus existing DSI databases, the interpretation of “transparency” regarding data flow and the use of DSI, definitions of terms, and targeted payment amounts/thresholds. It is certain that a review of the effectiveness of the DSI-MLM is scheduled for 2028 at the 18th session of the Conference of the Parties (COP 18). It is therefore necessary to assess to what extent changes or additions to the existing modalities are already helpful or necessary beforehand in order to strengthen implementation.
• Zu den Beratungen des wissenschaftlichen Bgleitgremiums (SBSTTA 28) und SBI 7 finden Sie hier nähere Informationen, auch der Earth Negotiations Bulletin berichtet darüber.

ABS-System im Pandemieabkommen (PABS):

• Shortly before negotiations on the PABS system were set to resume, the President of Brazil and the WHO Director-General issued an open letter to the heads of state and government of the G7, the G20, the BRICS countries, and all nations, calling on them to fully support the swift finalization of the PABS annex to the WHO Pandemic Agreement.  Details about the open letter can be found here.
• From Juli From July 6–17, 2026, the intergovernmental negotiating group resumed work on the PABS system. According to a WHO press release dated July 20, the draft text was further streamlined. The discussions focused on more complex issues such as the legal provisions underpinning the framework, the structure of the relevant laboratory networks for the exchange and handling of pathogens with pandemic potential and associated sequence information, as well as on the definition of the benefits arising from the exchange of pathogens. While some common ground has been reached, significant efforts are still needed to bridge the remaining divergencies. Member states reaffirmed their commitment to continuing intensive negotiations on an ambitious, effective, and equitable PABS annex. The 8th round of negotiations will take place from September 14–18, 2026.

ABS and DSI discussions at the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD):

• Preparations for the UN Biodiversity Conference Armenia (19 -30 October, 2026) are gathering pace: From 27 July to 1 August, the Subsidiary Body for Scientific, Technical and Technological Advice ((SBSTTA-28, 27 Juli to 1 August will meet in Nairobi, followed by the Subsidiary Body for Implementation (SBI-7) from 4 to 12 August. SBSTTA-28, for example, will consider the progress made in implementing the Global Biodiversity Framework and the associated monitoring, whilst SBI-7 will discuss the outcome of studies on DSI to prepare decisions to be taken at COP 17, as well as considering the materials collected for the review and assessment of the effectiveness of the Nagoya Protocol. The CBD Secretariat is offering a number of preparatory webinars, which are also open to observers. An overview with the relevant registration links can be found here. We will keep you informed about the results of those meetings.
• Peer review of DSI Study: As agreed by the Parties in 2024 in Decision 16/2 on DSI, the CBD Secretariat was to commission several studies to address outstanding issues relating to the Multilateral DSI Benefit-Sharing Mechanism (MLM) in preparation for the forthcoming conference (COP 17). The draft of one of these studies (for capacity reasons, two topics were covered in a single study) is now available and open for comment as part of the peer-review process. It focuses on the identification of small, medium and large enterprises, as well as on payment rates and their impact on revenue generation and competitiveness. Further information can be found here.
• “Exploring the Implications of CBD COP16/2 provisions on the Multilateral Mechanism for Benefit-Sharing from Digital Sequence Information.”  — A webinar on this topic will take place on 9 July 2026 from 1.00 pm to 3.00 pm, organised by the informal DSI Dialogue Partnership (Centro de Colaboración Cívica and GeoMedia), funded by Norway and European Commission. This webinar will bring together experts and stakeholders to explore how different interpretations and implementation approaches may influence business behaviour, investment decisions, and the broader bioeconomy. Here  you can register and find more detailed information.
• For anyone who missed GeoMedia’s feedback webinar on 21 May 2026 on the outcomes of the informal DSI dialogue in Leuven, Belgium: Here you will find the webinar report, which not only contains the presentation slides but also summarises the issues on which the invited panellists (from South Africa, Indonesia, Colombia, the United Kingdom, the private sector and an organisation representing Indigenous peoples and local communities) were in agreement, as well as those on which there was disagreement. The questions asked in the online chat, along with the answers, are also available – grouped by topic and abridged. You can also find the recording of the entire feedback webinar in in English, French and Spanish.
• A new BfN publication on the DSI-MLM is intended to serve as a guide for stakeholders; in it, the author, Caroline von Kries, explains the individual paragraphs of DSI Decision 16/2 and interprets them from her perspective: „New pathways towards sharing benefits from the use of digital sequence information“, for download here (Website Federal Office for Nature Conservation) and at the ABS Clearinghouse

Nagoya-Protocol: 

• By the end of February 2026, all Parties to the Nagoya Protocol were required to submit their first national report on the implementation measures they had taken to the CBD Secretariat. Since users often wonder whether funds from benefit-sharing agreements actually reach developing countries, we would like to draw attention to a  press release regarding India’s report. According to the statement, more than $28 million resulting from benefit-sharing agreements has flowed into the country since 2017. The national reports are published on  ABS-Clearinghouse-Website.

Digital Sequence information – Status under the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD):

• DSI Benefit-Sharing Mechanism: To mark the first anniversary of the Cali Fund on February 25, 2026, the CBD Secretariat issued a  press release veröffentlicht. Since early March, there has also been a new website for the website for the Cali Fund where all future updates will be posted.

UN-BBNJ Agreement:

• On February 26, 2026, the German Bundestag passed the national implementing law (the High Seas Protection Act, as amended by the Environment Committee (21/4328). The agreement establishes reporting obligations for the harvesting of marine genetic resources from marine areas beyond national jurisdiction, as well as for the sequence information generated from them. In Germany, the Federal Agency for Nature Conservation will be the competent authority for receiving these reports. With the passage of the law, an important step has been taken in Germany toward ratifying the Agreement. It can be assumed that Germany will become an official State Party to the Agreement by around the end of June. The High Seas Protection Act, and thus the specific reporting obligations, will therefore enter into force at the same time, at the end of June 2026. 

ABS-System (PABS) under the Pandemic Agreement: 

• The 5th session of the intergovernmental working group negotiating the ABS provisions in the Pandemic Agreement (PABS Annex) concluded on February 14, 2026. In its press release the WHO described the group’s work as constructive, despite the fact that member states’ positions remain far apart. Among the contentious issues is the handling of sequence data on pathogens with pandemic potential: what obligations do users of this data have, and how should the contracting parties that share their data benefit from the vaccines, diagnostics, and therapeutics (VDTs) developed from it? Given the significant differences of opinion, it seems unrealistic that the 6th Working Group meeting, which began on March 23, 2026, will succeed in finalizing the draft text for the PABS Annex and submitting it to the World Health Assembly in May 2026 for a decision. The webcast of the 6th meeting is available here. We will continue to keep you updated on the results.

Nagoya Protocol – Implementation in the EU: 

• An online workshop will take place on March 16, 2026, from 2:00 to 4:00 p.m.: “Access and Benefit Sharing (Nagoya Protocol): Cooperation on Equal Terms?” The Öko-Institute will present the results of the project, which aimed to shed light on the perspectives of provider countries of genetic resources on the implementation of the Nagoya Protocol, with a particular focus on cooperation with users. The project was funded in 2024 by the Federal Agency for Nature Conservation with funds from the Ministry for Environment (BMUKN). You can register here.
• Updated Declare user manual: As a user of genetic resources in the EU, you are subject to due diligence obligations under the EU ABS Regulation (Regulation (EU) No. 511/2014) and must submit a due diligence declaration to the Federal Agency for Nature Conservation when receiving research funding or bringing products on the market, which have been developed from the use of genetic resources. Information on the declaration requirements, how to register in the EU reporting system “Declare” provided for this purpose, and how to fill out the declaration form can be found in the new user manual, which is available in English. 

Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) and Nagoya Protocol – international negotiations:

• The CBD Secretariat has published new guidelines on the multilateral DSI benefit-sharing mechanism (DSI-MLM) and the Cali Fund, which can be found here.

BBNJ Agreement: 

• The Agreement on Marine Biological Diversity of Areas beyond National Jurisdiction (BBNJ) entered into force on January 17. The benefit-sharing fund associated with the agreement will initially be financed by contributions from member states. Please find the EU Commission's press release on the agreement's entry into force here.
• A guide just recently published by the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) explains how the agreement will affect fisheries: “Fisheries and the BBNJ Agreement – A guide.”

ABS System (PABS) under the WHO Pandemic Agreement:

• As reported by the Health Policy Watch platform, the fourth round of negotiations, which continued in January, has not yet resulted in a breakthrough in the text negotiations, despite minor progress. While the Global North is focusing on rapid access to genetic resources and sequence data for the rapid control of diseases in the event of a pandemic and is relying at least partly on voluntary measures for benefit sharing, the Global South is calling for more control over access and more legally binding provisions on benefit sharing and technology transfer. Ratification of the entire pandemic agreement cannot begin until the annex, the PABS, has also been negotiated. Achieving this by the World Health Assembly in May 2026 will be a challenge, as there are only two meetings left of the intergovernmental negotiating body, whose fifth meeting is currently taking place. Further information and links to the webcasts of the PABS negotiations can be found here.

Nagoya Protocol – Implementation in the EU:

• New guidance on Regulation (EU) No. 511/2014: New guidance published by the European Commission, “ABS – A guide for researchers in the EU” is intended to support researchers in implementing the user obligations arising from the regulation in connection with the use of genetic resources. It can be found here.
• Ten years after the EU ABS Regulation came into force, the European Commission is conducting an evaluation of Regulation (EU) No. 511/2014 on the implementation of the Nagoya Protocol and is inviting comments on the “Your Voice Matters” portal until February 11. You can find the portal here, but if you would like to participate in a statement by the DFG and the German Nagoya Protocol HUB, please read the following point first.
• In order to provide the European Commission with an evidence-based satement for the above-mentioned evaluation, the German Nagoya Protocol Hub (GNP-HuB), together with the Working Group on Access and Benefit Sharing of the Standing Senate Commission on Fundamental Issues of Biodiversity of the German Research Foundation, has developed a survey for researchers. The aim is to gather feedback from researchers and institutions in Germany that work with genetic resources. The survey asks how the EU Regulation on Access and Benefit Sharing has affected scientific research in practice and which changes would make compliance with the Regulation more transparent, fair, and less burdensome. Click here to take part in the survey, which is open until January 20.

CBD and Nagoya Protocol – international negotiations:

• The intergovernmental body responsible for implementing the CBD and its protocols is preparing important decisions for the UN Biodiversity Conference at its 6th meeting (Subsidiary Body for Implementation, SBI 6), which is taking place in Rome from February 16 to 19. With regard to the Nagoya Protocol, there will be renewed discussion on whether a formal process is necessary to recognize new international ABS agreements as specialized international instruments (SIIs) that are exempted from the Nagoya Protocol. Opinions on this issue are widely divided, as shown by the various statements sent to the CBD Secretariat by October 2025 (see the CBD website for statements on Article 4.4 of the Nagoya Protocol).

Nagoya-Protocol: 

• Evaluation of the Nagoya Protocol – Last chance to have your say: You can participate in the survey until December 15th at the following link: https://forms.office.com/e/R5XdcaL2F7. This is a targeted survey for various stakeholders, including users and providers of genetic resources, to highlight challenges in implementing the Protocol. It offers an opportunity to help shape improvements for the implementation of the Nagoya Protocol.
• Part of the evaluation process is also a survey specifically on the ABS Clearing House, which is open until the end of December. You can participate in this survey via the following link:  https://forms.office.com/e/ZnmdChHHeH
• Webinar on December 17 on the topic: “Why IRCCs matter for reporting on non-monetary benefit sharing.” It should be emphasized that the publication of IRCCs is an essential step in collecting national information on the benefit sharing of non-monetary benefits.  The Leibniz Institute (DSMZ) had developed a methodology for this purpose. Click here to register.

Digital Sequence Information:

• In November, the first (symbolic) payment of US$1,000 was made to the Cali Fond. The ice has been broken by the English company TierraViva AI Limited, but there is still considerable pressure to create incentives for companies to make further payments into the fund by the next COP 17 in 2026 in order to get the Multilateral Mechanism for DSI up and running. At the international level, the topic of DSI will not be discussed again until the CBD SBI 7 meeting in August 2026. Until then, further national and regional discussions on the implementation of the DSI COP 16/2 decision will continue.

Plant Treaty: 

• At the 11th Governing Body of the Plant Treaty, which took place in Lima from November 24 to 29, no agreement could be reached on the further development of the Multilateral System for Access to Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture and Benefit Sharing. Even after years of discussions on the package of measures, the expectations and demands of the contracting parties were still so far apart that there was not enough time on site to agree to the chair's proposal. This proposal contained a fully drafted text for the Standard Material Transfer Agreement (SMTA). This SMTA would have given recipients of material three access options: a full subscription, a crop-specific subscription, and single access. The issue of DSI was not addressed in the SMTA text, nor did it contain any payment rates. The compromise proposal, on the other hand, provided for a separate working process on DSI to determine how the issue should be addressed in the context of the package of measures. However, it remained unclear whether the SMTA text could have been reopened afterwards. There was strong resistance from many countries in the Global South to the originally envisaged extension of the list to all plant genetic resources.The compromise proposal therefore provided for a working process to develop a limited list for the expansion of Annex I. The aim of this proposal was to adopt the entire package of measures, including payment rates for benefit sharing, at the 12th GB Meeting in 2027. However, the compromise proposal was merely noted and not adopted. For all users of material from the MLS, this means that everything will remain as it is and the SMTA established in 2006 will continue to be used. It remains to be seen whether the proposal or the new SMTA text will be taken up again by GB 12 in 2027. Formally, no process is planned for the next two years. The official report on the negotiations will be published here in the future. A summary of the negotiations can already be found on the Earth Negotiations Bulletin website.

BBNJ Agreement:

• The two draft laws (Contract Act and High Seas Act) for the implementation of BBNJ were passed by the cabinet on December 3, 2025. What happens next? Several readings in the Bundestag and Bundesrat will follow, as well as the formal steps for ratification. Experts expect that ratification can then be completed by June 2026. The two draft laws can be accessed here: https://www.bundesumweltministerium.de/gesetz/entwurf-eines-gesetzes-zur-ausfuehrung-des-uebereinkommens-im-rahmen-des-seerechtsuebereinkommens-der-vereinten-nationen-ueber-die-erhaltung-und-nachhaltige-nutzung-der-biologischen-vielfalt-der-meere-von-gebieten-ausserhalb-nationaler-hoheitsbefugnisse

WHO-Pandemic Agreement:

• The fourth meeting of the Intergovernmental Working Group (IGWG) on the pandemic agreement took place from December 1 to 5. Significant differences remain, meaning that progress was only marginal and it was agreed to extend the negotiation round from January 20 to 22, 2026. The group's work includes developing the annex to the pathogen access and benefit sharing system (PABS system), which is intended to ensure the transparent and equitable distribution of PABS material and genetic sequence data. Different views continue to exist, for example, on the interpretation of the definition of PABS material or on access to and use of pathogens and sequence data. Further informal and national discussions will take place in the coming weeks to prepare for the resumption of the meeting in January. The fifth meeting of the IGWG will take place from February 9 to 14, 2026. The webcast and negotiation documents can be found here.

Nagoya-Protocol:

• Evaluation of the Nagoya Protocol – We want your opinion!: A targeted survey for various stakeholders, including users and providers of genetic resources, aims to highlight challenges in implementing the Protocol in order to assess its effectiveness. The information collected will serve as an important contribution to a preliminary study that addresses the possible reasons and causes for the challenges in the effective implementation and compliance with the Nagoya Protocol, as well as possible ways to improve its implementation. This provides an opportunity to help shape improvements for the implementation of the Nagoya Protocol. Participation in the survey is possible until December 15 at the following link: https://forms.office.com/e/R5XdcaL2F7
• For those who are still undecided, here is another reminder about the webinars on the Nagoya Protocol offered by the German Nagoya Protocol HUB: https://nagoyaprotocol-hub.de/events/ . The next one will take place on November 21.

Digital sequence information:

• A public call for tenders by BfN on the implementation of the Multilateral Mechanism on Digital Sequence Information in Germany is running until November 20. The proposed work programs focus on national implementation, which includes creating incentives for users and analyzing the relationship to other international agreements that also address DSI. The tender documents can be found here.

Plant Treaty:

• The 11th session of the Governing Body (GB 11) in Lima is just around the corner. From November 24 to November 29, GB 11 will address a number of issues related to the implementation of the Treaty and its Multilateral System (MLS) for Access and Benefit-Sharing (ABS), the world's largest mechanism for the exchange of plant genetic resources for food and agriculture (PGRFA). The negotiations are at a crucial stage, as they mark the conclusion of years of negotiations aimed at improving the functioning of the MLS. Specifically, the revision of the Standard Material Transfer Agreement (SMTA) for the exchange of PGRFA and benefit sharing; the expansion of the list of crops in Annex I of the Treaty to include all PGRFA; and the treatment of other issues related to the implementation and review of the new system in a draft resolution. The most controversial issues include digital sequence information/genetic sequence data (DSI/GSD) on PGRFA, the expansion of Annex I, and the payment structure and rates under the revised SMTA. There are still fundamental differences of opinion within the various regions on all key issues, making it difficult to predict the outcome of the 11th GB. Further information and the negotiation documents can be found here.
• The GIZ ABS Capacity Initiative, together with the Treaty Secretariat, is hosting a webinar on December 11 from 2:00 p.m. to 3:30 p.m. UTC to discuss the outcomes of the 11th Governing Body meeting. The focus will be on taking stock of the extent to which the Multilateral System relates to future work under the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) and its Nagoya Protocol in order to support harmonious national and multilateral implementation of various access and benefit-sharing (ABS) systems. Registration is possible via the following link: https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_GTOVdMAHR7-HGtzcd49jxQ 

ABS-System in the Pandemic Agreement:

• For the first time at the 3rd Intergovernmental Working Group (IGWG) meeting, from November 3 to November 7, member states of the WHO Pandemic Agreement began discussing the proposed draft annex to the agreement, which establishes the system for access to pathogens and benefit-sharing (PABS). The PABS system is an essential part of the Pandemic Agreement adopted in early 2025 to facilitate the rapid and timely exchange of materials and sequence information on pathogens with pandemic potential and to enable the equitable sharing of benefits arising from their use. The draft under consideration contains provisions designed to implement the obligations contained in Article 12 of the Pandemic Agreement on equitable access to life-saving resources during health crises. Further information and the documents for the meeting can be found here.