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    • Understanding the ABS world – infographic
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    • Video: ABS compliance supports your science
    • Do I have compliance obligations?
    • What are my obligations?
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    • Institutional measures for compliance – infographic
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  • GNP HuB
    • About
    • Network
    • Library
    • Podcasts
    • Help Desk
    • News
    • Calendar
  • ABS
    • Understanding the ABS world – infographic
    • Build your ABS Strategy – checklist
    • Benefit-sharing
    • Video: Nagoya For Newbies
    • ABS – dealing with practical challenges
    • Tools & Resources for ABS
    • ABS Stories
  • Compliance
    • Video: ABS compliance supports your science
    • Do I have compliance obligations?
    • What are my obligations?
    • Tools & Resources for Compliance
    • User checks
    • Implications of non-compliance
  • Your institution
    • Institutional measures for compliance – infographic
    • Guidelines for institutions
    • Who can I contact at my institution?
    • Registered collections
    • Compliance Stories
  • FAQs and more
    • FAQ
    • Mythbusters
    • Acronyms and terms explained
    • Current issues
  • Contact
  • German

Slide The German Nagoya Protocol HuB, or GNP HuB for short, helps people in the academic research sector in Germany with understanding their obligations arising from the implementation of the Nagoya Protocol. Why ‘HuB’? HuB stands for ‘Hilfe und Beratung’ - help and guidance in English.

Is this relevant for me?

The Nagoya Protocol has been in force since October 2014. It provides a comprehensive international framework on Access and Benefit-sharing (ABS) and compliance.

Slide The Nagoya what? The Nagoya Protocol. It’s international law that deals with research on biological material.
Slide Are you doing research on biological material like plants, viruses, bacteria, fungi etc.? Does the material originally come from outside Germany?
 Slide Yeah, so what? The Nagoya Protocol could be relevant for you! You need to know about access and benefit-sharing and your compliance obligations in Germany!

Our “ABS world” infographic provides a quick and easy overview of whether your research leads to ABS or compliance obligations.

Go to the ABS world infographic

Watch our video and understand why ABS compliance is essential for your research.

Information about access and benefit-sharing (ABS)

Many countries around the world regulate access to non-human biological material (“genetic resources”) for research purposes, requiring benefits arising from this use to be shared. This is referred to as “access and benefit-sharing”, or ABS for short.

As an academic researcher, you may need an ABS permit and to sign a benefit-sharing agreement.

Information about access, benefit-sharing and your obligations

Helpful tips about ABS and dealing with challenges

Tools and resources that support ABS

Answers to FAQs and mythbusters about ABS

Going through the ABS process for the first time? Use our “Build your ABS Strategy” checklist to guide you!

Go to checklist

Through our ABS Stories, you can learn how German researchers successfully navigated ABS in different countries around the world.

Information on compliance for research in Germany

Regulation (EU) No 511/2014 requires researchers, including basic and non-commercial researchers, to ensure that their research is Nagoya Protocol compliant.

Understand whether you have compliance obligations and what they are

Information about user checks and the implications of non-compliance

Tools and resources and institutional guidelines that support compliance

Answers to FAQs and mythbusters about compliance

Our infographic on institutional measures provides a quick and easy overview of who could be involved in compliance at the institutional level

Go to the infographic

Through our Compliance Stories you can learn about how German institutions are dealing with their obligations Regulation (EU) No 511/2014.

Help Desk

Can’t find what you are looking for on our website and you have a question?

Get in touch with us!

Contact us

Outreach and awareness-raising

We can do online information sessions for your institution or offer short presentations for scientific conferences in either English and German. If you’re interested, contact us! You can also check out our upcoming events in our calendar.

Our Network

Slide It’s a challenge but everyone is in the same boat.

The GNP HuB Network is an informal network that brings together people from all over Germany, providing a platform for information exchange of experiences and expertise, awareness-raising and networking.

Join us!

Podcast

In our podcast series “Nagoya Bites”, we walk researchers through various topics and hopefully demystify the Nagoya Protocol and ABS along the way.
Available on Anchor, Spotify und YouTube.
Go to episodes

Stay up to date!

Join our mailing list and follow us on Twitter, Youtube and LinkedIn.

We also provide regular updates in our news posts.

About the German Nagoya Protocol HuB

Behind the scenes – The German Nagoya Protocol HuB is implemented by the Leibniz Institute-German Collection for Microorganisms and Cell Cultures (DSMZ) and financed by members of the Alliance of Science Organisations.

You can find more information about the project and our activities under about us and in the library.

The Alliance ABS advisory platform for academic research is funded by members of the Alliance of Science Organisations. The project sponsoring members of the Alliance are the German Research Foundation (DFG), the German Rectors’ Conference (HRK), the Helmholtz Association of German Research Centres (HGF), the Leibniz Association, the German National Academy of Sciences Leopoldina and the Max Planck Society.

 

 

 

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  • Some countries also have ABS laws even though they are NOT Party to the Nagoya Protocol. You still must comply with these laws!
  • Some countries in the EU also have specific national ABS laws.
  • If your research will involve traditional knowledge, you must take into account the national ABS rules in this regard.

In cases of non-compliance the National Authority (BfN) can:

  • confiscate the material.
  • prohibit further use and transfer of the material for research.
  • prohibit the publication or sharing of any results of utilization.
  • issue a fine of up to 50,000 EUR.

Check out more about the implications of non-compliance.

How do I check?

  • Start with the country profile in the ABS Clearing House (ABSCH).
  • Check out the legislative, administrative or policy measures section. If no measures can be found here, the interim reports might also contain relevant information. Tip! filter by country.
  • Be careful though. This information is not always complete or up to date. Some countries have ABS laws but they are not listed in the ABSCH.

To play safe and ensure legal clarity, always contact the ABS national focal point and/or the competent national authority. Tip! filter by country.

No answer?

  • Try contacting the national focal point of the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD).
  • Ask collaboration partners in the country for help – easier for them to contact the authorities in their own country and language!
  • Ask colleagues who have worked in that country before.
  • Use the internet to find resources.
  • Contact the German Federal Agency for Nature Conservation (BfN). They have information about ABS and may be able to assist.

For research done in Germany, the German Federal Agency for Nature Conservation recommends using the DECLARE portal.

An account is required. Check with your institution as it may already have one.

This video and the user guide are very useful to start!

Starting your project before ABS permits have been granted is a violation of the EU Regulation and can get you in trouble if your institute is being checked by the German National Authority (BfN)!

In this regard, you have obligations under the EU ABS Regulation if:

  • You collected the material…
  • The collaborator who gave you the material collected it…
  • The material obtained from a collection was originally collected…
  • The shop or company where you bought the material collected it…

on or after 12 October 2014

This date is key because it is when the Nagoya Protocol entered into force.

When you obtain material from a collaborator, collection or trader, it is important to verify if there are benefit-sharing obligations linked to it.

For example: research on specific genetic or biochemical properties, gene function, gene expression, genetic modification, genome editing, breeding based on traits and their associated genes, among others.

The EU Regulation does not apply when research does not involve the study of the genetic or biochemical composition, e.g. storing biological materials in a collection, mere culturing of organisms, taxonomic identification, morphological or anatomical characterization, among others.

See the guidance document for more information and examples on “utilisation”.

Also check our FAQs section on it.

ABS obligations may or may not apply depending on the type of research. There could be exemptions for non-commercial or basic research.

Keep in mind that exemptions for local researchers may not apply if they conduct their research abroad (e.g. guest researchers bring material from their home country to study it in Germany).

Within the European Union, obligations stem from Regulation (EU) No 511/2014.

The EU Guidance Document contains information on scope, obligations and understanding whether your material/research is covered, including many practical examples. It is available in all EU languages and is a must-have resource.

Not all countries that are Party to the Nagoya Protocol regulate access, e.g. Germany. In such cases, you are free to use the genetic resources obtained from these countries without getting ABS permits.

You are obliged by the EU and German law to support user checks by the German Federal Agency for Nature Conservation.

Failure to support a user check is an administrative offence.

When you transfer the material to another person or institution:

  • Search if there are ABS documents relating to the material you have.
  • Check if the transfer to third parties is permitted.
  • Transfer also the information, e.g. a copy of the ABS permit or the number of the internationally recognized certificate of compliance (IRCC) published on the ABS Clearing House.

Having a good documentation system will save you headaches in the future.

Read the documents and understand your obligations as well as any conditions and restrictions on use of the material.

Keep in mind your commitments on benefit-sharing!

The due diligence declaration informs the competent authority in Germany that your research and material is Nagoya Protocol relevant and that you have complied with your ABS obligations.

Check out more about it!

“Derivative” means a naturally occurring biochemical compound resulting from the genetic expression or metabolism of biological or genetic resources, even if it does not contain functional units of heredity.

Some examples are: RNA, proteins (including enzymes), lipids, organic compounds (e.g. essential oils or resins) and other products of metabolism.

Also check our FAQs section on it.

In this regard, you have obligations in the EU if the country where the material comes from was a Party to the Nagoya Protocol and had ABS regulations at the time of access.

Why is ABS important?

Access and Benefit Sharing (ABS) measures ensure that research results support provider countries to:

  • Make informed decisions on conservation, sustainable use and management of their biodiversity.
  • Implement innovative solutions for productive activities, contributing to sustainable development.
  • Build capacities for national research.
  • Other benefits as agreed.

Even if ABS does not apply to your research project, you must be able to provide the German Federal Agency for Nature Conservation with the documentation that supports your conclusion. This will speed up possible compliance checks. Tip! save email correspondence with the provider country authorities on this regard.

For some countries, this can be determined by checking the date of entry into force of the national ABS legislation and compare it with when the material was collected in the field.  If you collected before the legislation went into force, you could be out of scope. However, in some countries “access” can also mean receiving material from an ex-situ collection or even when you start to use it (even if it was collected and left the provider country long ago). Keep this in mind!

Some laws only cover certain types of organisms or organisms collected in certain areas.

Check when:

  • you collect material outside of Germany
  • a collaborator gives you material from another country
  • you get material from a collection in Germany
  • you buy material from a shop or a company
  • traditional knowledge from indigenous peoples or local communities will be used for your research