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.

The Nagoya what?

The Nagoya Protocol. It’s international law that deals with research on biological material.

Are you doing research on biological material like plants, viruses, bacteria, fungi etc.?

Does the material originally come from outside Germany?

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!

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

Since 12 October 2014, the Nagoya Protocol has been in force. It provides a comprehensive international framework for access, benefit-sharing and compliance.

EU Regulation No 511/2014 is in place to make sure that research and development in the European Union, including academic and non-commercial research, is Nagoya Protocol compliant.

What does all of this mean for you as researcher in Germany?

You always have to comply with laws in the countries where your biological material comes from. This may mean that you have to obtain a permit and sign a benefit-sharing agreement.

Did you get your material on or after 12 October 2014? You might have additional due diligence obligations under the EU Regulation.

If so, you will also have to comply with the corresponding German law.

What is the German Nagoya Protocol HuB about?

Don’t worry! The German Nagoya Protocol HuB is here to help. The GNP HuB provides information for the academic research community in Germany.

We are building up this website to help you. Send us your feedback and help us to shape it!

We are building up the German Nagoya Protocol HuB Network for the academic sector so that we can learn from one another about compliance.

You can ask us questions. Contact our help desk!

We offer information sessions for researchers, students and administrative staff from institutions across Germany.

We organize workshops to support compliance in Germany.

Understanding compliance can be daunting!

What information can you find on the GNP HuB website?

The GNP HuB website is being developed together with the academic research community in Germany and other experts on ABS and the Nagoya Protocol.

Our aim is to put all the information and resources that academic researchers need in one place, including infographics, videos, tips on how to deal with commonly faced challenges, answers to frequently asked questions and much more!

The website is in development and will continue to grow over the coming months … if you can’t find what you are looking for, make sure you let us know!

Basic information

Information about dealing with ABS and compliance

Information about other researchers’
experiences

Answers to your questions

Useful resources and tools

Information about our network

ABS stories

Learn from the experience of other German researchers who have successfully navigated access and benefit-sharing in different countries around the world

Our Network

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

The implementation of the Nagoya Protocol has created a number of challenges for the academic research sector but over the years, there has been a lot of learning by doing on access and benefit-sharing and compliance. We can learn from one another by sharing our experiences and expertise.

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

More information

Behind the scenes

The Leibniz Institute-German Collection for Microorganisms and Cell Cultures (DSMZ) is partnering with the Consortium of German Natural Science Collections (DNFS), the German Life Sciences Association (VBIO) and the Leibniz Research Alliance for Biodiversity (LVB) on the German Nagoya Protocol HuB.

Can’t find what you are looking for on our website? You have a question? You have an experience you would like to share with us? You want to get involved in the GNP HuB Network?

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