Speakers
Description
Fair and equitable sharing of the benefits generated by using genomic sequence data and other related digital data, referred to in policy circles as “Digital Sequence Information” (DSI), is a hot topic in several international fora. It builds off similar discussions related to the sharing of benefits from using physical genetic resources, which led to the creation of the Nagoya Protocol in 2010. The Protocol has shaped and impacted how research is done across the globe. As governments discuss how to create benefit sharing mechanisms for digital genetic resources, it is key that the scientific community be aware of the debates and their possible implications.
This session will provide an overview of the debates under the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD), under the High Seas Treaty agreement on Biodiversity in Areas Beyond National Jurisdiction (BBNJ), under the WHO Pathogen Access and Benefit Sharing system (PABS), and the International Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources (IT-PGRFA).
Speakers will discuss the implications and opportunities of these different and possibly overlapping agreements, considering how they could improve data management to address concerns about fairness and ethics, while also presenting possible challenges to the open science infrastructure. Panelists will outline some of the implications for researchers and data managers in terms of compliance, legal certainty and capacity building.
Format: this will be a panel discussions, with four presenters. The proposed agenda is as follow:
5 min - Welcome and introduction to what “DSI” means - Session chair
10 min - Presentation 1 - Scarlett Sett
10 min - Presentation 2 - Michelle Rourke
15 min - Q&A
10 min - Presentation 3 - Yiming Bao
10 min- Presentation 4 - Eizadora T. Yu
20 min - Q&A
5 min - Closing remarks - Session chair
Panellists:
- Scarlett Sett, CSIRO Australian Centre for Disease Preparedness, Australia – What is going on with DSI? An overview of current negotiations under the Convention on Biological Diversity and implications for research
- Michelle Rourke, Law Futures Centre, Griffith University, Australia – Exploring tensions between fairness, equitable access and open science: Possible implications of the WHO Pathogen Access and Benefit Sharing system
- Yiming Bao, National Genomics Data Center, China National Center for Bioinformation, China – Data governance: what can databases do to improve fairness and equity in support of open science collaborations?
- Eizadora T. Yu, Marine Science Institute, University of the Philippines Diliman, The Philippines: How can the new agreements on benefit sharing be channeled to reduce inequities in the research community and empower researchers from LMICs?
