Despite major achievements, the Multilateral System of Access and Benefit-sharing (MLS) under the International Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture (ITPGRFA) is not functioning according to expectations, and negotiations in this regard came to a halt in 2019. This survey explores options for resuming negotiations on enhancing the functioning of the MLS and is targeted at negotiators and observers in this context. Ninety-five individuals and groups from different regions and stakeholder groups responded to the survey, almost all with experience from delegations or as observers at relevant meetings.

Opinions diverge as to expanding the Plant Treaty’s Annex 1 list of crops covered by the MLS and regarding the inclusion of ‘digital sequence information’ (DSI) in the MLS. Major stumbling blocks to achieving consensus on the issue of DSI are uneven capacity to access, analyse and use DSI, and to related technology. A subscription system with benefit sharing has broad support among survey respondents, along with capacity-building and technology transfer related to DSI. These are among the findings presented in this policy brief.

Documents

Download the policy brief (original English version)

The full report is available here

Español: Próximamente se publicarán las versiones en francés y español del resumen de políticas, que se pueden encontrar siguiendo los enlaces proporcionados aquí (español) y aquí (francés).

Française: Les versions française et espagnole de la note d'orientation seront publiées prochainement et peuvent être trouvées en suivant les liens fournis ici (française) et ici (espagnole).