Bridges Trade BioRes • Volume 4 • Number 6 • 12th April 2004
International Seed Treaty to Enter Into Force
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The International Treaty (IT) on Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture (PGRFA) will enter into force on 29 June after twelve European countries and the European Community ratified the agreement, thus bringing the number of ratifications to 48 (40 required). “The Treaty provides an international legal framework that will be a key element in ensuring food security, now and in the future,” said Jose Esquinas-Alcazar, secretary of FAO’s Commission on Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture. Recognising both the sovereign rights and the inter-dependence of countries over their PGRFA, the IT establishes a Multilateral System that aims to facilitate access to PGRFA and benefit-sharing (see BRIDGES Trade BioRes, 22 November 2001). The Treaty provides for mandatory benefit-sharing in cases when the commercialisation of a product — which was developed from PGRFA obtained from the Multilateral System — restricts the product’s availability for use in further research and breeding, for instance through intellectual property protection. Access is to be regulated principally by means of a standard material transfer agreement (MTA), which will apply also to transfers to third parties and to all subsequent transfers. The terms of the standard MTA will be developed by an expert group established at the first Meeting of the Interim Committee for the ITPGRFA. The group, which has yet to meet due to funding constraints, will report to the second meeting of the Interim Committee. It is hoped that the entry into force of the Treaty will revive some of the momentum that led to its adoption.
ICTSD reporting; “Treaty on biodiversity to become law,” FAO PRESS RELEASE, 31 March 2004.
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