FAR-DSI

The Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) is a global agreement dealing with the conservation of biodiversity, its sustainable use, and the fair and equitable sharing of the benefits arising from the utilization of genetic resources (GR). A decision on whether benefits from digital sequence information (DSI) must be shared was unresolved until the Global Biodiversity Framework’s decision to establish a multilateral benefit-sharing mechanism. While the decision defined principles for DSI benefit-sharing, much work needs to be done to develop and implement the mechanism.

The FAR-DSI project will provide technical and practical information to assess the feasibility of various multilateral benefit-sharing modalities.

The major goals of the FAR-DSI project are:

1. Assess the impact of the COP15 decision on a multilateral benefit-sharing mechanism (MLM) for digital sequence information (DSI) on the research infrastructure
2. Make technical recommendations to policymakers on opportunities for the MLM that support scientific innovation
3. Provide data on potential DSI indicators

The FAR-DSI project is led by the German Federation for Biological Data (GFBio e.V.). As a GFBio member, the DSMZ provides technical supervision and guidance for the project.