Information Exchange in Botanical Garden Networks

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Information Exchangein Botanical Garden Networks

• Royal Botanic Gardens Kew

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Streamlining ABS

• Workable Transactions
• Protection
• Enforcement

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Access and Benefit Sharing

• Working with different partners (MoU MoC)
• Taxonomic / applied research
• Basic research
• Importance of definitions
• Commercial active extracts/compounds,
  horticultural, knowledge (traditional)

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Convention on Biological Diversity

• Mutually Agreed Terms
• Access to Genetic Resources
• Permitted use of Genetic Resources
• Restrictions on Supply
• Benefit-Sharing
• Definitions

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Convention on Biological Diversity

• Article 15 (5)
• Access to genetic resources subject to Prior
  informed Consent
• Article 15 (2)
• Parties must endeavour to facilitate access

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Issues since 1990s

• Ownership of genetic resources can be unclear
• Stakeholders who are they?
• Benefit Sharing what type?
• Increased complexity who signs?
• Process takes too long for grants funders
  withdraw
• CBD issues not recognised by many grant giving
  organisation (as if CBD not required for pure
  academic research)

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Concerns about CBD

• Lack of clarity
• Different conditions in each country
• Bureaucracy
• Unrealistic expectations
• High transactions costs who pays?
• Lack of understanding (among all concerned)

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EFFECTIVE PARTNERSHIPS (MSBP)
gt100 partner institutions in 50 countries
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PRIOR INFORMED CONSENTACCESS BENEFIT SHARING
AGREEMENTS

• Ownership
• Consent
• Activities
• Governance
• Benefit sharing
• Non-commercialisation
• Transfer to third parties
• Duration

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Project context International
CBD Article 9 Each Contracting Party shall ...
predominantly for the purpose of complementing
in-situ measures (a) Adopt measures for the
ex-situ conservation of components of biological
diversity
Global Strategy for Plant Conservation Target 8.
60 of threatened plant species in accessible ex
situ collections, preferably in the country of
origin, and 10 of them included in recovery and
restoration programmes
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Objective 2.5 of the NSW Biodiversity
Conservation Strategy statesAction 29
implement ex-situ conservation
measures..Action 30 include ex-situ
conservation options in recovery plans for the
threatened species, populations or ecological
communities where appropriate.
Project context Local
Objective 1.9 of the National Strategy for the
Conservation of Australias Biodiversity that
is Ex-situ conservation To complement in-situ
measures, establish and maintain facilities for
ex-situ research into and conservation of plants,
animals and micro-organisms, particularly those
identified by action taken in accordance with
Objective 1.1
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Collecting and targets

• Each year it is proposed to undertake collections
  from at least 135 species.. and will include
• species listed as threatened according to state
  or national legislation
• species belonging to threatened ecosystems
• species endemic to South Australia
• species representative of key ecological
  communities
• high utility species such as those used in
  revegetation programs.
• By completion of the Project it is proposed to
  have undertaken conservation collections for 60
  of species identified as being nationally
  threatened according to South Australias six
  regional biodiversity plans.

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TECHNOLOGY TRANSFER
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Procedures Access to genetic resources outside
Kew

• Identify in-country collaborators
• Identify scope of project
• Identify local issues (e.g. primary IK stays with
  host country)
• MOU drafted
• Signed by head of institute/government or
  suitable authority
• Reporting

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Procedures Access to material at Kew

• Access via institute (rather than individual)
• Material Transfer Agreements
• Identify Kew Accession number of material
• (only non-restricted material send out)
• With companies research undertaken at Kew with
  material from the origin country
• via the company.

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Influence of the Convention of Biological
Diversity on natural product research The story
behind the commercialisation of DMDP (2,5
dihydroxy-methyl-3,4 dihydroxypyrrolidine)
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Costa Rica

• Dan Janzen in 1980 sent some seeds not eaten by
  insects to Kew from Costa Rica
• Pure ecological research insect-plant
  interactions
• Result
• Identification of DMDP in Lonchocarpus
• (of commercial interest)

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Agreements

• 1992 Supply agreement
• BTG pay INBio for supply of DMDP
• Costa Rica can use DMDP as a nematocide

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Agreements

• 1992 Supply agreement
• BTG pay INBio for supply of DMDP
• Costa Rica can use DMDP as a nematocide
• 1995 Collaborative Agreement
• Establishment of plantations in Costa Rica

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Agreements

• 1992 Supply agreement
• BTG pay INBio for supply of DMDP
• Costa Rica can use DMDP as a nematocide
• 1995 Collaborative Agreement
• Establishment of plantations in Costa Rica
• 1999 Revenue Sharing/ Assignments

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Need more DMDP

• Synthetic source
• Alternative natural sources

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Bioinventory and Bioprospecting of fungi
Iwokrama Forest , Guyana
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EU Funded Project

• Iwokrama
• CABI Bioscience
• West Indies University
• Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew

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Project Objectives

• Set up laboratory to isolate, identify and screen
  fungi in Guyana
• Inventory of fungi
• Collection of fungal isolates for screening
• Profile metabolites in extracts
• Undertake basic activity screens on extracts

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Progress

• Staff in Guyana recruited and trained
• Mycologist, Natural Product Chemist
• Laboratory in Guyana equipped and ready
• Extracts available for testing
• Anti-microbial leads identified
• BUT
• No legislation in place in Guyana to cover
  commercialisation and associated benefit-sharing
• (resources going into health transport etc)

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Procedures

• For projects
• MOC/MOU
• For material
• Material supply Agreements
• Accession databases
• For people
• Travel Forms have you agreements in place?
• Grants have you PIC?

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Streamlining ABS

• Workable Transactions ?
• Protection yes but (?)
• Enforcement within Kew but outside ?