Access to Dutch Genetic Resources

The Nagoya Protocol

On 12 October 2014, the Nagoya Protocol on Access to Genetic Resources and the Fair and Equitable Sharing of Benefits arising from their Utilization entered into force. The Nagoya Protocol is aimed at providing a transparent legal framework for Access and Benefit-Sharing (ABS, the international and national regulation of access to and use of genetic resources and traditional knowledge associated with genetic resources, and the sharing of benefits stemming from this use between providers and users). The Nagoya Protocol requires provider countries to ensure clear and transparent procedures for access to their genetic resources, and countries where the genetic resources are utilised to monitor compliance with ABS rules of the provider countries.

The EU ABS Regulation

Also on 12 October 2014, the EU ABS Regulation (Regulation (EU) No 511/2014 on compliance measures for users from the Nagoya Protocol) entered into force. The EU ABS Regulation establishes obligations for users of genetic resources and traditional knowledge associated with genetic resources in the European Union and for national governments of EU Member States. The EU ABS Regulation only gives compliance rules, and does not provide access rules for genetic resources from EU Member States, as access rules are determined by the individual EU Member States themselves.

National legislation for the implementation of the Nagoya Protocol in the Netherlands

The Nagoya Protocol (Implementation) Act, which came into force on 23 April 2016, was established to implement the Nagoya Protocol and the EU ABS Regulation in the Netherlands. The Act deals with, among other things, the implementation of the Act, the designation of competent authorities, sanctions, and other measures. The Explanatory Memorandum accompanying the Act addresses the background to the Nagoya Protocol, and explains the contents and the implementation of the Nagoya Protocol and the EU ABS Regulation in the Netherlands.

Access to Dutch genetic resources

The legislation for the implementation of the Nagoya Protocol in the Netherlands does not regulate access to Dutch genetic resources in the framework of the Nagoya Protocol, as the Dutch government considers it unnecessary to exercise its sovereignty regarding access to Dutch genetic resources in national legislation (section 6.2.1 of the Explanatory Memorandum of the Nagoya Protocol (Implementation) Act of the Netherlands). This means that you do not need Prior Informed Consent (PIC) to access and use Dutch genetic resources. However, this only applies if the genetic resources are indeed Dutch genetic resources, i.e., they are not genetic resources obtained from another country and transferred to the Netherlands. In case the genetic resources are obtained from another country, access regulations of that country may apply. Collection holders may set conditions (e.g., in the form of a Material Transfer Agreement), which are often dependent on the conditions under which the collections themselves acquired the material.

Outside the ABS rules, access may be restricted due to legislation and regulatory requirements on species protection, territorial protection, and animal and plant diseases. Environmental impact rules may also apply. Genetic resources, for example on farms or in gardens, may be privately owned and access to these genetic resources requires the consent of the owner.

The Dutch Caribbean

The previous section only applies to genetic resources from the European part of the Netherlands. However, the Kingdom of the Netherlands also includes island territories in the Caribbean. You can find more information on the ABS rules for these island territories in our article ‘ABS and genetic resources from the Caribbean parts of the Netherlands’, published in 2023.