Sequence for a just future

Without a robust regulatory framework, digital genomic data will not allow benefits from biological resources to reach communities 

- VIBHA VARSHNEY

AFTER A delay of two years due to the pandemic, just as nations begin to finalise the Post-2020 Global Biodiversity Framework under the UN Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD), negotiations on how to regulate the use of digital sequence information (DSI) of genetic resources could further delay the process.

The vast potential of DSI was underscored during the pandemic when open access to the digital copy of the SARS-CoV-2 genome, uploaded by China, enabled researchers worldwide to develop vaccines against COVID-19 in record time. Imagine how more data on several billion resources, that is currently available in different databases can revolutionise research.

This data is essentially electronic information on the sequences of the genetic material that make each biological resource unique.