TWN
Info Service on Biodiversity and Traditional Knowledge (Jun26/01)
29 June 2026
Third World Network
Dear friends and colleagues,
DSI databases and fair and equitable benefit-sharing
Advances in technology have increasingly enabled research and development
on genetic resources to be undertaken through access to digital genetic
sequence data rather than physical biological materials. This shift
has opened the door to "digital biopiracy", where sequence
data derived from biodiversity-rich countries and Indigenous Peoples
and local communities are utilized using digital technologies without
fair and equitable sharing of benefits.
A report co-published by IT for Change and the Third World Network
examines the governance practices of selected digital sequence information
(DSI) databases from the perspective of biodiversity justice, sovereignty,
human rights, and fair and equitable benefit-sharing under international
law. Written by TWN senior researcher Nithin Ramakrishnan, the report
finds that the examined databases follow broadly similar governance
approaches that externalize responsibility for legality and benefit-sharing
to data providers and national authorities, while the databases themselves
assume little responsibility for ensuring accountability or equitable
use. It contends that current DSI-sharing systems often promote the
extraction of data from developing countries without reciprocal scientific,
technological or economic gains, thereby reinforcing structural inequalities
in the bioeconomy.
The report calls for a DSI-sharing environment that is accountable,
transparent, respectful of provider rights, and consistent with international
law. To this end, it proposes the development of a multilaterally
accountable database infrastructure and recommends minimum requirements
for DSI databases.
The full report, "Access to Digital Sequence Information (DSI)
and Fair and Equitable Sharing of Benefits Arising from Its Utilization:
A Digital Justice Perspective", is available at https://itforchange.net/sites/default/files/2645/Access_to_Digital_Sequence_Information_DSI.pdf
or https://twn.my/announcement/Access_to_Digital_Sequence_Information_DSI.pdf
With best wishes,
Third World Network
