Many biologists justifiably state that the Nagoya Protocol and its implementation in many countries absurdly prevent biological research in biodiversity hot-spots. However, there are more points of view that are justifiable as well.

In the first place, Nagoya protocol did not come from the void! There have been many cases where countries claimed complete control over their genetic resources, and irrespectively of scientist's opinions and the countries enforced the claims in their territory (e.g. here and here). We may only hypothesize if these claims were raised to protect natural heritage, stop illegal animal trading, protect the source of scientific research for local scientists, or simply to prevent biodiversity research in order to paralyze conservation efforts (here).

Thus, the main goal of the Nagoya Protocol is actually to prevent these situations. Each party of the protocol (state) should share the information on regulations and make it available and transparent for anybody interested in a collection of any genetic material. However, this effort will still take quite some time, as many of the parties did not implement the law yet. Additionally, other regulations (like CITES) are stepping into the process. It unluckily resulted in a very confusing situation in which SciPerCon can effectively help you.

Moreover, the troubles regarding all needed scientific permits can come from different directions! The first one is, of course, the country in which the research is taking place. The fact you gained a research permit does not imminently mean that you can collect the genetic material. Do you have permission to collect everywhere? Are you obliged to get Prior Informed Consent from the landowner? The export permission is also a separate thing to be solved with proper care!

In case you got successfully back to your home lab without being imprisoned, you can still face the questions of reviewers and editors or the grant provider. EU, for example, started to take true care about the legality of genetic resources for research funded by public finances.

DON'T get upset! The new regulations will not kill science. The scientific efforts will still go on in all the relevant fields. SciPerCon is here to help you with the scientific permits agenda, so you can entirely focus on your research!

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