Nordic Ministerial Declaration: Access and Rights to Genetic Resources

Due to the international developments described above, the Nordic countries must now assess the legal status of Nordic genetic resources. This includes determining if genetic resources shall be private or public property, and whether the ownership rights to genetic resources follow the ownership rights to the biological material or not. It is also necessary to decide whether or not the access to genetic resources shall be nationally regulated, i.e., if permission shall be required for the collection of genetic material or if certain requirements must be met in order to gain access to domesticated genetic material or genetic material administered by various gene banks, including the Nordic Gene Bank (NGB). Finally, it is also necessary to consider other measures the Nordic countries could introduce in order to promote the implementation of the recent international regulations in the field, above all, making it easier for the developing countries to implement the new conventions.