14th GNP HuB Meeting

On 29 October 2025, the German Nagoya Protocol HuB Network convened its 14th Stammtisch meeting online. This session focused on the latest international developments concerning Digital Sequence Information (DSI) under the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD), with a particular focus on the newly adopted DSI Multilateral Mechanism and the creation of the Cali Fund.

Participants received an overview of the policy context and the core components of the mechanism, including its multilateral approach to benefit‑sharing from publicly accessible DSI, the continued commitment to open access for sequence data, and the introduction of monetary contributions for major commercial users in selected sectors. The discussion also highlighted what these changes mean in practice: access to publicly available DSI remains open, academic research is exempt from monetary contributions, and non‑monetary benefit‑sharing continue to be relevant. Moreover, compliance with national ABS requirements for DSI from public databases remains as an important unresolved topic.

The meeting further explored Germany’s role in shaping and implementing the mechanism, as well as ongoing coordination across related ABS processes. This included updates on CBD decision 16/2 and parallel negotiations taking place in other international fora.

The full meeting report is available here:

Source: Orozco and Scholz 2025: The Cali Fund promises conservation benefits, but only if countries and businesses take action. Nat. Rev. Biodivers. 1, 276–278.