On 19 December 2022, the parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) decided to create a new global mechanism requiring the private sector to pay into a new Global Biodiversity Trust Fund. 

The new fund is expected to generate up to 15 billion USD per year, based on contributions from companies that “use digital sequence information on genetic resources.”  This is to ensure that companies creating value from biodiversity “share fairly and equitably” the “monetary benefits” that are generated from commercialization of products or processes derived from anything in nature.  These monies will then be spent on halting and reversing biodiversity loss, e.g. human induced extinction of threatened species.

Crucially, the mechanism already exists, and the goal is to have it operational by the start of 2025.  Due to this ambitious time-line, the CBD Secretariat is now soliciting stakeholders’ views by 15 March.  For more info on this new mechanism, please see my blog from December 2022.

I strongly urge the reader to consider submitting views.  I say this from a genuine concern over its potential impact on life sciences R&D.  This new mechanism is essentially a new Nagoya Protocol on Access and Benefit-Sharing (ABS), applicable to “digital sequence information” on biological materials instead of the physical samples themselves.  And the unspoken truth of the Nagoya Protocol is that the societal cost of that mechanism, such as through lost R&D and enormous compliance and transaction costs, has far outstripped any benefits for biodiversity.  If not done well, this new mechanism could have the same consequence for data-driven 21st century science.

The topics that stakeholders are invited to express their views on, are the following:

(a) Governance of the fund;

(b) Triggering points for benefit-sharing;

(c) Contributions to the fund;

(d) Potential to voluntarily extend the multilateral mechanism to genetic resources or biological diversity;

(e) Disbursement of monetary benefits, including information on geographical origin as one of the criteria;

(f) Non-monetary benefit-sharing, including information on geographical origin as one of the criteria;

(g) Other policy options for the sharing of benefits from the use of digital sequence information on genetic resources;

(h) Capacity development and technology transfer;

(i) Monitoring and evaluation and review of effectiveness;

(j) Adaptability of the mechanism to other resource mobilization instruments or funds;

(k) Interface between national systems and the multilateral mechanism on benefit-sharing;

(l) Relationship with the Nagoya Protocol;

(m) Role, rights and interests of indigenous peoples and local communities, including associated traditional knowledge;

(n) Role and interests of industry and academia;

(o) Linkages between research and technology and the multilateral mechanism on benefit sharing;

(p) Principles of data governance.

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Photo of Bart Van Vooren Bart Van Vooren

Bart Van Vooren, partner leads a dynamic practice at the intersection of EU regulatory law, global health, and biodiversity law. In these fields, he advises innovative pharmaceutical, food, cosmetic and technology companies on complex EU and global regulatory, compliance and policy assignments.

Bart…

Bart Van Vooren, partner leads a dynamic practice at the intersection of EU regulatory law, global health, and biodiversity law. In these fields, he advises innovative pharmaceutical, food, cosmetic and technology companies on complex EU and global regulatory, compliance and policy assignments.

Bart holds a Ph.D. in EU and International Law and was a professor of EU law until 2013. During that time, he wrote the first-ever handbook with Cambridge University Press on “EU External Relations Law” (2014). He then transitioned to private practice, and frequently acted for the Belgian government before the EU Court of Justice (e.g. C-16/16P Belgium vs Commission). Bart joined Covington in 2016, leading some of our most consequential EU litigation proceedings (e.g. C-311/18 “Schrems II”) over the years.  Having handled nearly 50 cases before the EU Court, he’s uniquely qualified to support our corporate clients in our most high-stakes disputes. Recent examples include T-189/21 Aloe Vera of Europe v Commission (which we won, so the Commission decided to appeal); as well as T-201/21 Covington & Burling and Van Vooren v Commission (which we also won, and hence is also on appeal).

As a pioneer in biodiversity law, over the past 15 years Bart has built a unique, global practice on Access and Benefit-Sharing (ABS) laws under the Convention on Biological Diversity, the Nagoya Protocol, the Plant Treaty, the High Seas Treaty and the WHO Pandemic Agreement. ABS compliance is critical when sourcing biological materials for life sciences R&D and I work with many of the world’s innovative life sciences companies on the whole range of e.g. transactional, contractual, compliance, IP, (EU) regulatory and litigation work relating to ABS. As biodiversity has increasingly become identified as a major commercial and financial risk to companies, so has the practice expanded to e.g. biodiversity credit markets, biodiversity insurance, biodiversity claims and advertising, and so on. Since April 2025, Bart has been appointed as the industry representative to the Steering Committee of the UN Biodiversity Fund that seeks funding from the private sector for biodiversity conservation and restoration.

Bart also pioneered our global health practice. He has advised pharmaceutical clients on seasonal and pandemic influenza since 2016. Since then, this practice area expanded to cover all matters relating to infectious diseases, and as of 2020, emergency preparedness and response (eg. WHO prequalification, International Coordination Group negotiations, Emergency Use Listing, International Health Regulations Rev 2024). He has been the pharmaceutical industry’s lead lawyer advising on the WHO Pandemic Treaty negotiations, adopted on 14 May 2025. Currently, he continues to advise on the work of the Intergovernmental Working Group (“IGWG”) teasing out the technical details of the “Pathogen Access and Benefit-Sharing System” intended to create legally binding obligations on companies to commit vaccines, therapeutics and diagnostics in case of a new global health emergency.

In Chambers rankings, clients have kindly described Bart as “very knowledgeable, action-focused and service-focused lawyer”, adding that he “really tries to find a way of working through challenges”, am “customer-oriented” and provide “sound advice and reasonable options for our business with pros and cons.”

Finally, Bart has an active pro bono practice assisting NGOs defending the human rights of persons with a disability through strategic litigation before the EU Court.

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