On January 17th, 2026, the Biodiversity Beyond National Jurisdiction (“BBNJ”) Agreement, also known as the “High Seas Treaty”, entered into force. For the first time, companies that use marine genetic resources (“MGRs”) and digital sequence information (“DSI”) originating from areas beyond national jurisdiction may be required
Continue Reading Navigating the new UN High Seas Treaty: Key Compliance Risks for Life Sciences CompaniesOn November 5, 2025, the Spanish Ministry for Ecological Transition and Demographic Challenge (“MITECO”) adopted a Resolution setting out the National Plan for the control of compliance with access and benefit-sharing (“ABS”) obligations under Regulation 511/2014 implementing the Nagoya Protocol in the European Union. The National Plan sets out a
Continue Reading ABS Enforcement Expected in Spain: Spain Adopted a National Plan to Enforce Access and Benefit-Sharing Rules
On July 7, 2025, the European Commission presented its Roadmap Towards Nature Credits, setting the blueprint for biodiversity certification in the EU. The Communication was also accompanied by a Q&A and a call for feedback by 30 September 2025.
In short, nature credits
Continue Reading An EU Biodiversity Market by 2027? The new EU’s Roadmap towards Nature Credits
On April 29, 2025, China released a landmark draft of its first unified Environmental Code, now open for public consultation until June 13, 2025. The 2025 Draft Environmental Code (“Draft Code”) consolidates and elevates into a single legal instrument many of China’s environmental laws, but it also marks a
Continue Reading China’s Draft Environmental Code: Access and Benefit-Sharing for Chinese Non-Human Biological Resources – What Life Sciences Companies Should Know
Image Credit: World Health Organization
On 16 April 2025, Member States of the World Health Organization (WHO) concluded negotiations on a new international treaty: the Agreement on pandemic prevention, preparedness and response (“WHO Pandemic Agreement”). Set to be adopted at the May 2025 World Health Assembly, this landmark accord aims
Continue Reading What Companies Should Know About the WHO Pandemic Agreement
On February 26, 2025, the Cali Fund was officially launched. Established by the 196 parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity (“CBD”), the Cali Fund invites pharma, cosmetics, food, AI, plant breeding, animal breeding, biotech, and other companies to “share monetary benefits” from uses of digital sequence information on
Continue Reading The Cali Fund and Why Legal Certainty Matters for Life Sciences R&D
The Secretariat of the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) has opened four consultations inviting stakeholder input on the development of the new Multilateral Mechanism on Benefit-Sharing (MLM) for Digital Sequence Information (DSI), including the establishment of the global benefit-sharing fund known as “The Cali Fund.”
Companies are encouraged to
Continue Reading Just Weeks After COP16: CBD Secretariat Launches Stakeholder Consultations for the Operationalization of the DSI Mechanism. How Should Companies Engage?
Photo: View from the business delegation to the negotiations in Montreal, of which Covington were part.
On August 16th, 2024, in Montreal, Canada, parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity (“CBD”) agreed on the draft text (“Draft decision”) for the operationalization of the Global
Continue Reading Soon a new global tax on products developed from “digital information” from biological materials? 5 key takeaways for companies from recent UN negotiations
Today, the World Intellectual Property Organization (“WIPO”) finished the preparatory session for the draft International Legal Instrument Relating to Intellectual Property, Genetic Resources and Traditional Knowledge Associated with Genetic Resources (the “Instrument”), which will be discussed and adopted at a diplomatic conference in 2024.
At the
Continue Reading WIPO proposes new Patent Disclosure obligations on Genetic Resources: What impact for companies?
By May 2024, the 194 countries of the World Health Organization (“WHO”) aim to finalize negotiations on a new international treaty on pandemic prevention, preparedness and response (“Pandemic Accord”). At the center of the negotiations is the contentious issue of Pathogen Access and Benefit-Sharing (“P-ABS
Continue Reading Pathogen Access and Benefit-Sharing (P-ABS) under the draft WHO Pandemic Treaty: Why Many Vaccine, Therapeutic, and Diagnostic Companies will be in Scope