Rouages : With the Nagoya protocol "contributing to the preservation of biodiversity".

Océane Trevennec works at Dipa. Together with Agnès Mignot, Vice-President responsible for simplifying research and monitoring national programs, they form the APA unit. This month, as part of the video series " Rouages This month, as part of the "Rouages" video series, the new season of which is devoted to research professions, they explain their missions to raise awareness and train people to respect the Nagoya protocol. Get moving!

The Nagoya Protocol is an international regulation that France has ratified, i.e. agreed to implement, both for teacher-researchers working abroad and for those working in France," begins Agnès Mignot, vice-president in charge of simplifying research and monitoring national programs. The ambition of this protocol is to preserve biodiversity and limit biopiracy as much as possible. "

These clarifications are much-needed, as the new regulations require researchers and research support services to take certain steps before going out into the field. " It is now essential to have the agreement of the country holding the resource on which we want to work, and to reach an agreement with this country on the sharing of benefits that could arise from the use of this resource " continues the vice-president, who is also a researcher at theInstitut des sciences de l'évolution.

The ABS unit

To support research players in this process, the university has set up an ABS unit, which stands for Access to Genetic Resources and Fair and Equitable Sharing of the Benefits Arising from their Utilization. This unit includes the Vice-President for Research Simplification, as well as Océane Trevennec, an agronomist by training, and Joanna Boulon-Bertrand, who report to the Innovation and Partnerships Department (DIPA) and the Research and Doctoral Studies Department (DRED) respectively.

" To deploy our actions, we have set up a whole network of people who are referents in each research unit and who act as a relay point for us, both to raise awareness among the research teams and to support them in their administrative procedures ," explains Océane Trevennec. They include teacher-researchers, administrative staff, unit directors and assistant unit directors.

The missions

The ABS unit has several missions. The first is to monitor legal developments at international, European and national level, in liaison with the various ministries," continues Océane Trevennec. The second is to set up a support procedure for research teams, involving awareness-raising, training and the introduction of tools. The third is to coordinate and liaise with ABS units in other research organizations.

An inter-establishment committee meets three times a year to carry out these tasks. Training has also been provided for the referents identified in the research units, and extended to all staff wishing to learn more about the protocol. " We have also proposed to doctoral schools the training of doctoral students, so that they can be more aware of these regulations in their research," adds Océane Trevennec.

The difficulties

The ABS cell takes on added importance when we understand the difficulties that can arise in applying these regulations. " Many countries have regulations that are not yet in force or operational. This can make it difficult to obtain all the necessary authorizations for research projects.

Indeed, the requirements of the Nagoya protocol can sometimes clash with reality in the field. A researcher setting off on a project can't predict 100% the exact day he or she will go out to sample, and doesn't know exactly how many samples he or she will bring back," explains Agnès Mignot. Research is also a question of opportunity. These difficulties are surmountable, given the ethical stakes of this protocol, which is to "contribute to the preservation of biodiversity".