b'When Will Bio-Reaganomics Finally End?WHY IS ITthat we cannot create a working systemand additional concepts to make things work such of biodiversity management? Debates have beenas the Nagoya Protocol and now Digital Sequence going on about the question how to conserve biodi- Information. These additions try to mend the system, versity, promote its use and share the benefits arisingbut do not critically assess the neo-liberal foundations from such use. It surfaced roughly at the time I gradu- of the concept of benefit sharing: ownership (national ated and entered the seed sector some 40 years ago.sovereignty) and market (benefit sharing). These foun-The International Undertaking on PGRFA (Plantdations, which further developed into a rights-based NIELS LOUWAARS Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture) was con- approach, shun away from the original objectives.is the managingcluded in 1983. It called for investment in conservation,Collection of diversity in farmers fields and nature director at Plantum.notably in genebanks, and declared the resources a herit- came almost to a grinding halt after the coming This article does notage of mankind, a common good. This fitted in the spiritinto force of the CBD in 1993, which challenges reflect the viewsof the time based on common responsibilities (socialconservation in times of climate change and of all Plantumsecurity in the welfare state in the 1970s) which wenturbanization. Sustainable use is challenged in practice members. hand in hand with the personal freedom coming out ofby a significantly reduced international exchange of the 1968 uprising in Paris and Woodstock a year later. genetic resources following the coming into force Times changed fundamentally in the 1980s withof the CBD, and legal uncertainties that users face Thatcherism and Reaganomics. Private ownership andfollowing from the diversity of implementing of the rules of the market became the gospel leading torules introduced by the CBD and ongoing political the privatisation of public services in sectors like healthdiscussions. Therefore, similar to asking the patent and energy. It may be odd to connect the Conventionsystem whether it still supports innovation, one may on Biological Diversity, concluded in 1992 with this turnwonder whether the focus on benefit sharing in the of events, but the operation of the concept of benefitCBD actually supports the other two objectives: sharing is actually a neo-liberal one: create ownership,conservation and sustainable use.leave responsibilities to the owner and let the user pay.The only critical questions that were asked were the To operationalize this, the Heritage of Mankindones on food security, and human disease agents like concept was replaced by an ownership concept, whichbird flu and now COVID, after interventions of FAO and became the national sovereign rights over biologicalWHO respectively, which led to bringing back some diversity. Nations could determine access and terms.common good thinking (and common sense) into the The user pays was called benefit sharing. The paralleldebate for certain components of biological diversity. with the patent system that was so hated by the pro- Now that neo-liberalism is increasingly under ponents is obvious, including the resulting limitations todebate, it may be time to fundamentally revisit the access and use. Benefit sharing is fair enough, but thefoundations of the global biodiversity policies. Like with concept resulted in questions, such as:private hospitals and health insurances, and privateWho is the user? Only the breeder, i.e., the firstelectricity and cable companies, the entrenched inter-user touching the resource? Or are the farmers, trad- ests are very strong among the parties in the biodiver-ers, retailers and consumers also beneficiaries and thussity debate, but that is no reason not to try to discuss a users?better system to really support conservation and useHow much to share? To support conservation ofHow to shape such a regulated commons as Nobel PGRFA only, or compensate for all historic injustices? prize winner Elinor Ostrom proposed to cope with dev- With whom to share? With nations according toastating anti-commons in other fields, requires some the CBD; or with farmersArt 9 IT? andnew creative brains. It may be useful to involve some ofHow to control/enforce? By the owner, thethe key persons of the early debates. But we desper-user or a third party? ately need to restart the debate and we have to aim The system created a sequel of heated debateshigh to get out of the current dead-end street.SW72/ SEEDWORLD.COMSEPTEMBER 2021'