Ecology

Convention on Biological Diversity

Compromise

Archaeology

Business

Biology

Political science

Geography

Convention

Negotiation

Data sharing

Cornerstone

Diversity (politics)

Computer science

Biodiversity

Pathology

Alternative medicine

Obstacle

Medicine

Nature Communications

Open access to sequence data is a cornerstone of biology and biodiversity research, but has created tension under the United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD). Policy decisions could compromise research and development, unless a practical multilateral solution is implemented. Ensuring international benefit-sharing from sequence data without jeopardising open sharing is a major obstacle for the Convention on Biological Diversity and other UN negotiations. Here, the authors propose a solution to address the concerns of both developing countries and life scientists.

Multilateral benefit-sharing from digital sequence information will support both science and biodiversity conservation