The impacts of the Biodiversity Law on research

Abstract

In 2015 Brazil approved Law No. 13.123/2015, which provides for access to the genetic heritage, for the protection of and access to associated traditional knowledge, and for the sharing of benefits for the conservation and sustainable use of biodiversity, revoking Provisional Measure No. 2.186-16 of 23 August 2001, the legal framework on the matter for fifteen years. The law appears as an attempt to simplify the procedures for research and development of technologies using the country's biodiversity. The article analyses the Brazilian biodiversity law, particularly as regards the bureaucratic obstacles created for science by SisGen, the National System for the Management of Genetic Heritage and Associated Traditional Knowledge. Alternatives to mitigate the impacts of the new legislation on science and technological development are discussed in the political, business and academic spheres, the thematic chambers standing out as a means of interpreting the concepts and of reconciling the proposals of the sectors involved. The methodology is descriptive and exploratory research, based on the literature, case studies, historical analysis and interviews with researchers and other users of the System. The balanced and equal construction of the interpretation of Law No. 13.123/2015 should be the main focus of the actors involved.