BioPermits

BioPermits is a free support service available to all staff, PhD candidates, and students of the Faculty of Biology, University of Warsaw, provided by the Dean’s Proxy for the Nagoya Protocol and CITES (Dr Kamil E. Frankiewicz).

The acquisition and use of biological material for research may be subject to various legal restrictions. In practice, these most often include the Nagoya Protocol and CITES. The Nagoya Protocol regulates access to genetic resources and sets out rules for the fair and equitable sharing of benefits arising from their use. CITES restricts the trade and movement of specimens of threatened species in order to protect them from overexploitation.

Because it is easy to get lost in legal matters, and formal requirements should not distract researchers from what matters most – conducting research – the Faculty of Biology has a Dean’s Proxy for the Nagoya Protocol and CITES, who:

• helps determine which regulations apply to the planned samples and what needs to be done to conduct research without legal risk;
• manages the university-wide DECLARE account – an EU system for submitting due diligence declarations regarding the lawful acquisition and use of genetic resources in accordance with the requirements of the Nagoya Protocol;
• maintains an archive of documentation related to the acquisition of biological resources, which – in accordance with EU Regulation No 511/2014 – must be retained for 20 years after the end of the research.

We encourage everyone planning to use biological resources in their research to contact the Dean’s Proxy for advice: biopermits@uw.edu.pl