Hirata Corporation(Hirata) has concluded joint research agreements for genetic resources (GRs) with two partners in Argentina and Indonesia, in full compliance with legal procedures (CBD, Nagoya Protocol and domestic measures).
“H-ABS” is a support service that connects partners with users for research and development focusing on promising GRs such as under-utilized foreign plant GRs. The aim of “H-ABS” is to fulfill the needs of partners and users, and to achieve sustainable use of GRs on a basis of a fair balance.
Therefore, we emphasize the following.
- Joint research with the partners from the beginning to the concluding phases of R&D.
- Sharing all resources, where available on technical know-hows, research equipment, and their running resources for joint activities.
- Supporting the development for independent R&D capacity for the partners.
- Settling fair and equitable consequent milestones with partners towards sustainable uses of the genetic resources to support conservation.
Service flow of “H-ABS”
| *¹ Partners | An institution which conducts joint research in cooperation with Hirata on a basis of a fair balance. |
|---|---|
| *² Exploration | Collection from wild species, local market, Seedbank, and owner. |
| *³ Sample | Materials for research. Sample condition is discussed. |
| *⁴ Production trial | Examination of cultivation standardization for wild species and the mass-scale production. |
1 Joint exploration / Research
- Through Hirata, promising plant GRs native to partner’s countries are collected and transferred to Japan.
- Hirata cooperates with partners for evaluation of the GRs.
- Users can browse our plant catalog and obtain GRs samples that are already listed as available, together with information related to those plants. If a desired plant species or target potency is not listed in the catalog, Hirata will coordinate with the partner to collect and/or validate GRs samples, to be provided to users at the earliest convenience.
- When the research shows that there is a prospect of advancing to product development, we move on to ”Production trial/Commercialization.”
- *As stipulated in the contract, a portion of the evaluation results will be shared with the partner through Hirata.
2 Production trial / Commercialization
- Hirata will proceed with trials for mass production in cooperation with partners.
- Along with product development, users can acquire patents and certifications.
- Once product launch is decided and mass production of raw materials can be established, we will proceed to ”Mass production/Product sales.”
- *Users wishing to obtain a patent must include the name of the researcher from the partner in the application.
3 Mass production / Product sales
- Hirata will work with partners to control the quality of raw materials and expand raw material production volume in response to users’ requests.
- Users promote sales of the product.
- *A portion of the raw material cost will include a benefit sharing to the partners.
Advantages of “H-ABS”
For
Partners
Contribute to the sustainable use of GRs
Information related to GRs accumulated through continuous exploration by the partner can bring about their sustainable use.
Conserve GRs while stimulating local economies through domestication
GRs that are valued by users are domesticated for conservation. The creation of new agricultural products creates employment and helps stimulate local economies.
Explore your country's GRs with the global market in mind
Awareness of global market needs can be used to guide the exploration of GRs.
Gain access to our support system
“H-ABS” includes support and guidance for appropriate collection and evaluation of samples.
Receive appropriate benefit sharing
We designed the ABS framework of “H-ABS” to attract new potential users while ensuring benefit sharing.
For
Users
Expand the possibilities for R&D
Expand the possibilities for new research and product development by leveraging under-utilized exotic plant GRs.
Fulfill all legal procedures to easily access foreign GRs
Users can easily, safely and securely access foreign plant GRs as we take care of gathering the necessary information and handling the legal procedures of the partner.
Hedge the risk of utilizing GRs
“H-ABS” will establish an ABS framework with the partner and provide users with formal utilization development rights (including patent) in accordance with the system of each country. This significantly protects users from harmful rumors and prosecution by organizations that may occur after the release of the product as the culmination of their work.
Be free from negotiations
Users can focus on research and development while we handle negotiations with partners, a process that typically requires familiarity with specific procedures and languages.
Contribution to Achievement of
International Goals
Activities in line with
“The Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework”
(6 targets)
5 Ensure Sustainable, Safe and Legal Harvesting and Trade of Wild Species
“H-ABS” encourages the domestication of GRs in a sustainable, safe and legal manner. Research samples are provided to users as agricultural products.
9 Manage Wild Species Sustainably To Benefit People
In partner, management for sustainable use of GRs will be realized in domestication process of GRs that are accumulated by “H-ABS.”
13 Increase the Sharing of Benefits From Genetic Resources, Digital Sequence Information and Traditional Knowledge
“H-ABS”’s activities are built with ABS principles at their core.
14 Integrate Biodiversity in Decision-Making at Every Level
Local employment is boosted through the creation of primary industry in partners. Participating communities enjoy a robust system for benefit sharing.
20 Strengthen Capacity-Building, Technology Transfer, and Scientific and Technical Cooperation for Biodiversity
“H-ABS” framework includes support and technical guidance for exploration, sample collection and evaluation.
21 Ensure That Knowledge Is Available and Accessible To Guide Biodiversity Action
A portion of the evaluation data will be shared with partners.
Created by editing the Ministry of the Environment website
https://www.biodic.go.jp/biodiversity/private_participation/business/en/post2020_target/
Partners
Hirata has concluded joint research agreements for GRs with two partners in Argentina and Indonesia.
Argentina
Argentina is a vast country stretching 3,800km from north to south, with significant climatic differences depending on latitude. The northern region features tropical rainforests and humid areas, the central region consists of grasslands and arid zones, and the southern region includes the cold Patagonian region. And more, the territory covers the 18 eco-regions such as (at) Andean mountain zones, near-polar zones at the far south end of the continent, and humid subtropical basins. This variety of climates and landscapes supports diverse ecosystems, allowing a wide range of plants and animals to adapt and thrive in their respective environments.
The Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria(INTA) is an Argentine federal agency created in 1956. Since its foundation, INTA has acted as a leader technological innovation in agriculture, agri-food and agro-industrial development in Argentina. Seeing innovation as an engine of national development, it aims to contribute to sustainable rural development and to improve the living conditions of rural families through research and extension efforts in the different productive value chains, regions and territories. Besides their headquarters, INTA’s structure in Argentina is composed of 15 Regional Centers, 6 Research Centers and 53 Experimental Stations.
Indonesia
Indonesia is the world’s largest archipelago comprising of over 17,500 islands located across the equator. It is one of the 17 mega-diverse countries in the world, with 2 of the world’s 36 “hotspots”, 18 World Wildlife Fund’s “Global 200” ecoregions and more appraisals. Although it is divided into many islands, the main islands have an ancient history of land formation and are geographically isolated, making it rich in biodiversity. In terms of biogeographical division, it is roughly divided into Papua, Wallacea (Sulawesi and East Java), Sunda (Sumatra, west Java and Kalimantan), and Maluku Islands with the separation by Wallace Line. Among them, Indonesia contains 13 land-based ecosystems and 6 aquatic ecosystems.
The Indonesian Agency for Agricultural Instrument Standardization(IAAIS) is a new organization established under the Ministry of Agriculture on September 21, 2022. It is tasked with coordinating, formulating, implementing, and maintaining, as well as harmonizing agricultural instrument standards in Indonesia. It has a network for the entire country of Indonesia with several research institutes that specialize in different crops such as Citrus and Sub-Tropical Fruits, Spices, Medicinal and Aromatic Plants, Sweetener and Fiber Crops, Legumes, or Ornamental Plants.
Laboratory Introduction
- Hirata has a unique research and development (R&D) system that focuses on evaluating GRs from multiple angles.
- Our R&D process includes primary evaluation and identification of GRs, in-depth assessment of candidate materials, pursuit of product possibilities, and product development in collaboration with our users and providers.
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Our main areas of expertise include:
- Plant secondary metabolic substances
- Bioassays
- Qualitative analysis
- These are supported by the effective use of our advanced equipment by our skilled staff, robust information management, and unwavering collaboration efforts with experts and academic institutions.
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Hirata’s laboratory is located on the top floor of the newly constructed headquarters building in Kumamoto, Japan. We have state-of-the-art equipment for preprocessing, analysis, and biological evaluation of plant GRs. Our cutting-edge equipment includes:
- 5 LC/MS and GC/MS systems equipped with ultra-high resolution mass spectrometers (Orbitrap, Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc.)
- 2 fully integrated automated workstations (i7, Beckman Coulter, Inc.)
- Laboratory information management system (LIMS)
- We believe that these advancements will greatly enhance the value of plant GRs and contribute to the development of higher value-added products.
ABS’s Timeline
The Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) was adopted at the Earth Summit on May 22,1992, and it entered into force on December 29,1993.
This is the global agreement to cover all aspects of biodiversity. Since living organisms have no national borders, it is important to deal with this issue on a global scale. The purposes of this international convention are as follows:
- the conservation of biodiversity
- the sustainable use of its components
- the fair and equitable sharing of benefits arising from the use of GRs (ABS*)
*ABS：Access and Benefit-Sharing. It refers to how GRs are accessed and how the benefits arising from their use are shared between the people or countries that use them (users) and the people or countries that provide them (providers).
The Nagoya Protocol (NP) was adopted at COP10 in Nagoya on October 29,2010 and entered into force on October 12, 2014.
Japan became a Party to NP on August 20,2017.
This is a complementary agreement to promote the purpose #3 of the CBD, which is referred to as ABS. Among states which are parties to the CBD and NP, organisms are treated as properties of the country where they originate, and both countries providing and utilizing GRs shall share the benefits arising from their utilization. Utilization of foreign resources for research requires the following:
- the compliance with the complex regulations of partners
- the procedures related to ABS
*Procedures related to ABS typically revolve around the Issuing of a certificate. An Internationally Recognized Certificate of Compliance (IRCC) is a certificate published on the ABS Clearing-House by the partner. An IRCC provides evidence that the user has accessed a GR legally and in accordance with prior informed consent (PIC) and that mutually agreed terms (MAT) have been established.
The Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework was adopted at the UN Biodiversity Conference (COP15) in 2022.
This is a framework for all for a world in symbiosis with nature. This historic Framework, which supports the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals and builds on the Convention’s previous Strategic Plans, sets out an ambitious pathway to reach the global vision of a world living in harmony with nature by 2050. Among the Framework’s key elements are 4 goals for 2050 and 23 targets for 2030. Success will require political commitment at the highest level of government, and action and cooperation at all levels of government and society.