Digitising genetic material sans consent enables biopiracy, warns civil society

Digital sequence information risks: Civil society groups meeting in Yerevan warn that data banks enable biopiracy and urge better safeguards at COP17. Yerevan (Armenia): As genetic information from plants, animals and other organisms is stored in databases in developed countries as Digital Sequence Information (DSI), the lack of safeguards has allowed wealthy companies to engage in biopiracy, which needs to be addressed immediately, civil society associations from four countries said on Wednesday.