SisGen opens test environment for foreign user module
The Department of Genetic Heritage at the Ministry of the Environment and Climate Change (DPG/MMA) has launched a test environment for the new National Genetic Heritage and Associated Traditional Knowledge Management System (SisGen) module dedicated to non-Brazilian institutions, in order to make it possible to register its activities involving access to Brazilian genetic heritage in partnership with a Brazilian institution
The test version is accessible here and aims to gather feedback to improve the system before its official launch of the foreign module. Contributions can be sent until June 30, 2025.
The initiative is part of Brazil’s efforts to regulate access to its genetic heritage and associated traditional knowledge by foreign entities.
What is being made possible?
The test environment allows foreign users to simulate the full registration process in SisGen, including:
- Registration of individuals and institutions based outside Brazil;
- Administrative association with Brazilian institutions, including those in the RPBio network (Biodiversity Partner Network, which deals with a network of Brazilian public scientific and technological research institutions that are partners for the purposes of association with a legal entity based abroad);
- Pre-registration of access activities involving Brazilian genetic heritage;
- Product notification related to economic exploitation of accessed materials.
A Practical Guide was made available to support users during testing and will be adapted for broader use.
Why is this important?
The foreign user module represents a step in aligning Brazil’s biodiversity governance with international collaboration. It enables non-Brazilian institutions to comply with the Biodiversity Law (Law No. 13.123/2015) and promotes transparency in the use of Brazilian genetic resources. The test phase is intended to identify improvements and ensure the system is user-friendly and legally robust.
Once the foreign user module of SisGen is officially launched, a 1 (one) year period will begin for foreign institutions that carried out access activities involving Brazilian genetic heritage between June 30, 2000, and November 16, 2015, without association with a Brazilian institution, to regularize their activities. This deadline is established by Ordinance No. 199/2020 of the Ministry of the Environment.
For more information on the matter, get to know Souto Correa Advogados’ Biodiversity and Biotechnology practice.