Frison Christine

• Ph.D
• Associate Research Professor at University of Liège

This paper aims at developing an original account of trust in the framework of large scale, international collective action institutions. Our research question focuses on the desired structures and mechanisms that are necessary to sustain the trust needed to uphold the effective operation of institutions for collective action. Our theoretical frame...

This book shows how social sciences, and more especially law, can contribute towards reconfiguring current legal frameworks in order to achieving a better balance between the necessary requirements of agricultural innovation and the need for protection of agrobiodiversity. On the assumption that the concept of property can be rethought against the...

Core sustainability issues concerning the governance of seeds revolve around knowledge aspects, such as intellectual property rights over genetic information or the role of traditional knowledge in plant breeding, seed production and seed use. While the importance of knowledge management for efficient and equitable seed governance has been emphasiz...

Societal Impact Statement Reading and writing DNA is now possible with an unprecedented speed and ease. To catch up with digitization of genetic resources, scientists need to join with all relevant stakeholders and design new global governance mechanisms for digital sequence information. We propose the establishment of a Multi‐stakeholder Committee...

One of the most prominent reactions to COVID-19 at the global level is possibly the ambition to develop a new multilateral treaty to help tackle the next pandemic. Under the auspice of the World Health Organization, the so-called WHO CA+ (also referred to as the Pandemic Treaty) negotiations offer a unique opportunity to strengthen equity, transpar...

Geographical Indications (GIs) are collective rights granted to a group of producers in a limited geographical area. One of the rationales of GI protection is biodiversity conservation which is rapidly being advanced. However, if the GI fails to value the terroir associated with it, it can risk erosion of bio(cultural)diversity. In this paper, taki...

Agriculture, like many occupations, is a gendered activity. In the DR Congo, productive agriculture is generally the attribution of men and food-producing agriculture of women. Seed selection and conservation is subject to the same gendered distribution, whereby women select, sow, harvest, and save seeds for food crops. However, faced with numerous...

There is a pressing need for transformative change, with a vision of long-term human well-being within planetary boundaries. The lack of progress—despite increasing awareness and action—illustrates how challenging it is to foster change in our complex global society. Education and learning are needed to enable change. Transdisciplinary learning, wh...

Directive n° 2001/18/CE sur la dissémination volontaire d’organismes génétiquement modifiés – Portée de l’exemption – Techniques/méthodes de modification génétique traditionnellement utilisée et dont la sécurité est avérée depuis longtemps – Mutagenèse aléatoire in vitro

This volume presents a comprehensive overview of biocultural rights, examining how we can promote the role of indigenous peoples and local communities as environmental stewards and how we can ensure that their ways of life are protected. With Biocultural Community Protocols (BCPs) or Community Protocols (CPs) are increasingly seen as a powerful wa...

In light of the ongoing agrobiodiversity erosion process, we delve into the history of crop genetic resources governing instruments to show how the international agro- biodiversity regime has evolved from a limited appreciation of the contribution of farmers/peasants to a broader recognition of the critical role indigenous peoples, local communi...

Climate change has increasing visible effects on the environment, particularly in the Arctic, where the sea-ice melted faster in 2020 than any time before. It directly threatens the Inuit people’s survival, whose livelihood is mainly based on traditional modes of subsistence (hunting, fishing and gathering). In light of the environmental crisis, th...

Over the last decades, the pressure on the environment of marine areas beyond the national jurisdiction of States (ABNJ) has been steadily increasing. In addition to the already visible impact of activities such as deep-sea fishing and maritime traffic, the future development of several other activities, particularly the exploitation of gas, oil, m...

Since the beginning of the twentieth century, a complex web of national, regional and international regulatory tools has developed to handle environmental degradation, but has not been governed in a coherent manner. Within the field of international environmental law, specific conventions address biodiversity conservation in two major ways: protect...

Reading and writing DNA is now possible with an unprecedented speed and ease. Until 20 recently, the global political and legal instruments regulating genetic resources globally exclusively focused on access to physical genetic resources without considering possible consequences of their digitization. Following significant tensions in the various i...

The present study serves the science-and policy-based process on “digital sequence information on genetic resources” (DSI), which was established by decision 14/20 at the fourteenth meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity, in November 2018. It reports findings on how domestic measures address benefit-shari...

Le Vif/L'Epress - Débats

Il n’y aura pas de transition si l’on s’en tient exclusivement à la dimension individuelle du changement. Il n’y aura pas de transition sans questionnement des positions de domination et de pouvoir. Comment engager une transition sans voix dissonantes, qui remettent en cause les jeux de pouvoir ? Il est pour moi inconcevable de changer nos modes de...

Le modèle « industriel » de production agricole en Afrique a des effets désastreux pour l'environnement, la santé et l'équilibre sociétal. Pour Emile Frison et Christine Frison, place doit être laissée à des systèmes agroécologiques diversifiés. Titre original : L'agriculture durable, une réponse aux défis alimentaires de l'Afrique. Les auteurs n...

Redesigning a seed commons: A critical assessment of the multilateral system of access and benefit-sharing of the International Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture (ITPGRFA) The international treaty on plant genetic resources for food and agriculture aims to reach food security and promote sustainable agriculture. This articl...

Agrobiodiversity is the continuum of wild to domesticated plant, animal and ecosystemic diversity sustaining people's livelihoods. This biodiversity results from an equally diverse set of culturally defined farming practices. To maintain both forms of diversity, access to genetic resources for food and agriculture (GRFA) is crucial. However, curren...

Le Traité international sur les ressources phyto-génétiques pour l’alimentation et l’agriculture, adopté en 2001, vise la sécurité alimentaire et une agriculture durable. Cet article évalue la gestion commune des semences au regard de la littérature sur les communs. Deux constats sont posés : le traité maintient un déséquilibre de droits (exclusif/...

Ce poster a pour objet de vulagriser les résultats de ma recherche doctorale, grâce au sketchnoting, réalisé par l'artiste Emilie Gobbo.

Recently, blockchain technology has attracted a lot of attention in the innovation and technology field, inter alia following the popularization of cryptocurrencies (e.g. Bitcoin). A blockchain is a transparent, immutable and distributed ledger that is composed of a chain of cryptographically linked and time-stamped ‘blocks’ containing batched tran...

The aim of the International Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture, adopted in 2001, is to promote food security and sustainable agriculture. This article assesses the joint management of seeds in light of literature about the “commons”. Two indings are put forward: the treaty maintains a rights imbalance (exclusive/individual...

The joint challenges of food security and conservation of agrobiodiversity are making us rethink the issue of agricultural production. Food production has to increase so as to answer the growing needs of the world’s population. So far, agricultural and food policies have remained narrowly focused on increasing productivity by relying on an industr...

The joint challenges of population increase, food security and conservation of agrobiodiversity demand a rethink of plant breeding and agricultural research from a different perspective. While more food is undeniably needed, the key question is rather about how to produce it in a way that sustains biological diversity and mitigates climate change....

This conference PowerPoint presentation summarizes my PhD research on the Global Seed Commons

Should we pay to use global genetic diversity? To this straightforward question there is no simple answer. However, I will oversimplify my thoughts and reply in a direct manner. To understand the question and how I answer it, it is important to distinguish three aspects: 1) What global genetic diversity? 2) Who uses it? and 3) For what purposes? Fu...

This poster summarizes my PhD research on the Global Seed Commons. I analyzed the International Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture and its Multilateral System of Access and Benefit-sharing through the lens of the Theory of the Commons.

S’intéresser à la gestion internationale des semences, c’est s’intéresser d’une part à nos modes de productions agricoles afin d’atteindre (ou non) la sécurité alimentaire et nutritionnelle pour l’ensemble de la population mondiale et d’autre part à la protection de l’environnement et la lutte contre l’érosion de la biodiversité agricole. Cette thè...

The International Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture (2001) aims at reaching food security and promoting a sustainable agriculture. It does so by managing the conservation and sustainable use of seeds in a collective manner between its 140 member states. However, the economic and political neo-liberal background promotes pri...

Cette présentation porte sur l’analyse du Traité International sur les Ressources Phytogénétiques pour l’Alimentation et l’Agriculture au regard de la théorie des communs.

Creating a food secure world and reaching the 2015 Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) n° 2 ‘Zero Hunger’ requires inter alia to “promote access to and fair and equitable sharing of benefits arising from the utilization of genetic resources and associated traditional knowledge” (SDG Target 2.5). Exchanges of seeds, plant materials, their related inf...

Creating a food secure world and reaching the 2015 Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) n° 2 ‘Zero Hunger’ requires inter alia to “promote access to and fair and equitable sharing of benefits arising from the utilization of genetic resources and associated traditional knowledge” (SDG Target 2.5). Exchanges of seeds, plant materials, their related inf...

Access to seeds is crucial in creating a food secure world, especially for developing countries. While exchanges of seeds between farmers, breeders and researchers were a usual practice until the 1980s, the commodification of seeds through a number of trends including regulatory mechanisms, such as intellectual property rights and states’ sovereign...

Access to seeds is crucial in creating a food secure world, especially for developing countries. While exchanges of seeds between farmers, breeders and researchers were a usual practice until the 1980s, the commodification of seeds through a number of trends including regulatory mechanisms, such as intellectual property rights and states’ sovereign...

I participated in the international contest '3 minute thesis' for francophone universities: 'ma thèse en 180 secondes'. I explained my PhD research in 3 minutes in a simple, clear and concise manner. I won the First Prize for the UCLouvain university contest.

This paper aims at developing an original account of trust in the framework of large scale, international collective action institutions. Our research question focuses on the structures and mechanisms that are necessary to sustain the trust needed to uphold the effective operation of institutions for collective action. Our theoretical framework for...

The right to food is a human right. It protects the right of all human beings to live in dignity, free from hunger, food insecurity and malnutrition. The right to food is protected under international human rights and humanitarian law. With almost 870 million people chronically undernourished in 2010–12, the number of hungry people in the world rem...

This book, the first in a series that focuses on treaty implementation for sustainable development, examines key legal aspects of implementing the Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety to the UN Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) at national and international levels. The volume provides a serious contribution to the current legal and political acad...

Living within the environment's carrying capacity and managing the use of natural resources to meet the needs of current and future generations are tasks that societies have faced throughout history. The modern concept of sustainable development is used to describe the efforts of States to improve the quality of life of their citizens in a way that...

This book, the first in a new series that focuses on treaty implementation for sustainable development, examines key legal aspects of implementing the Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety to the UN Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) at national and international levels. The volume provides a serious contribution to the current legal and political...

This book, the first in a series that focuses on treaty implementation for sustainable development, examines key legal aspects of implementing the Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety to the UN Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) at national and international levels. The volume provides a serious contribution to the current legal and political acad...

The International Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture is a pivotal piece of recent legislation, providing a route map for the use of such resources for sustainable agriculture and food security. This book explains the different interests and views at stake between all players in the global food chain. It touches upon many iss...

This introduction provides readers with a general overview on the content and structure of the book, the context in which the major issues related to plant genetic resources for food and agriculture (PGRFA) emerged, its relevance for humankind and some interesting details of the negotiating and implementation process of the International Treaty on...

The purpose of this chapter is to provide a general analysis of the comments made by the authors of the book chapters in the ongoing implementation of the Treaty. The reader will have noticed that, on the one hand, many authors remain fairly optimistic about the Treaty and note that considerable progress has been achieved in a very short period of...

The article addresses the Treaty's challenges to stimulate innovation. The interface between IPR and the Treaty, and the wider framework for conservation and sustainable use of plant genetic resources are examined. We recognize that both IPRs and facilitated access to the globally pooled resources contribute to the innovation in the long-term, but...

The international community is facing significant economic, social, and environmental challenges. In 1992, Agenda 21 of the Rio Conference on Environment and Development emphasized the need for a coherent understanding of biodiversity, biotechnology, and sustainable development. Almost twenty years later, scholars still identify an urgent need for...

While trade in valuable living organisms is an age‐old practice, research on and trade in genetic resources per se is relatively new. In a modern context, there are many overlapping and sometimes conflicting aspects to genetic resources. These include: biotechnology and biosafety, trade, intellectual property rights, conservation of the environment...

Afin de contribuer à l’établissement des positions belges sur un tel régime international et surtout d’obtenir des informations représentatives sur le degré de connaissance et de prise en compte par les acteurs belges des dispositions de la Convention sur la Diversité Biologique en matière d’accès aux ressources génétiques et de partage juste et éq...

In order to contribute to the establishment of Belgian positions on an international system and especially to obtain representative information on the degree of knowledge and the account taken by Belgian players of the provisions of the Convention on Biological Diversity in terms of access to genetic resources and fair and equitable sharing of bene...

Annotated bibliography addressing the international pedigrees and flows of plant genetic resources for food and agriculture. SGRP Information document submitted by the System-wide Genetic Resources Programme of the CGIAR to the Eighth Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity (COP 8) and the Ad Hoc Open-ended Working Group...