Introduction
In a recent editorial, the editors of Molecular Ecology and Molecular Ecology Resources made a timely and proactive statement of support for the “Nagoya Protocol” and the principle of benefit-sharing (Marden et al., 2020; and reiterated in Rieseberg et al., 2021). The 2014 “Nagoya Protocol on Access to Genetic Resources and the Fair and Equitable Sharing of Benefits Arising from their Utilization” is an international agreement to ensure that the benefits arising from the utilization of genetic resources are shared equitably (United Nations, 2011; https://www.cbd.int/abs/). The journals now encourage authors to disclose benefits generated, requesting an affirmative “Data Accessibility and Benefit‐Sharing Statement” during the submission process that will be published alongside accepted articles (see: https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/page/journal/1365294x/homepage/forauthors.html; Marden et al., 2020). Such acknowledgement and advocacy of Indigenous rights and interests in biodiversity and genetic resources once again affirms Molecular Ecology and Molecular Ecology Resourcesas leaders seeking the improvement of research ethics and best practice in the fields of ecology and evolution.
In this Comment, we extend this advocacy by encouraging another step that enables Indigenous community’s to provide their own definitions and aspirations for access and benefit-sharing (ABS) alongside the author’s “Data Accessibility and Benefit‐Sharing Statement”. We contend that providing an Indigenous perspective on ABS is commensurate with the Nagoya Protocol and would benefit Indigenous communities, researchers, and will generate better biodiversity and conservation outcomes. Accordingly, we introduce the Biocultural (BC) Label Initiative – an agile system to help Indigenous communities gain visibility within our research structures. As part of this Initiative, we invite the research community to use Biocultural (BC), Traditional Knowledge (TK), and Cultural Institution (CI) Notices to create spaces for Indigenous perspectives within digital infrastructures and data repositories.