Africa Holds 25% of Global Species, Sees Little Benefit

Why this is here: Industries dependent on non-human digital sequence information generate USD 1.56 trillion in annual revenue globally, yet Africa currently receives a marginal and unmeasured fraction of the sequences derived from its resources.

Researchers in this study assessed how Africa can benefit from its genetic resources, focusing on digital sequence information (DSI). They examined 54 African Union member states and found the continent hosts roughly 25% of the world’s terrestrial species and nine major biodiversity hotspots. This biodiversity fuels industries generating about USD 1.56 trillion in revenue annually, though Africa receives minimal financial return.

The study reveals no African Union countries currently have laws addressing benefit-sharing from non-human DSI within their existing frameworks. Researchers modeled potential annual allocations for Africa from the Cali Fund—a new mechanism for sharing benefits—ranging from USD 312 million to USD 5.83 billion. They used data showing that, as of 2024, 94.48% of participants in genome-wide association studies were of European ancestry, noting this is separate from the argument for Africa’s share of DSI benefits.

The authors emphasize that realizing these funds requires legislative changes and investment in sequencing infrastructure. Further research is needed to establish an internationally agreed-upon formula for benefit allocation.