which, under the auspices of the United Nations, is to receive the benefits of the commercial use of genetic sequences of plants and animals, digitised and stored in databases. Major companies are encouraged to pay 0.1% of their income (or 1% of their profits) to the new fund, which could generate up to EUR 1 billion per year. A list of the main sectors affected (pharmacy, cosmetics, food supplements, biotechnology, etc.) is drawn up.‘This decision will finally involve companies that have been dipping into biodiversity for years to develop their products without ever paying the indigenous people who care for nature,’ said the non-governmental organisation (NGO) WWF. The European Union (EU), Switzerland, the UK and Japan opposed any proposed mandatory tax.
