A tiered approach to the marine genetic resource governance framework under the proposed UNCLOS agreement for biodiversity beyond national jurisdiction (BBNJ)

Humphries, Fran; Gottlieb, Hiroko Muraki; Laird, Sarah A; Lawson, Charles; Rourke, Michelle; Tvedt, Morten Walløe; Oliva, María Julia; Jaspars, Marcel

doi:10.1016/j.marpol.2020.103910

Cited by 18 publications

(19 citation statements)

References 6 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…A compounding issue is that museums and biorepositories are at the coalface of new and emerging legal requirements associated with international biodiversity agreements. For areas within national jurisdiction, where provisions under the Nagoya Protocol apply, it is becoming increasingly apparent that compliance with current access and benefit sharing (ABS) frameworks can be challenging and burdensome within some national jurisdictions ( Nagoya Protocol, 2011 ; Prathapan et al , 2018 ; Humphries et al , 2020 ; Laird et al , 2020 ). During BBNJ negotiations, approaches under consideration to govern MGR and benefit sharing have to date involved elements of existing ABS frameworks, which may be unsuitable for the vast interconnected ABNJ system, lacking a “provider” State ( Greiber, 2012 ; Oberthür and Pożarowska, 2013 ; Laird et al ., 2020 ).…”

Section: Challenges Facing Existing Collectionsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…During BBNJ negotiations, approaches under consideration to govern MGR and benefit sharing have to date involved elements of existing ABS frameworks, which may be unsuitable for the vast interconnected ABNJ system, lacking a “provider” State ( Greiber, 2012 ; Oberthür and Pożarowska, 2013 ; Laird et al ., 2020 ). The call for a revised approach, including an emphasis on global cooperation and direct involvement of the scientific community in the BBNJ negotiation process, should be heeded ( Humphries et al , 2020 ; Laird et al , 2020 ).…”

Section: Challenges Facing Existing Collectionsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In order for the new agreement to be fair and effective, all States and stakeholders should have the opportunity to take part in the long-term sustainable use, management, and protection of the marine environment in ABNJ ( Mohammed, 2017 ; BBNJ, 2019 ; Blasiak et al , 2020 ). MGR and sharing of potential benefits derived thereof have proven to be the most contentious element of the treaty negotiations, with few detailed solutions proposed to date ( Harden-Davies, 2017 ; Broggiato et al , 2018 ; Voigt-Hanssen, 2018 ; Humphries et al , 2020 ).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 2 more Smart Citations

Strengthening the global network for sharing of marine biological collections: recommendations for a new agreement for biodiversity beyond national jurisdiction

Collins

Rabone

Vanagt³

et al. 2020

ICES Journal of Marine Science

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Biological collections are fundamental to marine scientific research and understanding of biodiversity at various scales. Despite their key importance, sample collections and the institutes that house them are often underfunded and receive comparatively little attention in the discussions associated with global biodiversity agreements. Furthermore, access to collections can be limited by inadequate systems, infrastructure, and networks. With negotiations underway for a new implementing agreement on biodiversity beyond national jurisdiction, marine genetic resources (MGR), including questions on the sharing of benefits, remains the most debated and contentious element. Disparities remain between States regarding access to and utilization of marine biological samples (including MGR) from areas beyond national jurisdiction. Addressing capacity gaps related to collections could provide a point of agreement during negotiations and enhance global inclusivity in access to and utilization of MGR. Here, we examine both existing capacity and regional gaps in marine collections. We propose the strengthening of a distributed network of marine biological collections, building on existing initiatives and emphasizing best practices to bridge regional gaps. Our recommendations include: promoting scientific best practice for the curation of collections; alignment with ocean observing, and sampling initiatives; a potential pairing scheme for collections in developing and developed States; raising awareness of collections and benefits to marine science including through a global registry/directory; and promoting sustainable funding mechanisms to support collections and sustain global generation of contributors and users.

show abstract

Section: Challenges Facing Existing Collectionsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Challenges Facing Existing Collectionsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

Strengthening the global network for sharing of marine biological collections: recommendations for a new agreement for biodiversity beyond national jurisdiction

Collins

Rabone

Vanagt³

et al. 2020

ICES Journal of Marine Science

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Being able to point to evidence that a final product (e.g., a pharmaceutical or cosmetic) incorporates MGRs of ABNJ is a key step for establishing that benefit sharing is owed from the use of the original MGR. Although traceability mechanisms are essential for establishing this connection and have been explored in the context of genetic resource access and benefit sharing (ABS) (Rohden et al, 2020), there is relatively little research about how they may work in practice for the BBNJ Agreement (see Humphries et al, 2020). Understanding what 'traceability' means varies between international ABS frameworks and national laws.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Conceptually it is helpful to visualize 'track and trace' methods of traceability as akin to a parcel tracking system that records the movements of a parcel at every point along the chain of custody (Figure 1). In the context of BBNJ, this would require reporting obligations and monitoring infrastructure (e.g., identifiers, reports) to link subsequent uses and benefit sharing back to the original collection of potentially very large numbers of MGRs from areas beyond national jurisdiction covering over 60% of the planet's oceans (Humphries et al, 2020). The 'track and trace' approach to ABS is outlined in sections "Traceability Infrastructure Under CBD and Nagoya Protocol" and "Track and Trace Options."…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Traceability Approaches for Marine Genetic Resources Under the Proposed Ocean (BBNJ) Treaty

Humphries¹,

Rabone²,

Jaspars³

2021

Front. Mar. Sci.

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Negotiations are underway for a new treaty for the conservation and sustainable use of biodiversity of areas beyond national jurisdiction under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea. Points of contention in the negotiation concern marine genetic resources and questions of monetary and/or non-monetary benefit sharing arising from their use. Tracing the origin of marine genetic resources used in scientific research, development and commercialization may offer the evidence needed to prove they came from areas beyond national jurisdiction and that benefit sharing is owed. Traceability is complex and multidisciplinary: involving legal, scientific and informatics considerations. We look at different traceability approaches within national jurisdictions and how these might provide lessons for the proposed treaty, using one of the few case studies available to trace the commercial development of a marine genetic resource from areas beyond national jurisdiction. We discuss this case study in relation to existing legal frameworks including the Nagoya Protocol and other systems based on open sharing of information and materials, including existing scientific practice. We conclude that a well-designed traceability system tailored to the unique geographical, political and jurisdictional characteristics of areas beyond national jurisdiction could lead to more equitable outcomes for the sharing of benefits from the use of marine genetic resources. Our key recommendations are that any traceability mechanism needs to be light touch, integrated with existing systems such as bioinformatics databases and not impose additional burdens on scientific users. Systems should be designed to improve scientific knowledge of ocean biodiversity to allow better conservation measures to be developed. If treaty negotiators engage commercial sectors to find workable policy solutions for the draft treaty that promote greater transparency and data sharing from these sectors, there may be a greater chance for traceability mechanisms to support benefit sharing.

show abstract

Bringing access and benefit sharing into the digital age

Aubry

Frison

Medaglia

et al. 2021

Plants People Planet

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

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 on the Governance of Digital Sequence Information (DSI). This multi‐disciplinary body will be dedicated to mitigate governance issues associated with the digitization of genetic resources. Solving the DSI conundrum is sorely needed given the forthcoming multilateral meetings of the Access and Benefit Sharing (ABS) framework (the next CBD COP is scheduled in 2021) that are central to tackle the global loss of biodiversity, global warming, pandemic risk and food insecurity. Summary Contemporary research is increasingly data‐centric and the rise of genomics revolutionized our approach and use of genetic resources. However, genomics developed relatively independently from the international instruments on the conservation of biological diversity, in particular the Access and Benefit Sharing (ABS) framework. The legal and political status of Digital Sequence Information (DSI) derived from genetic resources emerged recently as a contentious point in the various ABS instruments dealing with genetic resources. In view of the multiple parallel and uncoordinated debates that occurred in various forums dealing with plants, animals, terrestrial, microbial, marine and agricultural biodiversity, we propose here to take a step back in the discussion. We argue that DSI should be considered as an overarching issue to be addressed through a coordinated and inclusive Multi‐stakeholder Committee that would assess its position and role within the existing ABS regime complex. This Multi‐stakeholder Committee on the Governance of Digital Sequence Information, that may run under the auspices of the United Nations, will be dedicated to mitigate global governance issues associated with the digitization of genetic resources. In this paper, we sketch this body as a transversal and inclusive tool to facilitate long‐term coherence in all ABS policy forums.

show abstract

A tiered approach to the marine genetic resource governance framework under the proposed UNCLOS agreement for biodiversity beyond national jurisdiction (BBNJ)

Cited by 18 publications

References 6 publications

Strengthening the global network for sharing of marine biological collections: recommendations for a new agreement for biodiversity beyond national jurisdiction

Strengthening the global network for sharing of marine biological collections: recommendations for a new agreement for biodiversity beyond national jurisdiction

Traceability Approaches for Marine Genetic Resources Under the Proposed Ocean (BBNJ) Treaty

Bringing access and benefit sharing into the digital age

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About