scholarly journals Developing a Methodology to Balance Benefit-Sharing: Application in the Context of Biodiversity Beyond National Jurisdiction

2020 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
pp. 24-39
Author(s):  
Jane Eva Collins ◽  
Aysegul Sirakaya ◽  
Thomas Vanagt ◽  
Isabelle Huys
Keyword(s):  
Research Funding ◽  
Sequence Data ◽  
Sustainable Use ◽  
Decision Makers ◽  
Benefit Sharing ◽  
Access And Benefit Sharing ◽  
Genetic Sequence ◽  
Monetary Benefit ◽  
Starting Point ◽  
National Jurisdiction

The effectiveness and success of benefit-sharing measures to date, particularly in contributing towards the conservation and sustainable use of biodiversity, has been questionable. This is likely related to the degree of beneficial impacts versus burden on the users and regulatory authorities in terms of administrative complexities. It is, therefore, timely to reconsider which forms of benefit-sharing may most favourably balance the associated beneficial and burdensome aspects. The aim of this paper is to develop and demonstrate a benefit-sharing balance methodology which can be used as a tool to help decision-makers to select options in an objective and transparent manner. Application in the biodiversity beyond national jurisdiction context provides a useful example of how this tool can be used. Results suggest that sharing of genetic sequence data and research results provide the most favourable balance in terms of non-monetary benefit sharing, whilst the most favourable monetary benefit-sharing options were associated with research funding and salaries. The benefit-sharing balance methodology presented here provides a useful tool and starting point, which can be built upon in the future, to include more detailed information gathered from expert groups to consolidate the perceived balance of beneficial impacts versus burden. In addition, the equation can be tailored according to different policy settings where different benefit-sharing factors may be more appropriate. Ultimately, use of this tool could help to enhance implementation of benefit-sharing policies/legislation with greater potential to balance beneficial impacts with associated burden, thereby enhancing workability of the access and benefit-sharing system as a whole.

Redefining environmental stewardship to deliver governance frameworks for marine biodiversity beyond national jurisdiction

2017 ◽  
Vol 75 (1) ◽  
pp. 435-443 ◽  
Author(s):  
Penelope Ridings
Keyword(s):  
United Nations ◽  
Biological Diversity ◽  
Sustainable Use ◽  
Environmental Stewardship ◽  
Benefit Sharing ◽  
Marine Biodiversity ◽  
General Assembly ◽  
Access And Benefit Sharing ◽  
Legal Principles ◽  
National Jurisdiction

Abstract In 2015 the United Nations General Assembly decided to develop an international legally binding instrument (ILBI) under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) on the conservation and sustainable use of marine biological diversity of areas beyond national jurisdiction. To that end, it established a Preparatory Committee (PrepCom), to make substantive recommendations to the General Assembly on the elements of a draft text of an ILBI. The PrepCom has identified the tension between the principle of the common heritage of mankind and high seas freedoms embodied in UNCLOS as one of the issues which must be addressed in such an international agreement. Some participants in the process have proposed a sui generis regime as a way of resolving any apparent clash of these international legal principles, particularly as it relates to marine genetic resources and their access and benefit sharing. This article argues that environmental stewardship may provide the framework for such a sui generis regime. For it to do so, however, it must be grounded in international legal principles and act as a balance between competing values, perspectives and interests in the conservation and sustainable use of marine biodiversity beyond national jurisdiction. If appropriately redefined in this way, environmental stewardship can deliver a governance framework which addresses some of the central issues with which the PrepCom will have to deal. These include the practical problems of access and benefit sharing of the marine genetic resources of areas beyond national jurisdiction, and reconciling the conflicting pressure for international decision-making for the conservation and sustainable use of marine biological diversity on the one hand, and the maintenance of existing regional and sectoral frameworks on the other. Environmental stewardship, redefined, can provide an intellectual framework for an ILBI under UNCLOS on marine biodiversity beyond national jurisdiction.

scholarly journals A Regional Review of Genetic Resource Access and Benefit Sharing – Key Issues and Research Gaps

2021 ◽  
pp. 1-24
Author(s):  
Clare Morrison ◽  
Fran Humphries ◽  
Charles Lawson
Keyword(s):  
Intellectual Property ◽  
Traditional Knowledge ◽  
Biological Diversity ◽  
National Level ◽  
Sustainable Use ◽  
Benefit Sharing ◽  
Comparative Approach ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Access And Benefit Sharing ◽  
Legal Mechanism

Countries are increasingly using access and benefit sharing (ABS) as a legal mechanism to support the conservation and sustainable use of the world’s biological diversity. ABS regulates collection and/or use of genetic resources/traditional knowledge and sharing benefits from their use with the provider. The purpose of this review is to assess the trends, biases and gaps of ABS literature using a regional comparative approach about the key topics of concern between each region. It analyses four key topic groupings: (1) implementation of international, regional and national ABS policy and law; (2) intellectual property and ABS; (3) traditional knowledge; and (4) research, development and commercialisation. Findings included gaps in: (1) analysing effectiveness of national level implementation; (2) addressing apparent conflicts between support for intellectual property promoting exclusivity for traditional knowledge and challenges to intellectual property exclusivity for patents; (3) examining traditional knowledge of local communities (in contrast to Indigenous Peoples); and (4) lack of practical examples that quantify benefit sharing from research and commercialisation outcomes. We conclude that future research addressing the identified gaps and biases can promote more informed understanding among stakeholders about the ABS concept and whether it is capable of delivering concrete biological conservation, sustainable use and equity outcomes.

scholarly journals Marine Genetic Resources in Areas Beyond National Jurisdiction: Promoting Marine Scientific Research and Enabling Equitable Benefit Sharing

2021 ◽  
Vol 8 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alex D. Rogers ◽  
Amy Baco ◽  
Elva Escobar-Briones ◽  
Kristina Gjerde ◽  
Judith Gobin ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Technology Transfer ◽  
United Nations ◽  
Genetic Resources ◽  
Biological Diversity ◽  
Science And Technology ◽  
Sustainable Use ◽  
Scientific Research ◽  
Benefit Sharing ◽  
National Jurisdiction ◽  
The United Nations

Growing human activity in areas beyond national jurisdiction (ABNJ) is driving increasing impacts on the biodiversity of this vast area of the ocean. As a result, the United Nations General Assembly committed to convening a series of intergovernmental conferences (IGCs) to develop an international legally-binding instrument (ILBI) for the conservation and sustainable use of marine biological diversity of ABNJ [the biodiversity beyond national jurisdiction (BBNJ) agreement] under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea. The BBNJ agreement includes consideration of marine genetic resources (MGR) in ABNJ, including how to share benefits and promote marine scientific research whilst building capacity of developing states in science and technology. Three IGCs have been completed to date with the fourth delayed by the Covid pandemic. This delay has allowed a series of informal dialogues to take place between state parties, which have highlighted a number of areas related to MGR and benefit sharing that require technical guidance from ocean experts. These include: guiding principles on the access and use of MGR from ABNJ; the sharing of knowledge arising from research on MGR in ABNJ; and capacity building and technology transfer for developing states. In this paper, we explain what MGR are, the methods required to collect, study and archive them, including data arising from scientific investigation. We also explore the practical requirements of access by developing countries to scientific cruises, including the sharing of data, as well as participation in research and development on shore whilst promoting rather than hindering marine scientific research. We outline existing infrastructure and shared resources that facilitate access, research, development, and benefit sharing of MGR from ABNJ; and discuss existing gaps. We examine international capacity development and technology transfer schemes that might facilitate or complement non-monetary benefit sharing activities. We end the paper by highlighting what the ILBI can achieve in terms of access, utilization, and benefit sharing of MGR and how we might future-proof the BBNJ Agreement with respect to developments in science and technology.

scholarly journals Genomic characterization of a diazotrophic microbiota associated with maize aerial root mucilage

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Shawn M. Higdon ◽  
Tania Pozzo ◽  
Nguyet Kong ◽  
Bihua Huang ◽  
Mai Lee Yang ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Nitrogen Fixation ◽  
Nucleic Acid ◽  
Sequence Data ◽  
Benefit Sharing ◽  
Access And Benefit Sharing ◽  
Carbohydrate Utilization ◽  
Research Activities ◽  
Aerial Roots ◽  
Mexican Government ◽  
Nucleic Acid Sequences

AbstractA geographically isolated maize landrace cultivated on nitrogen-depleted fields without synthetic fertilizer in the Sierra Mixe region of Oaxaca, Mexico utilizes nitrogen derived from the atmosphere and develops an extensive network of mucilage-secreting aerial roots that harbors a diazotrophic microbiota. Targeting these diazotrophs, we selected nearly 600 microbes from a collection isolated from these plants and confirmed their ability to incorporate heavy nitrogen (15N2) metabolites in vitro. Sequencing their genomes and conducting comparative bioinformatic analyses showed that these genomes had substantial phylogenetic diversity. We examined each diazotroph genome for the presence of nif genes essential to nitrogen fixation (nifHDKENB) and carbohydrate utilization genes relevant to the mucilage polysaccharide digestion. These analyses identified diazotrophs that possessed canonical nif gene operons, as well as many other operon configurations with concomitant fixation and release of >700 different 15N labeled metabolites. We further demonstrated that many diazotrophs possessed alternative nif gene operons and confirmed their genomic potential to derive chemical energy from mucilage polysaccharide to fuel nitrogen fixation. These results confirm that some diazotrophic bacteria associated with Sierra Mixe maize were capable of incorporating atmospheric nitrogen into their small molecule extracellular metabolites through multiple nif gene configurations while others were able to fix nitrogen without the canonical (nifHDKENB) genes.Data SummaryGenetic resources, including biological materials and nucleic acid sequences, were accessed under an Access and Benefit Sharing (ABS) Agreement between the Sierra Mixe community and the Mars Corporation, and with authorization from the Mexican government. An internationally recognized certificate of compliance has been issued by the Mexican government under the Nagoya Protocol for such activities (ABSCH-IRCC-MX-207343-3). Any party seeking access to the nucleic acid sequences underlying the analysis reported here is subject to the full terms and obligations of the ABS agreement and the authorization from the government of Mexico. Individuals wishing to access nucleic acid sequence data for scientific research activities should contact Mars Incorporated Chief Science Officer at [email protected].

Experts Meetings on Biodiversity beyond National Jurisdiction

2019 ◽  
Vol 4 (2) ◽  
pp. 300-313 ◽  
Author(s):  
Zhen Sun
Keyword(s):  
International Workshop ◽  
Benefit Sharing ◽  
Global Ocean ◽  
Annual Conference ◽  
Management Tools ◽  
Access And Benefit Sharing ◽  
Environmental Impact Assessments ◽  
Transfer Of Technology ◽  
National Jurisdiction ◽  
Virginia School

This article summarizes and discusses the main issues addressed at two events hosted at the World Maritime University–Sasakawa Global Ocean Institute in Malmö, Sweden in the first half of 2019. The first event was the International Workshop on bbnj: Toward Development of a Balanced, Effective and Universal International Agreement on 7 February, co-sponsored by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Japan, and the second event was the 43rd colp Annual Conference on Biodiversity Beyond National Jurisdiction: Intractable Challenges & Potential Solutions co-hosted with the Center for Oceans Law and Policy (colp), University of Virginia School of Law and The Nippon Foundation. The two events covered topics including marine genetic resources – access and benefit sharing, area-based management tools including marine protected areas, environmental impact assessments, capacity building and transfer of technology, cross-cutting issues, and Arctic concerns.

Plant genetic resources for food and agriculture for sustainable development

2021 ◽  
pp. 3-34
Author(s):  
Chikelu Mba ◽  
◽  
M. Ehsan Dulloo ◽  
Kent Nnadozie ◽  
◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Genetic Resources ◽  
Plant Genetic Resources ◽  
Sustainable Use ◽  
Benefit Sharing ◽  
Access And Benefit Sharing ◽  
Food And Agriculture ◽  
The Face ◽  
Global Coordination ◽  
Food Security And Nutrition ◽  
Technological Methods

Plant genetic resources for food and agriculture, a common concern of all countries, are critically important for the sustainable production of the significantly more nutritious food needed to feed an ever-growing population in the face of climate change and other drivers. This entails the translation of the potentials encoded into their genetic blueprints into improved productivities. The relevant international agreements, instruments and mechanisms, which address the conservation, sustainable use and access and benefit-sharing for these resources, are reviewed along with their remarkable contributions to food security and nutrition. The chapter also highlights the state-of-the-art for the scientific and technological methods used to conserve and add value through genetic gains to these resources. Underscoring the importance of collaborations at various scales, we call for continued global coordination and partnerships on the internationally agreed activities for conserving effectively and deriving the most benefits sustainably from these irreplaceable resources.

Current ‘Light’ and ‘Heavy’ Options for Benefit-sharing in the Context of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea

2018 ◽  
Vol 33 (4) ◽  
pp. 683-705 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gaute Voigt-Hanssen
Keyword(s):  
United Nations ◽  
Genetic Resources ◽  
Technological Development ◽  
Benefit Sharing ◽  
Law Of The Sea ◽  
Access And Benefit Sharing ◽  
National Jurisdiction ◽  
United Nations Convention ◽  
The United Nations ◽  
The Law

Abstract An international legally binding instrument under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (LOSC) will need to address “Marine Genetic Resources (MGRs), including questions on the sharing of benefits” from areas outside national jurisdiction (ABNJ). Existing international models of benefit-sharing have all evolved in the context of national jurisdiction and cannot readily be put to use in ABNJ. Current use of MGRs from ABNJ is practically non-existent, although any instrument or model would have to both cater for this situation and provide for any potential technological development and increase in use. The aim of this paper is to provide a simplified overview of options for access and benefit-sharing, drawing on existing models from international and national instruments. Existing options could be analysed through separating access from benefit-sharing and assessing them factually in terms of how ‘light’ and ‘heavy’ they are.

scholarly journals Recognition of Customary Law and Institutions and Community Protocols of Indigenous People in Domestic ABS Legislation or Policies in Accordance with the Provisions of Nagoya Protocol

2018 ◽  
Vol 5 (2) ◽  
pp. 67-82
Author(s):  
Hasrat Arjjumend
Keyword(s):  
Indigenous People ◽  
Indigenous Peoples ◽  
Sustainable Use ◽  
Indigenous Communities ◽  
Local Communities ◽  
Customary Law ◽  
Benefit Sharing ◽  
Access And Benefit Sharing ◽  
Nagoya Protocol ◽  
Customary Laws

The Nagoya Protocol on Access and Benefit Sharing (ABS) provides for the rights of Indigenous people and local communities in accordance with United Nations Declaration of Rights of Indigenous People. The Parties are obliged to take legislative, administrative and technical measures to recognize, respect and support/ensure the customary laws & institutions and community protocols of Indigenous peoples and local communities (ILCs). Within the ambit of contemporary debates encompassing Indigenous peoples’ right to self-determination, this paper examines the effectiveness of international law (i.e. Nagoya Protocol) to influence existing or evolving domestic laws, policies or administrative measures of Parties on access and benefit sharing. Through opinion surveys of Indigenous organizations and national authorities of CBD’s Parties, the findings indicate that the space, recognition and respect created in existing or evolving domestic ABS measures for rights of Indigenous communities are too inadequate to effectively implement the statutory provisions related to customary laws & institutions and community protocols, as envisaged in Nagoya Protocol. As the bio-cultural rights of Indigenous people are key to conservation and sustainable use of biodiversity, the domestic ABS laws need reorientation to be sufficiently effective in translating the spirit of international ABS laws into domestic policies.

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