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BBNJ Agreement: A new infrastructure to foster benefit sharing of marine genetic resources

Published Article

Global

Publication date: February 4, 2025

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Implementing Part II of the BBNJ Agreement—governing marine genetic resources, Digital Sequence Information and Traditional Knowledge—requires a strong institutional infrastructure. This chapter examines how elements such as a decision‑making Conference of the Parties, a Secretariat and subsidiary scientific and technical bodies enable informed, objective governance. Transparent, open‑access information platforms and inclusive participation provisions further strengthen implementation. Built‑in review mechanisms allow the COP to identify gaps and adapt over time. Together, these components form the infrastructure necessary for timely, well‑supported decisions that advance conservation and sustainable use across two‑thirds of the global ocean.

Subject Tags

  • Policy

Abstract

An effective implementation of the Part II of the Agreement under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea on the Conservation and Sustainable Use of Marine Biological Diversity of Areas Beyond National Jurisdiction (BBNJ Agreement) will require understanding the relevance of the infrastructure in the treaty text. The Agreement’s Part II provides a new framework of information and benefit sharing of marine genetic resources of areas beyond national jurisdiction and associated Digital Sequence Information and Traditional Knowledge. This chapter for the edited collection “Decoding Marine Genetic Resource Governance under the BBNJ Agreement” explores the infrastructure of the Agreement. The chapter views infrastructure of an implementing agreement to be robust when there is a Conference of the Parties (COP) with a decision-making function, a Secretariat and various subsidiary bodies (e.g., Scientific and Technical Body) that provide support for the COP to make informed decisions in an objective manner. A strong infrastructure also facilitates transparency through an open-access information platform and inclusivity provisions, which allow a wide range of stakeholders to be timely informed and facilitate active participation in meetings. Further, a strong infrastructure builds in functions to review the progress of implementation so that any gaps can be addressed by the COP or the Parties, with the support of the subsidiary bodies. These aspects are essential to ensure that with input from various stakeholders, the COP can make timely and well-informed decisions to enhance the health of the two-thirds of the global ocean.

Citation

Gottlieb, H. M., Ardron, J. A., & Brown, A. E. (2025). BBNJ Agreement: A new infrastructure to foster benefit sharing of marine genetic resources. In Decoding Marine Genetic Resource Governance Under the BBNJ Agreement (pp. 29-54). Cham: Springer Nature Switzerland. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-72100-7_2

TNC Authors