POLICY AND PRACTICE REVIEWS article
Front. Mar. Sci.
Sec. Marine Affairs and Policy
Volume 12 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fmars.2025.1541331
Unlocking the Global Commons: Legal Analysis of Benefitsharing for Marine Genetic Resources in the BBNJ Agreement
Provisionally accepted
Steel Rometius1
Wei Wang1,2*- 1Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, China
- 2The University of Melbourne, Parkville, Victoria, Australia
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The Biodiversity Beyond National Jurisdiction (BBNJ) Agreement marks a significant step in governing global commons, yet faces implementation challenges regarding marine genetic resources (MGRs). Key limitations include: ambiguous definitions of derivatives, tension between freedom of high seas and common heritage principles, and uncertain benefitsharing models. This paper proposes three improvements: (1) expanding MGRs interpretation under the Vienna Convention to include derivatives with a clarifying negative list; (2) implementing a phased benefit-sharing mechanism that progressively incorporates common heritage principles as MGRs approach commercialization; and (3) developing a hybrid model combining monetary and non-monetary contributions with minimum standards to ensure benefits for developing States. These solutions would enhance marine biodiversity protection while ensuring equitable distribution of MGR benefits.
Keywords: the BBNJ Agreement, marine genetic resources, digital sequence information, Benefit-sharing, the common heritage of mankind, the freedom of the high seas
Received: 07 Dec 2024; Accepted: 08 May 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Rometius and Wang. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence: Wei Wang, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, China
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