Episode 5 - Marine Genetic Resources & Benefit Sharing

Episode 5- Access and Benefit Sharing of Marine Genetic Resources

Series on Stakeholders in BBNJ: PART 3 Scientist

We don’t yet know what the deep sea holds – but what we know is that benefits need to be shared fairly and equitably. A new Ocean Treaty changes the status quo of access and benefit sharing of marine genetic resources (MGRs) of areas beyond national jurisdiction. Yet, many questions remain about the nitty-gritty details of implementation.

• What are marine genetic resources and their digital sequence information?

• How can benefits be shared fairly and equitably?

• What are the most urgent issues to negotiate in upcoming meetings of the United Nations?

In this episode we meet Fran Humphries, Associate Professor at Griffith University, an expert on Access and Benefit Sharing of Marine Genetic resources. She guides us through ocean equity issues about sharing the genetic material of the deepest parts of the ocean.

Guest: Associate Professor Fran Humphries

Hosts: ⁠Ina Tessnow-von Wysocki⁠ & ⁠Jennifer Macey⁠

Sound design and editing: ⁠⁠EmilyPerkins⁠⁠

Communication: ⁠Sunnefa Yeatman⁠

For comments & feedback please contact: ⁠[e-mail]⁠

Find out more:

ANCORS Ocean Equity page ⁠https://oceanequityresearch.org/⁠

ANCORS at the University of Wollongong ⁠https://www.uow.edu.au/ancors/⁠

You can find official documents in preparation for the First Preparatory Commission Meeting on the United Nations Website: ⁠https://www.un.org/bbnjagreement/en/meetings/preparatory-commission/documents/first-session⁠

 Research on Marine Genetic Resources:

Humphries, F. (2025). Decoding Marine GeneticResource Governance Under the BBNJ Agreement (1st ed. 2025.). Springer Nature Switzerland. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-72100-7

Humphries, F. (2025). Marine Genetic Resources Beyond National Jurisdiction: The Expansive Scope of the BBNJ Agreement. In: Humphries, F. (eds) Decoding Marine Genetic Resource Governance Under the BBNJ Agreement. Sustainable Development Goals Series. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-72100-7_3

Research on the BBNJ process by ANCORS researchers:

Kraabel, K. (2022). Institutional arrangements in a BBNJ treaty: Implications for Arctic marine science. Marine Policy, 142,103807-. ⁠https://doi.org/10.1016/j.marpol.2019.103807⁠

Lothian, S. (2023b). The BBNJ Agreement: Through the Prismof Deep-Sea Vulnerable Marine Ecosystems. Ocean Development and International Law, 54(4), 469–499. ⁠https://doi.org/10.1080/00908320.2023.2296400⁠

Lothian, S. (2022). Marine conservation and international law: legal instruments for biodiversity beyond national jurisdiction. Routledge, Taylor & Francis Group.

Tessnow-von Wysocki, I., & Vadrot, A. B. M. (2024).Pathways of scientific input into intergovernmental negotiations: a new agreement on marine biodiversity. International Environmental Agreements : Politics, Law and Economics, 24(2–3), 325–348. ⁠https://doi.org/10.1007/s10784-024-09642-0⁠

Tessnow-von Wysocki, I. (2023). Science-policy interfaces for ocean protection: The case of the international negotiatio