Background Release

COUNTRIES TO ADDRESS MARINE GENETIC RESOURCES, AT UNITED NATIONS 25-29 JUNE

 

Countries will explore options to enhance international cooperation and coordination on a range of issues relating to the world’s marine genetic resources during the eighth meeting of the United Nations Open-Ended Informal Consultative Process on Oceans and the Law of the Sea, to be held at United Nations Headquarters from 25 to 29 June.

Marine genetic resources include a broad range of macro- and micro-organisms of direct value to humans, for example by providing the material necessary to develop novel drugs, or of indirect value in light of their role in maintaining ecosystem health.  Both scientists and industry, says a report of the Secretary-General (document A/62/66, Chapter X), use marine genetic resources to improve our understanding of the Earth’s ecosystems, develop new products and create cleaner and cost-effective industrial processes.

Conservation and sustainable use of marine genetic resources, as well as socio-economic aspects, capacity-building and the transfer of technology, are among the issues that need to be addressed.  Countries have begun considering these issues and assessing whether further action is required to find a balance between the need to support activities that may lead to the development of valuable products, the need to ensure the equitable and efficient utilization of marine genetic resources and the need to conserve these resources and their ecosystems.

Marine genetic resources are playing an increasingly larger role as the basis for drugs used against a host of diseases, says the Secretary-General’s report.  Compounds derived from marine micro-organisms are being tested and used in pharmacology for the development of antioxidant, antivirals, anti-inflammatory, anti-fungal, anti-HIV, antibiotic, anticancer, antituberculosis and antimalarial drugs.

Apart from their economic value, marine micro-organisms also have great environmental value, as they influence the climate, says the report.  Nearly half of the oxygen in the atmosphere is derived from the photosynthetic process of planktonic microalgae and marine angiosperms and macroalgae.  Planktonic marine microalgae contribute between 80 to 90 per cent to the ocean’s productivity, both in terms of carbon assimilation and oxygen generation.

However, research and other activities relating to marine genetic resources are an expensive endeavour, the report says, in particular in extreme environments such as the deep sea.  As a result, such activities are usually carried out through partnerships, including between public research institutes and biotechnology companies.  This may lead to an increasingly unclear distinction between scientific investigation to study the marine environment and research and development of new products.  It also raises issues of intellectual property rights.

The United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea provides the legal framework within which all activities in the oceans and sea must be carried out, including those relating to marine genetic resources.  A number of other more specialized instruments, like the Convention on Biological Diversity and various treaties addressing intellectual property rights, complement the Law of the Sea Convention by dealing with various issues related to marine genetic resources.

While genetic resources within national jurisdiction are managed by coastal States, there are divergent views on the legal regime applicable to genetic resources in areas beyond national jurisdiction.  Views also differ as to the issues that need to be addressed by the international community, which include how best to ensure the conservation and sustainable use of genetic resources, access to such resources and how to share the benefits arising out of their utilization.

To facilitate its annual review of developments in ocean affairs, the General Assembly, in 1999, established the United Nations Open-ended Informal Consultative Process on Oceans and the Law of the Sea.  Each year, the General Assembly decides what topics the Consultative Process should address.

The General Assembly, in 2006, decided that, at its 2007 meeting, the Consultative Process should focus its discussions on “marine genetic resources” and how to enhance cooperation and coordination in this field.  On the basis of consultations with delegations and of an informal preparatory meeting held at United Nations Headquarters on 30 March, the Co-Chairpersons of the Consultative Process, Lorraine Ridgeway (Canada) and Cristián Maquieira (Chile), proposed three main areas for the discussion: understanding marine genetic resources, their vulnerability and the services they provide; current activities relating to marine genetic resources; and international cooperation and coordination.  Panellist presentations will launch the discussions on these issues.

For further information on the eighth meeting of the Consultative Process and on a range of side events to be held in conjunction with it, please visit www.un.org/Depts/los/consultative_process/consultative_process.htm or contact, at the Department of Public Information, Edoardo Bellando, tel: 212 963 8275, e-mail: bellando@un.org or Daniel Shepard, tel: 212 963 9495, e-mail: shepard@un.org.

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For information media • not an official record