The following workshop took place at the recent 14th Deep-Sea Biology Symposium in Aveiro, Portugal. The PDF agenda from this workshop has been posted here.
Accessing and Sharing Benefits from Marine Genetic Resources beyond National Boundaries: What Role for the Scientific Community?
A new international process poised to commence under the auspices of the United Nations could have profound implications for how scientific researchers access deep-sea marine genetic resources beyond national boundaries and share benefits arising from their use. This process will likely result in the development of a new international legal instrument for the conservation and sustainable use of biodiversity beyond national jurisdiction (more than 64% of the ocean surface) with access and benefit sharing of marine genetic resources as one of the core issues. Given the potential importance of this new instrument for deep-sea biological research worldwide, this workshop will discuss how the deep-sea biology community can inform and influence this crucial international debate.
Workshop participants will: hear from experts on the prospects and governance challenges of marine genetic resources beyond national boundaries; discuss the implications for deep-sea research; and develop ideas for how a new regime for accessing and sharing benefits from marine genetic resources in areas beyond national jurisdiction could facilitate deep-sea research.
The workshop will take place during the 14th DSBS on Thursday 3 September, 1.00pm-2.30pm, Pequeno Auditorio.
All delegates of the 14th DSBS with an interest in deep-sea governance and international research cooperation are warmly invited to participate (prior knowledge of marine genetic resources is not required).
Spaces will be limited, so if you have not already done so, please register your interest to attend by entering your name on this link<http://goo.gl/forms/5v1XinLOew>. If you have any questions, please contact Harriet Harden-Davies hrhd829@uowmail.edu.au.
We look forward to seeing you in Aveiro and hearing your perspectives on this important issue!
Kind regards,
Kristina Gjerde, Elva Escobar and Harriet Harden-Davies
(DOSI Working Group 5)
