Access to Marine Genetic Resources (MGR): Raising Awareness of Best-Practice Through a New Agreement for Biodiversity Beyond National Jurisdiction (BBNJ)
Better scientific knowledge of the poorly-known deep sea and areas beyond national jurisdiction (ABNJ) is key to its conservation, an urgent need in light of increasing environmental pressures. Access to marine genetic resources (MGR) for the biodiversity research community is essential to allow the...
| Main Authors: | , , , , , , , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Frontiers Media S.A.
2019-09-01
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| Series: | Frontiers in Marine Science |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://www.frontiersin.org/article/10.3389/fmars.2019.00520/full |
| _version_ | 1818010647315611648 |
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| author | Muriel Rabone Harriet Harden-Davies Jane Eva Collins Jane Eva Collins Sabine Zajderman Ward Appeltans Gabi Droege Angelika Brandt Angelika Brandt Liliana Pardo-Lopez Thomas G. Dahlgren Thomas G. Dahlgren Adrian G. Glover Tammy Horton |
| author_facet | Muriel Rabone Harriet Harden-Davies Jane Eva Collins Jane Eva Collins Sabine Zajderman Ward Appeltans Gabi Droege Angelika Brandt Angelika Brandt Liliana Pardo-Lopez Thomas G. Dahlgren Thomas G. Dahlgren Adrian G. Glover Tammy Horton |
| author_sort | Muriel Rabone |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Better scientific knowledge of the poorly-known deep sea and areas beyond national jurisdiction (ABNJ) is key to its conservation, an urgent need in light of increasing environmental pressures. Access to marine genetic resources (MGR) for the biodiversity research community is essential to allow these environments to be better characterised. Negotiations have commenced under the auspices of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) to develop a new treaty to further the conservation and sustainable use of marine biological diversity in ABNJ. It is timely to consider the relevant issues with the development of the treaty underway. Currently uncertainties surround the legal definition of MGR and scope of related benefit-sharing, against a background of regional and global governance gaps in ABNJ. These complications are mirrored in science, with recent major advances in the field of genomics, but variability in handling of the resulting increasing volumes of data. Here, we attempt to define the concept of MGR from a scientific perspective, review current practices for the generation of and access to MGR from ABNJ in the context of relevant regulations, and illustrate the utility of best-practice with a case study. We contribute recommendations with a view to strengthen best-practice in accessibility of MGR, including: funder recognition of the central importance of taxonomy/biodiversity research; support of museums/collections for long-term sample curation; open access to data; usage and further development of globally recognised data standards and platforms; publishing of datasets via open-access, quality controlled and standardised data systems and open access journals; commitment to best-practice workflows; a global registry of cruises; and lastly development of a clearing house to further centralised access to the above. We argue that commitment to best-practice would allow greater sharing of MGR for research and extensive secondary use including conservation and environmental monitoring, and provide an exemplar for access and benefit-sharing (ABS) to inform the biodiversity beyond national jurisdiction (BBNJ) process. |
| first_indexed | 2024-04-14T05:57:57Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-75e24b2f21654fcf88970ac45d129803 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2296-7745 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-04-14T05:57:57Z |
| publishDate | 2019-09-01 |
| publisher | Frontiers Media S.A. |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Frontiers in Marine Science |
| spelling | doaj.art-75e24b2f21654fcf88970ac45d1298032022-12-22T02:08:52ZengFrontiers Media S.A.Frontiers in Marine Science2296-77452019-09-01610.3389/fmars.2019.00520455956Access to Marine Genetic Resources (MGR): Raising Awareness of Best-Practice Through a New Agreement for Biodiversity Beyond National Jurisdiction (BBNJ)Muriel Rabone0Harriet Harden-Davies1Jane Eva Collins2Jane Eva Collins3Sabine Zajderman4Ward Appeltans5Gabi Droege6Angelika Brandt7Angelika Brandt8Liliana Pardo-Lopez9Thomas G. Dahlgren10Thomas G. Dahlgren11Adrian G. Glover12Tammy Horton13Life Sciences Department, Natural History Museum, London, United KingdomAustralian National Centre for Ocean Resources and Security, University of Wollongong, North Wollongong, NSW, AustraliaABS-int, Bruges, BelgiumFaculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Clinical Pharmacology and Pharmacotherapy, KU Leuven, Leuven, BelgiumInstitute of Marine and Environmental Law, University of Cape Town, Cape Town, South AfricaIntergovernmental Oceanographic Commission of UNESCO, IOC Project Office for IODE, Oostende, BelgiumBotanic Garden and Botanical Museum Berlin, Freie Universität Berlin, Berlin, GermanySenckenberg Research Institute and Natural History Museum, Frankfurt, GermanyInstitute for Ecology, Evolution and Diversity, Goethe University Frankfurt, Frankfurt, Germany0Instituto de Biotecnología, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Cuernavaca, Mexico1Department of Marine Sciences, University of Gothenburg, Gothenburg, Sweden2NORCE Norwegian Research Centre, Bergen, NorwayLife Sciences Department, Natural History Museum, London, United Kingdom3National Oceanography Centre, Southampton, United KingdomBetter scientific knowledge of the poorly-known deep sea and areas beyond national jurisdiction (ABNJ) is key to its conservation, an urgent need in light of increasing environmental pressures. Access to marine genetic resources (MGR) for the biodiversity research community is essential to allow these environments to be better characterised. Negotiations have commenced under the auspices of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) to develop a new treaty to further the conservation and sustainable use of marine biological diversity in ABNJ. It is timely to consider the relevant issues with the development of the treaty underway. Currently uncertainties surround the legal definition of MGR and scope of related benefit-sharing, against a background of regional and global governance gaps in ABNJ. These complications are mirrored in science, with recent major advances in the field of genomics, but variability in handling of the resulting increasing volumes of data. Here, we attempt to define the concept of MGR from a scientific perspective, review current practices for the generation of and access to MGR from ABNJ in the context of relevant regulations, and illustrate the utility of best-practice with a case study. We contribute recommendations with a view to strengthen best-practice in accessibility of MGR, including: funder recognition of the central importance of taxonomy/biodiversity research; support of museums/collections for long-term sample curation; open access to data; usage and further development of globally recognised data standards and platforms; publishing of datasets via open-access, quality controlled and standardised data systems and open access journals; commitment to best-practice workflows; a global registry of cruises; and lastly development of a clearing house to further centralised access to the above. We argue that commitment to best-practice would allow greater sharing of MGR for research and extensive secondary use including conservation and environmental monitoring, and provide an exemplar for access and benefit-sharing (ABS) to inform the biodiversity beyond national jurisdiction (BBNJ) process.https://www.frontiersin.org/article/10.3389/fmars.2019.00520/fullmarine genetic resources (MGR)data standardsopen accesstaxonomybiodiversityaccess and benefit-sharing (ABS) |
| spellingShingle | Muriel Rabone Harriet Harden-Davies Jane Eva Collins Jane Eva Collins Sabine Zajderman Ward Appeltans Gabi Droege Angelika Brandt Angelika Brandt Liliana Pardo-Lopez Thomas G. Dahlgren Thomas G. Dahlgren Adrian G. Glover Tammy Horton Access to Marine Genetic Resources (MGR): Raising Awareness of Best-Practice Through a New Agreement for Biodiversity Beyond National Jurisdiction (BBNJ) Frontiers in Marine Science marine genetic resources (MGR) data standards open access taxonomy biodiversity access and benefit-sharing (ABS) |
| title | Access to Marine Genetic Resources (MGR): Raising Awareness of Best-Practice Through a New Agreement for Biodiversity Beyond National Jurisdiction (BBNJ) |
| title_full | Access to Marine Genetic Resources (MGR): Raising Awareness of Best-Practice Through a New Agreement for Biodiversity Beyond National Jurisdiction (BBNJ) |
| title_fullStr | Access to Marine Genetic Resources (MGR): Raising Awareness of Best-Practice Through a New Agreement for Biodiversity Beyond National Jurisdiction (BBNJ) |
| title_full_unstemmed | Access to Marine Genetic Resources (MGR): Raising Awareness of Best-Practice Through a New Agreement for Biodiversity Beyond National Jurisdiction (BBNJ) |
| title_short | Access to Marine Genetic Resources (MGR): Raising Awareness of Best-Practice Through a New Agreement for Biodiversity Beyond National Jurisdiction (BBNJ) |
| title_sort | access to marine genetic resources mgr raising awareness of best practice through a new agreement for biodiversity beyond national jurisdiction bbnj |
| topic | marine genetic resources (MGR) data standards open access taxonomy biodiversity access and benefit-sharing (ABS) |
| url | https://www.frontiersin.org/article/10.3389/fmars.2019.00520/full |
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