Download MR/E16/05 - Vast Genetic Treasure on Sea Beds - UNU

8 June 2005
MR/E16/05
For use of the media –
not an official record
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Vast Genetic Treasure on Sea Beds
Clear Rules Needed to Govern Deep Sea Research,
Avoid Unfettered Bioprospecting Gold Rush: UNU
Vast genetic resources – “blue gold” on the international deep sea floor – need protection
from unfettered commercial exploitation, warns a new report from the Japan-based United
Nations University Institute for Advanced Studies (UNU-IAS).
Increasingly recognized as important to humankind for their potential medical and other uses,
deep sea resources are now more accessible and vulnerable than ever because of rapid advances
in exploration technology, the report says.
Known as “extremophiles,” the genetic make-up of organisms of the deep that live in extreme
conditions of pressure, temperature and toxicity are drawing enormous interest from scientists and
companies bioprospecting for possible pharmaceutical or industrial applications. Already several
valuable products have been created and there is growing recognition of the potential of deep sea
genes to advance human welfare.
The new report, Bioprospecting of Genetic Resources in the Deep Seabed, cites rising concern
about the absence of clear rules governing access to and the sharing of benefits derived from the
“global commons” of the sea beds and the potential for severe, perhaps permanent damage to
these unique and sensitive ecosystems, which include seamounts, cold seeps and hydrothermal
vents – the latter considered nurseries for life on Earth.
“Deep sea ecosystems hold the promise of huge potential contributions to future human wellbeing, provide our planet with vital climate-related and other ecological services, and have much
to teach us about life processes,” says UNU-IAS Director A.H. Zakri.
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NEWS RELEASE
The report will be launched at UN Headquarters, New York, June 9, 1.15 p.m. EDT, Conference Rm
6. The full report is available for media preview online at
http://www.ias.unu.edu/binaries2/DeepSeabed_FINAL.pdf .
“The unfettered and unregulated exploitation of international sea beds and the organisms living
there could have serious long-term consequences for humankind,” he says. “And for the private
sector, uncertainty caused by the absence of clear, globally-agreed rules deters important research
and investment decisions.”
“The legal and policy framework is not even close to keeping pace with the fast-evolving science
and technology of deep seabed bioprospecting,” says report contributor Sam Johnston, Senior
Research Fellow at UNU-IAS.
“The international debate still sees governments divided over whether or how to regulate deep
seabed bioprospecting. This division stems from limited knowledge about the environmental
impacts and economic potential of deep seabed bioprospecting, combined with a strong
sensitivity to countries’ freedoms in international areas.”
“Ethical concerns have been raised with regard to the status of deep seabed genetic resources,”
says Salvatore Arico of UNESCO, a Visiting Research Fellow at UNU-IAS and a lead author of
the report with Charlotte Salpin. “These resources lie within the global commons, but are they
free for anyone to take or are they the heritage and property of all humankind?”
Growing threats to fragile ecosystems
Deep sea expeditions are increasingly frequent, their focus shifting from geological and
geophysical study to ecological, biological, physiological and bioprospecting, the report says.
While most research is still purely scientific, the report predicts that the promise of important new
products will lead to an increase in commercial exploration.
The report cites the need to prevent harm from research in deep seabed areas, especially those
particularly sensitive to disturbances such as cold seeps and seamounts.
“While it is impossible to quantify the damage caused by such research on the deep seabed
environment, threats include destruction of habitats, unsustainable collection, alteration of local
hydrological and environmental conditions, and pollution of various nature. The same activities
can have very different impacts in various deep sea ecosystems, and cumulative impacts over
time, such as those associated with deep sea trawling, have already resulted in the extinction of
species.”
Growing value of products from marine biotechnology
The world’s oceans host 32 of the 34 known phyla on Earth, the report says. Species diversity is
known to be as high as 1000 per square meter in the Indo-Pacific Ocean. Significantly, the ratio
of potentially useful natural compounds is higher in marine than terrestrial organisms. There is,
therefore, a higher probability of commercial success with marine-sourced material. However,
the odds of success are long – just one to two percent of pre-clinical candidates become
commercial products.
Nevertheless, the report says all major pharmaceutical firms, including Merck, Lilly, Pfizer,
Hoffman-Laroche and Bristol-Myers Squibb, have marine biology departments, and cites the
following estimates:
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
Worldwide sales in 2000 of marine biotechnology-related products: US$ 100 billion;

Annual profits from a compound derived from a sea sponge to treat herpes: US$ 50
million to US$ 100 million;

Value of anti-cancer agents from marine organisms: US$ 1 billion a year.
Marine drugs can be used as antioxidant, anti-fungal, anti-HIV, antibiotic, anti-cancer, antituberculosis and anti-malaria. Applications for the treatment of Alzheimer’s disease, cystic
fibrosis and impotence are also under consideration.
Other marine-derived compounds have anti-inflammatory properties and one is used as an antiirritant in cosmetics. A hormone extracted from salmon has been found effective in preventing
osteoporosis while a salmon-derived sulfate is an antidote to the anticoagulant heparin.
Sponges are particularly targeted as potential sources of pharmaceutical products. Over 30 years,
one of the most effective treatments for leukemia has been based on derivatives of a sponge. A
compound based on a sponge-derived steroid completed phase 1 US trials as an asthma drug in
2000. Other research in progress includes treatments for breast and ovarian cancer.
Impediments to this research include not just the high expedition costs but the absence of clear
rules governing resource access benefits sharing. Some companies say uncertainty over access
procedures is a major deterrent to their research and investment, the report says.
Seabed is not a lawless realm, but almost
Bioprospecting in the seabed within territorial limits is currently regulated by the UN Convention
on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), which determines states’ jurisdiction, rights and obligations in
the oceans, as well as in the Convention on Biological Diversity, which governs access to genetic
resources and benefit-sharing.
While most countries have regulations on marine scientific research in their waters and seabed,
only a few have legislation regulating access to and exploitation of their marine and other genetic
resources.
Many of the world’s unique seabed ecosystems lie in international waters beyond national
jurisdiction with no international regime addressing deep seabed bioprospecting. And no state
has yet adopted measures addressing bioprospecting undertaken by its nationals in international
waters.
The UNU-IAS report identifies shortcomings in UNCLOS, the Convention on Biological
Diversity and intellectual property rights instruments governing access and benefit-sharing to
genetic resources. These include the need to:

Establish whether describing the sequence of a genome can be considered an invention;

Define bioprospecting;
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
Develop criteria and guidelines to help states determine the implications of marine
scientific research;

Decide if marine scientific researchers/academia and private companies should be treated
differently in access to deep seabed genetic resources.
Designing a regime for bioprospecting in the deep seabed
The report says regional agreements could be used as a first step towards a comprehensive
international regime to protect the deep seabed from over-exploitation.
It also suggests adoption by the UN General Assembly of guidelines on deep seabed
bioprospecting to be used until a binding regime is developed. The guidelines could facilitate
cooperation and coordination between states and, drawing on existing global and regional
instruments, include measures on conservation, sustainable use and the sharing of benefits.
*****
The Institute of Advanced Studies is part of the United Nations University’s global network of research
and training centres. IAS undertakes research and postgraduate education on leading sustainable
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URL: http://www.ias.unu.edu
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