49 Access and Benefit Sharing: Issues Related to Marine Genetic Resources Balakrishna Pisupati * David Leary** Salvatore Arico*** Abstract: Since the entry into force of the CBD in 1993, countries have struggled to find answers to several questions related to ABS issues and have spent considerable amounts of time, energy and money in understanding how to operationalise these principles. One critical area that is beginning to appear during the discussions under the international regime is the status of marine genetic resources with a particular emphasis emerging on genetic resources available in areas beyond national jurisdiction. This paper presents some key legal and policy issues that negotiators of the international regime on ABS need to consider in relation to marine genetic resources. Keywords: CBD, ABS, Marine, Genetic Resoruces. Introduction One of the key innovations of the UN Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) was the way it sets out key principles relating to Access and Benefit Sharing (ABS) in relation to genetic resources. For example, Article 15 of the CBD on Access to Genetic Resources states that each Contracting Party shall endeavor to create conditions to facilitate access to genetic resources for environmentally sound uses by other Contracting Parties. Access to genetic resources shall be subject to prior informed consent of the Contracting Party providing such resources. Each Contracting Party shall endeavor to develop and carry out scientific research based on genetic resources provided by other * Division for Environmental Law and Conventions, UNEP. Email: balakrishna.pisupati@unep.org ** JSPS-UNU Postdoctoral Fellow, United Nations University-Institute of Advanced Studies, Yokohama, Japan. Email: leary@ias.unu.edu *** Division of Ecological and Earth Sciences, UNESCO. Email: s.arico@unesco.org Views and opinions expressed in the paper are those of the authors and not the organizations they represent. RIS Research and Information System for Developing Countries www.ris.org.in/abdr.html Asian Biotechnology and Development Review Vol. 10 No. 3, pp 49-68 © 2008, RIS. All rights reserved Printed in India