Blue Genes: Sharing and Conserving the World's Aquatic Biodiversity

by Greer, David; Harvey, Brian

• ISBN13: 9781844071067
• ISBN10: 1844071065
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2004-11-01
• Publisher: Routledge

Summary

* The first book to address the ownership, governance, and trade in aquatic biogenetic resources * A must-have book for policymakers, academics, and practitioners dealing with genetic resources * Provides powerful policy recommendations for governing, conserving, and using aquatic genetic resources for the common good Genetic sciences have produced a 'blue revolution' in the way we use aquatic biodiversity. By 2020 the world will be eating more farmed than wild fish, marine bacteria may yield the cure for cancer and deep-sea bacteria may be exploited to gobble up oil spills. Science is moving ahead at a staggering speed, and the demand for genetic resources is growing rapidly--yet governance and policy lag far behind. This groundbreaking work is the first to look at the issues of ownership, governance and trade in aquatic genetic resources. Blue Genes describes the growing demand for aquatic genetic resources and the desperate need to fill the policy vacuum for the management and conservation of aquatic biodiversity as a foundation for rules governing access to and use of aquatic genetic resources. The book pays special attention to the rights of indigenous and local communities providing access to those resources, and their role in managing and conserving aquatic biodiversity. The book concludes with policy recommendations specifically tailored to aquatic resources and uses six case studies from four continents to illustrate key issues.

Author Biography

Brian Harvey is President of World Fisheries Trust.

Table of Contents

List of Photographs, Figures and boxes	vii
Preface	ix
Acknowledgements	xi
List of Acronyms and Abbreviations	xii
Overview	1	(22)
A Note on the Case Studies	15	(8)
1 The Gene Rush: Finding New Value in Aquatic Biodiversity	23	(38)
Why is genetic diversity so important?	24	(5)
The blue revolution: Unlocking the secrets of aquatic genetic resources	29	(3)
Expanding commercial uses for aquatic genetic resources	32	(21)
Indigenous views on valuing nature	53	(1)
Case study 1. The law of unintended consequences: Conserving the ornamental fish industry in Barcelos, Brazil	54	(7)
2 Managing Aquatic Genetic Resources: Tools and Policy Gaps	61	(28)
Conserving aquatic genetic diversity - still a new idea for fisheries management	62	(4)
Banking blue genes: Collections of aquatic genetic resources	66	(5)
Access to aquatic genetic resources collections	71	(4)
Managing aquatic genetic resources: Filling the policy vacuum	75	(7)
Global initiatives for improved management of aquatic biodiversity	82	(2)
Case study 2. No policy, no access? A salmon farmer's frustrated efforts to collect genetically pure broodstock	84	(5)
3 Whose to Share? Ownership and Control of Aquatic Resources	89	(24)
Ownership of aquatic genetic resources: Agreements and claims	91	(7)
The price of invention: Intellectual property law and aquatic genetic resources	98	(4)
Who owns traditional knowledge?	102	(3)
Biopiracy: Plain dealing or patent theft?	105	(5)
Case study 3. An indigenous community says no: Negotiating access to charr broodstock in northern Canada	110	(3)
4 Thinking Locally: Rights of Indigenous and Local Communities	113	(30)
Traditional community practices and biodiversity conservation	114	(7)
Indigenous views on the collection and use of aquatic genetic resources: A workshop in Canada	121	(6)
The knowledge knot: Traditional knowledge and access to aquatic genetic resources	127	(7)
No knowledge, no benefits? The shortcomings of Article 8(j)	134	(1)
Case study 4. Genetic improvement of farmed tilapia: Lessons from the GIFT project	135	(8)
5 Acting Globally: National Laws on Access to Aquatic Resources	143	(36)
The collector's conundrum: What's the law?	144	(3)
Fine-tuning the CBD: The Bonn Guidelines	147	(2)
National and regional approaches to access laws	149	(2)
Comparative analysis: How the new laws deal with access to genetic resources in communities	151	(10)
Making benefit sharing work: Responsibilities of industrial countries	161	(2)
Using fisheries certification to support access laws	163	(3)
Case study 5. Community rights vs research chill: The Philippine experience with access and benefit-sharing legislation	166	(13)
6 Results that Count: Meaningful Benefits for Fishing Communities	179	(22)
Blue gold or fools' gold? Prospects for benefit sharing	180	(3)
Sharing benefits fairly with communities	183	(3)
A handout or a hand up? Royalties vs non-monetary benefits	186	(3)
Linking sustainable livelihoods to conservation	189	(6)
Setting the stage for effective negotiations	195	(1)
Case study 6. Shaping negotiation tools: A marine bioprospecting agreement in Fiji	196	(5)
7 Putting Principles into Practice	201	(12)
Access and benefit-sharing laws: A work in slow progress	202	(1)
Aquatic biodiversity management: Filling policy gaps	203	(5)
The four 'policy pillars' of ABS legislation	208	(3)
A checklist for designing access and benefit-sharing policies	211	(2)
Notes	213	(2)
References	215	(12)
Index	227