The Expert Briefing Document: A Developing Country Perspective on the Making of The BBNJ Treaty

Abstract

The Biodiversity Beyond National Jurisdiction (BBNJ) Treaty, also called the Oceans or the High Seas Agreement is the newest international law Treaty negotiated at the United Nations. The conclusion of this Treaty is widely regarded as an expression of successful multilateralism. The substantive provisions on marine genetic resources in Part II of this progressive Treaty set the agenda for biodiversity governance globally by incorporating several novel elements including digital sequence information on marine genetic resources, the use of a standardised batch identifier to label genetic resources collected from areas beyond national jurisdiction and the introduction of an assessment model based on aggregate usage of genetic resources rather than individual products and uses. These elements were proposed by the G77/China, a group of 134 developing countries in the final round of negotiations. This briefing document is significant not just for the achievement of textual and substantive elements in the final text of the Treaty, but it is also as a record, representative of different ways in which knowledge and expertise contribute to the making of international law.

Keywords: BBNJ, Oceans, High Seas, UNCLOS, Treaty-Making, Biodiversity, DSI, Marine Genetic Resources, Public International Law