Legal Research On Deep-sea Genetic Resources In The International Seabed Area

Since the beginning of the 21 st century,with the growth of population and the development of technology.Land resources have gradually been developed,and it is no longer able to meet human growing material needs.For that,marine resources are increasingly valued by countries around the world.The international seabed area(hereinafter referred to as “the ‘region'”)is rich in mineral resources and biological resources,and has an invaluable important role in the development of the national economy.However,due to the high costs of deep-sea mineral resources,its economic outlook is not optimistic.The international community have gradually turned their eyes to the deep-sea biological resources.in the 1970 s,Since the first deep-sea hydrothermal vent and its special ecological environment has been found in the East Pacific,more and more deep-sea hydrothermal vents and deep-sea creatures have been known.On the deep seabed,there are actually unprecedented special life forms and abundant biological resources.The special survival ability and genetic characteristics possessed by deep-sea organisms are of great significance to human marine scientific research,life science research,and innovation and development in various fields such as industry,medicine,and environmental protection.As a natural genetic resource bank,the deep seabed has enormous potential for development and application,and is an important new strategic resource for the country.Therefore,some powerful western countries with advanced economies and advanced science and technology have rushed into the region and used their own advantages to carry out predatory development of biological resources in the “region”.However,although there are many globalor regional environmental laws and international conventions,no law can directly apply to the regulation of deep-sea genetic resources and related activities.This loophole in the international legal framework has become a hot issue of the entire international community.The relevant international organizations have conducted countless fierce discussions for this purpose and it is extremely urgent to establish and improve the protection mechanism for deep-sea genetic resources.This article mainly discusses under the provisions of the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea,the Convention on Biological Diversity,and other relevant legal instruments.Through combing the possible applications of deep-sea genetic resources,we have obtained the current application to marine genetics.The legal documents of resource management are characterized by decentralization,confusion and inadequacy.It is proposed to provide a superficial view of the establishment and improvement of access and benefit-sharing systems for international regional deep-sea genetic resources under the existing framework of international law.In addition to the introduction and conclusions,this article is divided into four chaptersThe first chapter first explained the related concepts involved in deep-sea genetic resources,followed by the introduction of the ecological environment and its scientific value and the distribution of deep-sea genetic resources near the biota in the hydrothermal vent,which laid the foundation for the subsequent discussion;In Chapter Two,through the analysis of the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea,the Convention on Biodiversity,the Bonn Guideline,and the Intellectual Property System,it was pointed out that there was a lack of laws on the management of deep-sea genetic resources;discussions were held on the deep sea of different interest groups in the international community.Different arguments for genetic resources and analysis of the rationality of including the biological resources in the “regional”controversy into the “common inheritance property of mankind” principle;Chapter 3 makes an in-depth analysis of the existing benefit-sharing systems of international law and proposes construction.The concept of the development and utilization of benefit-sharing systems for the use of deep-sea genetic resources and the corresponding protective measures are given.The fourth chapter analyzes the achievements and deficiencies in the development of “regional” deep-sea genetic resources in China and hopes that China will actively participate in relevant “regions” in order to complete the grand goals of the “Thirteenth Five-Year Plan” and achieve the strategic goal of Ocean power.The discussion and regulation of legal provisions on deep-sea genetic resources will strive to have more initiative and right to speak in this area.