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“So, Jamaica has just as much right to the marine genetic resources outside Barbados’s 200 nautical mile EEZ in the Atlantic as Barbados does.” I n his examination of the benefits, he said provision has been made for the identification and classification of species that are found and to map the ecosystems in which marine species live, which would help with their conservation and sustainable use. Moreover, he said the agreement will help, through area-based management techniques, correct existing practices that threaten marine biodiversity, and prevent future harm through environmental impact assessments. “The BBNJ agreement can potentially provide strong benefits for Caribbean states. Indirect benefits [include] helping to preserve and maintain marine biological diversity which, in turn, will help our blue economies and help counteract global warming. Direct benefits [include] access to benefit-sharing provisions, capacity-building, transfer of marine technology, the financial mechanism, and monetary benefits. It must be recalled that simply having access to information and data on marine genetic resources, including digital sequencing
Professor David Berry (left) and Dr. Leo Brewster , Director of the Coastal Zone Management Unit (CZMU), Barbados
He said while states should conduct a cost-benefit analysis before joining any new treaty framework, time was of the essence given that the BBNJ agreement was opened for signature last September and discussions were actively underway on its provisional application. “It would not be beneficial to Caribbean states if we played no role in the formal development of the BBNJ agreement’s rules and processes. Many important decisions of the Conference of the Parties (COP) have to be made at its first meeting … and only states that are party to the agreement in attendance at the COP will be able to participate in those first decisions. “If CARICOM member states act with the same urgency, same high levels of coordination and activism as they did when negotiating the agreement, then we may help shape the institutions and processes favourably to Caribbean interests.” In so doing, Professor Berry said Caribbean countries will not only demonstrate continued leadership in protecting marine biodiversity in BBNJ, but they will be able to help shape the BBNJ’s rules and processes and ensure that the agreement benefits the region and its people. The BBNJ was the product of nearly two decades of negotiations, including by CARICOM members. u
information, will enable Caribbean scientists to do research and Caribbean industries to potentially develop new commercial products.” He said these benefits can have spillover effects in other areas of the economy. On the other hand, the legal expert said that although it was unlikely that marine genetic resources and digital sequencing information would produce immediate financial benefits for the Caribbean, our region needs to position itself to receive them, if such resources are commercialised.
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