Unexplored until recently, the deep seabed is home to organisms found nowhere else on Earth. The enormous commercial and scientific potential of this 'new' stock of genetic resources is sending bioprospectors rushing to one of Earth's last frontiers. In the absence of a specific international regime addressing deep seabed bioprospecting in international waters, a report released on 9 June warns that the deep seabed could be permanently damaged if countries do not agree on ways to regulate access to those parts of the deep seabed which lie beyond national jurisdiction.

Over the past twenty-five years, scientific and technological advances have allowed for new and unprecedented exploration of the oceans. We are now able to reach the depths of the ocean seabed, which is home to unique ecosystems such as hydrothermal vents, cold seeps and seamounts. The extreme environmental conditions in these areas, in terms of pressure, temperature and toxicity, make the organisms inhabiting these ecosystems of growing interest from both a scientific and a commercial point of view. Many have become the object of bioprospecting: the search for potentially valuable genetic resources in the Earth's commons.

But there is widespread concern among the international scientific community about the potential for severe and perhaps permanent damage to these unique and sensitive ecosystems. Several patents have already been granted to inventions based on the use of deep seabed genetic resources and compounds based on deep seabed organisms have already been isolated and developed for commercial application. Some are already available on the market and others may soon be commercialized.

The growth in bioprospecting in the deep seabed begs a number of scientific, legal and policy questions. How vulnerable are these ecosystems to human impact? Should access to the deep seabed be regulated, and if so, how? Who should reap the benefits-monetary or otherwise-of these prospecting activities, and how can these benefits be distributed?

Co-authored by Salvatore Arico of UNESCO and Charlotte Salpin of the International Institute for Sustainable Development, Bioprospecting of Genetic Resources in the Deep Seabed is published by the United Nations University. It examines the current scientific and commercial explorations occurring in the deep seabed, and offers an in-depth analysis of the relevant legal instruments-and the gaps in these laws.
Bioprospecting in the seabed within territorial limits is currently regulated by the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea, which determines states' jurisdiction, rights and obligations in the oceans, and by the UN Convention on Biological Diversity governing access to genetic resources and benefit sharing.

Whereas most countries have regulations on marine scientific research undertaken in their waters and seabed, only a few have adopted
legislation regulating access to, and exploitation of their genetic resources, including marine resources. More-over, beyond national jurisdiction, these regulations break down, for there is currently no specific international regime addressing deep seabed bioprospecting in international waters. Thus far, no international co-operation has been organized at government level.

An article outlining the report's findings in greater detail will feature in the next issue of A World of Science.

Report at: www.ias.unu.edu/binaries2/DeepSeabed.pdf