Picture a research team on an expedition. They dive into a coral reef and collect a small sample of algae. Back in the lab, they discover the algae produces a compound with promising antibacterial properties. Years later, that compound becomes part of a new medicine, and the medicine generates significant revenue.
Here is the question that matters: who benefits from that discovery? The scientists who found it? The country whose waters the algae came from? The local community that has always lived near that reef? This is not a hypothetical dilemma. It is exactly the kind of situation the Nagoya Protocol was created to address.
What is a genetic resource, exactly?
Before we go further, let’s clarify a term that sounds more complicated than it is. A genetic resource is simply any material from a plant, animal, microorganism or other living thing that contains genetic information of actual or potential value. That could be a piece of coral, a sample of seawater full of microorganisms, a leaf, or a strand of DNA extracted in a lab.
In marine biodiversity research, genetic resources are everywhere. Every microorganism, every sponge, every unusual bacterium living in extreme conditions is a potential genetic resource. This is part of what makes ocean and freshwater environments so scientifically exciting, and also why the legal side of this work matters so much.
What is the Nagoya Protocol?
The Nagoya Protocol is an international agreement, adopted in 2010 under the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD). It takes its name from the city in Japan where it was negotiated. Its central idea is straightforward: when someone accesses and uses a genetic resource, the benefits from that use should be shared fairly with the country or community that provided access to it.
Before the Protocol existed, this was often unclear or informal. Researchers could collect samples in one country, develop a valuable product elsewhere, and the original source of that resource would see little or nothing in return. The Nagoya Protocol set out to fix that imbalance, and today it has been ratified by more than 130 countries.
What does Access and Benefit Sharing (ABS) actually involve?
Access and Benefit Sharing, or ABS, is the practical system the Nagoya Protocol created to make this idea work. It rests on two main pillars.
The first pillar is prior informed consent. Before collecting a genetic resource, a researcher generally needs permission from the country or authority that controls access to it. This usually means applying for a permit and explaining what the research will involve.
The second pillar is mutually agreed terms. Before research begins, both sides agree on how any benefits will be shared if the research leads somewhere valuable. Benefits are not always financial. They can include:
- Sharing research results and data openly
- Training local scientists or students
- Co-authoring scientific publications
- Building local laboratory capacity
- Royalties, if a commercial product eventually results
Together, these two pillars aim to make research fairer and more transparent, from the very first sample collected to any product that might follow years later.
Why marine research raises extra complications
Marine environments add a layer of complexity that land-based research does not always face. Coastal waters usually fall under a country’s national jurisdiction, so the Nagoya Protocol applies there in a fairly direct way. But large parts of the ocean, the high seas and the deep seabed, lie beyond any single country’s control. These areas are governed by different rules entirely, most recently through the BBNJ Agreement, a separate treaty focused specifically on biodiversity beyond national jurisdiction.
In practice, this means a marine research team might need to think through several overlapping questions before a single sample is even collected: Which country’s waters is this sample from? Does that country have Nagoya-related legislation in place? Does the sample come from an area beyond national jurisdiction instead, where different rules apply? Answering these questions properly, before starting fieldwork, is what protects both the research and the ecosystems being studied.
Why this matters for EXPLORA
EXPLORA studies microorganisms living in two very different extreme environments: the acidic waters of Rio Tinto in Spain, and the icy conditions of Antarctica. Both sites raise real ABS questions, even though they sit in very different legal contexts. Rio Tinto falls within Spanish national jurisdiction, while Antarctica is governed by its own distinct international framework, the Antarctic Treaty System.
Because of this, our team works to ensure sampling and research activities respect the relevant legal frameworks at every stage, adapting our approach to each site’s specific rules rather than treating “marine research permissions” as one single, uniform process.
Learn more at our upcoming webinar
This is exactly the kind of topic our upcoming joint webinar will unpack in more depth. On 28 September, EXPLORA joins three partner projects from the Synergy at the Extreme cluster, NEXTMARINE, XTREAM and XTREMOLIFE, for a session dedicated to the Nagoya Protocol and ABS, alongside other legal frameworks relevant to marine biodiversity research. You can read more about the full programme in our webinar announcement.
📅 Monday, 28 September 2026
🕙 10:00–13:00 CEST
💻 Online via Zoom
🔗 Join the webinar
Whether these terms are completely new to you or you already work with them regularly, this session offers a practical, grounded look at how they apply to real marine research. We hope to see you there.
