Blue Genes: Sharing and Conserving the World's Aquatic Biodiversity

* The first book to address the ownership, governance, and trade in aquatic biogenetic resources * A must-have book for policymakers, academics, and practitioners dealing with genetic resources * Provides powerful policy recommendations for governing, conserving, and using aquatic genetic resources for the common good Genetic sciences have produced a 'blue revolution' in the way we use aquatic biodiversity. By 2020 the world will be eating more farmed than wild fish, marine bacteria may yield the cure for cancer and deep-sea bacteria may be exploited to gobble up oil spills. Science is moving ahead at a staggering speed, and the demand for genetic resources is growing rapidly--yet governance and policy lag far behind. This groundbreaking work is the first to look at the issues of ownership, governance and trade in aquatic genetic resources. Blue Genes describes the growing demand for aquatic genetic resources and the desperate need to fill the policy vacuum for the management and conservation of aquatic biodiversity as a foundation for rules governing access to and use of aquatic genetic resources. The book pays special attention to the rights of indigenous and local communities providing access to those resources, and their role in managing and conserving aquatic biodiversity. The book concludes with policy recommendations specifically tailored to aquatic resources and uses six case studies from four continents to illustrate key issues.

Brian Harvey is President of World Fisheries Trust.