AbstractsBiology & Animal Science

This dissertation seeks to give an overview of the current legal regime that governs deep seabed mining as well as bioprospecting in the Area. Deep seabed mining has been an important factor in the development of the Law of the Sea, especially at UNCLOS III. The legal regime covering deep seabed mining in the Area is representative of the initial excitement at the prospects of industrial scale mining. The regime is therefore rather substantial, yet it has not been utilized to the same extent as was expected at the time of its establishment. The commercial viability of mining ventures in the Area has, until now, been unrealistic, mainly due to exuberant initial costs, unfavourable markets and technological difficulties. With the revived commercial interest in last decade, as well as reinvigorated anthropogenic deep seabed activity, legal issues have arisen concerning the living resources of the seabed. The commercial potential in the exploration and exploitation of living and genetic resources is seemingly immense. There may be considerable commercial interest in the biochemical components of such resources, for example within the pharmaceutical industry. The location and symbiotic relationship between mineral resources and living resources in the Area, beyond national jurisdiction, raises the question whether the current legal regime covering deep seabed mining in Part XI of UNCLOS may be used equally with regard to living resources. To this extent the dissertation gives an overview of the legal status of living resources in the Area. It is the main conclusion of the dissertation that the provisions of Part XI of UNCLOS do not apply to bioprospecting and that at present there is no specific legal regime that covers the issues of bioprospecting in the Area. Currently, the provisions surrounding the freedom of the high seas, as seen in Part VII of UNCLOS, seem applicable to bioprospecting, though this remains controversial.