Mapping genetic extractivism in the high seas: political ecologies of the BBNJ regime for ‘marine genetic resources’

In this article, we situate the emergence of a global regulatory regime for marine genetic resources within broader tendencies towards uneven development and expanding extractivist practices. We examine the global distribution of intellectual property assets derived from marine genetic prospecting, how that distribution aligns with diplomatic positions during negotiations for the BBNJ Agreement, and how those strategies shaped the epistemological framework of the final text. Our empirical analysis identifies three interrelated dynamics. First, a marked concentration of patent assets derived from marine genetic prospecting, producing uneven global geographies in which a small IP core controls the overwhelming majority of assets, a limited semi-periphery holds modest portfolios, and a large periphery remains virtually assetless. Second, a geopolitical cleavage between IP core states and peripheral states, each advancing contrasting conceptions of whether marine genetic resources constitute the ‘common heritage of humankind’ or are governed by the freedom of the seas. Third, the consolidation of a resource-centric framework, coupled with codified access and benefit-sharing frameworks. To interpret the results, we mobilise conceptual frameworks and interpretative angles from critical political economy, science and technology studies (STS), and political ecology. This analysis suggests that the BBNJ Agreement underpins a regime of ‘genetic extractivism,’ which renders living organisms as reservoirs of ‘genetic resources’ to be extracted, abstracted into genomic data, and capitalised as IP assets. This analysis foregrounds how technoscientific innovation is embedded within existing political–economic structures, and interrogates the limits of resource-based conservation.