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Author	Assoc Prof Achmad Gusman Siswandi
Organisation/Institution	Faculty of Law, Universitas Padjadjaran
Country	INDONESIA
Panel	International Law
Title	International law and marine genetic resources: How to integrate them with the ASEAN Blue Economy Framework
Abstract	It has been estimated that the ocean economy, particularly the revenue from marine biotechnology-enabled products and processes could reach US$6.4 billion by 2025 (Smithers, 2015). Within this context, the Southeast Asian region is widely recognized as one of the world’s marine biodiversity hotspots, where many marine biotechnology research and marine bioprospecting activities have been conducted. The utilization of marine biodiversity, especially marine genetic resources, holds tremendous potential to promote the Blue Economy. In 2023, the Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN) adopted the ASEAN Blue Economy Framework, which encourages biotechnology and bioprospecting as the Blue Economy emerging sectors. This paper argues that international law related to the utilization of marine genetic resources plays a pivotal role in supporting the implementation of the ASEAN Blue Economy Framework, especially in the context of marine biotechnology and bioprospecting. In particular, the international regime on access and benefit-sharing mechanism could assist ASEAN Member States, not only in ensuring fair and equitable sharing of benefits arising from the utilization of marine genetic resources but also in ensuring their conservation and sustainable use. In this regard, this paper will analyze how to integrate the main international legal regime related to the utilization of marine genetic resources with the ASEAN Blue Economy Framework. The analysis will be primarily based on the following instruments: the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, including the Agreement on Marine Biological Diversity of Areas beyond National Jurisdiction (BBNJ); the Convention on Biological Diversity; and the Nagoya Protocol on Access and Benefit-Sharing. Based on the analysis, this paper will propose some recommendations on how ASEAN and its Member States should move forward.
Biography	I am an Associate Professor and the Vice Dean for Academic, Student, and Research Affairs at the Faculty of Law, Universitas Padjadjaran, Bandung, Indonesia. I graduated from Universitas Padjadjaran in 1998, obtained my Master of Laws degree from University College London in 2005, and a Doctoral Degree from The Australian National University in 2014. Since 1999, I have been teaching and conducting research in various fields of international law. I was the Director of the Indonesian Centre for the Law of the Sea (ICLOS) from 2015 to 2022. In addition to teaching and research, I have been involved in several policy-making and public consultancy initiatives. I have also been appointed as a resource person in various ministries, notably the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Ministry of Environment and Forestry, and the Coordinating Ministry for Maritime Affairs and Investment. In particular, I have been assisting the Ministry of Environment and Forestry since 2007 in developing national measures for the implementation of the Convention on Biological Diversity, the Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety, and the Nagoya Protocol on Access and Benefit-Sharing. I have been appointed as a member of the Compliance Committee of the Nagoya Protocol on Access and Benefit-sharing (2014-2016), and a member of the Compliance Committee of the Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety (2018-present), representing Indonesia for the Asia-Pacific countries.