COVID-19 Tests the Limits of Biodiversity Laws in a Health Crisis: Rethinking "Country of Origin" for Virus Access and Benefit-sharing.

The COVID-19 pandemic raises serious questions about the operation of international agreements for accessing and sharing viruses potentially delaying emergency responses. The access and benefit-sharing (ABS) frameworks under the United Nations' Convention on Biological Diversity and its Nagoya Protocol apply to the collection and use of the COVID-19 pathogen SARS-CoV-2. These frameworks aim to ensure countries of origin reap some of the benefits from the use of their resources. Using real-world examples, we demonstrate conceptual and definitional ambiguities relating to "country of origin" that make not only operationalising the ABS scheme for biodiversity conservation and sustainable use objectives difficult but may also undermine public health emergency responses. Understanding how COVID-19 fits (or does not fit) within ABS laws is a valuable exercise for international policy-makers trying to determine how best to operationalise pathogen ABS, an issue currently under examination at the World Health Organization and critical to responding to pandemics.

Practical policy solutions for the final stage of BBNJ treaty negotiations.

The oceans are facing a catastrophic decline in biodiversity. States are now in the final stage of negotiations for an implementing agreement under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea to fill governance gaps for the conservation and sustainable use of marine biodiversity beyond national jurisdiction. This paper outlines the apparent areas of convergence and divergence between States on the 2019 draft treaty text. It outlines the contributions of the articles in this Special Issue "Biodiversity Beyond National Jurisdiction (BBNJ) Treaty: the Final Stage of Negotiations", which offer suggestions for breaking negotiation deadlocks and practical ideas for transformative governance change. As States prepare for the postponed fourth and final (planned) negotiating session, we hope that this Special Issue will offer a useful tool for decision-makers and other stakeholders by offering creative ideas for BBNJ governance and for reaching timely agreement on the BBNJ treaty text.