Bilateral vs. Multilateral? On the economics and politics of a global mechanism for genetic resource use

Many industries benefit from public biodiversity conservation through the use of genetic resources in R&D processes. The conservation of biodiversity, though, is an under-provided public good. The aim of this paper is to analyze a global mechanism as a policy tool to internalize the positive conservation externalities accruing to commercial users of genetic resources. The United Nations ‘Convention on Biological Diversity’ (CBD) and its ‘Nagoya Protocol on Access to Genetic Resources and the Fair and Equitable Sharing of Benefits Arising from their Utilisation’ provide a framework for such mechanism. In light of economic arguments in favor of a global mechanism, we study official CBD documents and an online discussion forum launched by the Convention's Secretariat on a global multilateral mechanism, as well as conduct expert interviews with important political stakeholders on genetic resource trade. We find that the economically preferable instrument of a comprehensive global mechanism is politically not feasible any time soon due to path dependencies and an arguably narrow understanding of national sovereignty. Technological progress in genetic resource use, though, might finally induce countries to establish a confined one in the mid-term future. We provide substantiated findings on countries' preferences for its scope and modalities.