Crucial high seas treaty stuck over sharing of genetic resources

Delegates deplore insensitivity and privilege' of developed nations as negotiators disagree over who should benefit from marine discoveries

As UN member states gathering in New York this week to finally knock out a long-awaited treaty on the high seas announced significant progress" with just one day left in the talks, a main stumbling block remained: how to fairly share marine genetic resources" (MGR) and the eventual profits.

The conference president, Rena Lee of Singapore, urged delegates to stay focused and get the job done" yesterday on the penultimate day of talks. But the contentious issue of MGR, which caused the last round of negotiations - officially called the Intergovernmental Conference on Marine Biodiversity of Areas Beyond National Jurisdiction, or BBNJ - to fail in August, has driven a wedge between developed and developing nations.