AN ANALYSIS OF LEGAL FRAMEWORK ON MARINE GENETIC RESOURCES IN CAMEROON

Abstract

Marine genetic resources constitute valuable wealth to the economy of Cameroon. The presence of these genetic resources has attracted the attention of biotechnology companies in the country.   Despite the growing interest from these companies, Cameroon’s legal framework has not kept pace with the need to govern access, protect communities, and ensure fair benefit-sharing of the resources.  This work seeks to address critically the current legal landscape that governs these resources. The study uses a qualitative doctrinal methodology. It then applies thematic content analysis to assess how existing laws regulate access to marine genetic resources, including requirements for prior consent, benefit-sharing, and enforcement. The findings show that there is a definitional vacuum that leaves marine genetic resources legally undefined across the entire domestic legal framework creating uncertainty about legal coverage. In addition, there is no clear bioprospecting permit regime for marine genetic material. Free, Prior and Informed Consent is not incorporated in a way that fully protects coastal and Indigenous or local communities. The findings further reveal that governance authority is fragmented across multiple ministries without a coordinating mandate, limiting effective regulation and compliance monitoring. To address these weaknesses, the study recommends three core reforms: enact a dedicated marine genetic resources legislation to provide clear rules for access and benefit-sharing, establish a national marine genetic resources authority to coordinate permits, monitoring, and registry management and make community benefit-sharing a non-negotiable condition for access.