SENATE President Jude U. Hofschneider, in his capacity as governor on Friday, signed into law House Bill 22-22, which aims to regulate bioprospecting activities in the CNMI.
Authored by Minority Leader Angel A. Demapan, the bill is now Public Law 22-19.
Bioprospecting is any search, analysis or study of naturally occurring biological processes, organic compounds, living or dead organisms, genetic information and DNA, and any other naturally occurring substances, processes and outputs found in the CNMI, for purposes of discovering something useful or commercially valuable, whether or not the search, analysis or study is conducted on-site or if materials were removed for off-site investigative processing.
An endemic plant or fungi, for example, can be studied for a biochemical content that can be commercially produced into a life-saving drugs.
P.L. 22-19 does not include the following on the list of bioprospecting activities:
1) Horticultural cultivation, except for horticultural genetic engineering conducted in a manner otherwise constituting bioprospecting.
2) An agricultural enterprise.
3) A forest and range management practice.
4) Invasive weed management.
5) Incidental removal of materials while engaged in bona fide research or commercial enterprises provided removed materials are not used for bioprospecting.
The new law allows DLNR to impose a licensee fee and create a license application process for bioprospecting activities in the Commonwealth. It requires that 50% of the license fee be deposited in a Bioprospecting Revolving Fund that the Finance secretary can establish, to be used by DLNR for compliance and enforcement of the law.
Demapan named the bill after the late former Department of Lands and Natural Resources Secretary Richard B. Seman (1962-2017) who dedicated his life to the preservation and protection of the environment.
Seman served the CNMI in multiple capacities, most notably as member of the 18th House of Representatives, director of Fish and Wildlife, director of Agriculture, and secretary of Lands and Natural Resources.
Demapan thanked acting Governor Hofschneider for signing the bill.
“This is an environmentally responsible law that will ensure that we, as people of the land, have a stake when parts of our resources are harvested for commercial use,” Demapan said. “As people of the land, it’s important that we make every effort to safeguard our ownership and our rights to the use of our local natural and biological resources.”
He said, “During my term in the 20th Legislature, this was one of the bills that I worked on with then-DLNR Secretary Seman. He was very passionate about our environment and our natural resources, so I believe it is a proper tribute to name this act after him.”
Angel Demapan
