New challenges are facing States as regards the subject of conservation and sustainable use of marine biodiversity in areas beyond national jurisdiction, especially as regards genetic resources. This paper will focus on the legal aspects of the subject. It will elaborate on how the present regime, as embodied in the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS, Montego Bay, 1982), could evolve to address new challenges. The considerations made hereunder are based on the assumption that the essence of law is not conservation, but development and change, especially where new needs arise and are to be addressed.