Bioprospection is intended for economic purposes (e.g. new drugs, crops, industrial products)
Before 1992, biological resources were considered common heritage of Humankind. Scientists could take samples from anywhere in the world without any specific permission. The Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD, 1992) establishes sovereign national rights over biological resources. Though not granted property upon natural resources, biodiversity-rich countries are committed to :
In short, bioprospection has to be allowed by the biodiversity-rich country and must bring as much benefit to it (and to the communities that traditionally use these resources) as to corporations (usually from developed countries) and universities collecting the bioresource.
Bioprospecting must follow the new rules of international treaties and national laws. More specifically, it must respect
informed consent (the source country must know what will be done with the resource, which benefits will be shared and must give permission for collecting)
fair agreement on benefit sharing (benefits may include support for conservation, research, equipment, technologies, knowledge transfer, development, royalties)
Bioprospection can become a type of biopiracy when these principles are not respected. Some even argue bilateral agreements of bioprospection between a country or a community and a corporation are a sort of juridical validation of biopiracy toward traditional communities whose values and rights are not considered and respected.
In short, bioprospecting has to be allowed by the biodiversity-rich country and must benefit it (and the communities that traditionally use these resources) as well as the corporations (usually from developed countries) or universities collecting the bioresource.
Bioprospecting may be considered as biopiracy when these principles are not respected.
Some even argue bilateral agreements of bioprospecting between a country or a community and a corporation are a sort of juridical validation of biopiracy toward traditional communities whose values and rights are not considered and respected.
Bioprospecting, or the search for useful biochemical compounds and genes in nature, has been the focus of international negotiations for more than a decade, yet the debate on the terms for access to genetic resources, traditional knowledge and benefit-sharing is far from settled.
This analysis is substantiated by examples of bioprospecting collaborations in several countries and a critique of the institutional and contractual factors that led to their success or failure.
This is one of the first books to address the contractual complexities of bioprospecting for drug research and is thus a key text for policy makers, practitioners and scholars in the areas of law, economics, ethnobotany, anthropology and environmental sciences.
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