Bioprospecting

When private companies that produce pharmaceuticals, agrochemicals, cosmetics, flavoring, fragrances, and industrial enzymes seek plant material to integrate into their commercial products, their undertaking is often termed bioprospecting. Bioprospecting is usually conducted by private companies that search in a variety of ecosystems for certain parts of plants, ranging from barks to genetic material. Although the task of bioprospecting seems to be beneficial in terms of producing important products such as medicines, it is an activity engulfed in politics between the global north (the “developed” world) and the south (or “underdeveloped” world).

There have been several cases in which northernbased private companies have bioprospected in southern ecosystems for particular plants. However, such companies have neglected to share profits with those in the south who are the custodians ...