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 of the plant, such as indigenous peoples. Additionally, claims have been made in which bioprospectors have patented indigenous knowledge regarding a particular plant, while failing to protect or compensate intellectual property rights of traditional knowledge of those in the south. These claims are known as biopiracy, which is a result of unfair or inequitable bioprospecting.

Bioprospecting, as an acceptable practice of research and development of medicinal plants, is legally supported by two international treaties. The 2002 Convention on Biodiversity (CBD), which many countries have ratified, provides those nations that recognize CBD with the legal and regulatory means to protect citizens who own plant material that is in demand through the Access and Benefit Sharing (ABS) mechanism. The ABS creates economic incentives to conserve biodiversity and traditional knowledge while building equitable commercial partnerships between private companies and citizens who claim their rights over natural resources. The CBD's actions were further strengthened by the Trade Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPs), which institutionalized a modern intellectual property rights system that allows for the patenting of life forms.