A Global Bio-Prospecting Regime

AuthorPeter Stoett,Shane Mulligan
DOI10.1177/002070200005500204
Date01 June 2000
Published date01 June 2000
Subject MatterArticle
SHANE
MULLIGAN
&
PETER
STOETT
A
global
bio-
prospecting
regime
Partnership
or
piracy?
THE
CONVENTION
ON
BIOLOGICAL DIVERSITY
(CBD)
is
one
of
the
most
complex
and
demanding
of
recent
international
environmental
agreements.
It
came
into
existence
at
a
time
when contemporary
con-
cerns
over
the
rapid
loss
of
biodiversity
in
the
northern
and,
especially,
in
the
southern
hemispheres
were
visible
in
a
wide
variety
of
settings.
The
Earth
Summit
in Rio
de
Janerio,
at
which
the
CBD
was
opened
for
signature
in
1992,
brought
together
thousands
of
government
officials
and interested
non-governmental
parties.
At
that
time, biodiversity
issues
were
recognized
as
a
central concern
for
groups
as
diverse
as
transnational
representatives
of
indigenous
peoples
and
the
executives
of
pharmaceutical
giants
in
the
United
States,
Japan,
and
Europe.
The
latter
image
might
startle those who
view
biodiversity
as
an
envi-
ronmental
cause
rather
than
as
a
medical
tool
or
industrial
commodity.
However, medicines
have
always
been
found
in
nature,
which
remains
a
promising
repository
of
new
compounds
for
pharmaceutical
research
and
development.
Perhaps 80
per
cent
of
the
world's
people
-
most
of
them
outside
of
the
industrialized
nations
-
rely
on
natural
medicines
for
their
primary
health
care
needs.
Meanwhile,
some
25
per
cent
of
industrially
produced
medicines,
from
aspirin
to
the
anti-cancer
agent
Shane
Mulligan
is
a
graduate
student
at
Queen's
University;
Peter Stoett
is
Assistant
Professor,
Department
of
Political
Science,
Concordia
University.
The
authors
thank
D&irie
McGraw
for
helpful suggestions,
and
Queen's
University
and
the Social
Sciences
and
Humanities
Research
Council
of
Canada
for
funding.
INTERNATIONAL
JOURNAL
Spring
2000
Bioprospecting
taxol, are
based
on
natural
compounds;
and
the
majority
show
some
correlation
between
their modern
therapeutic
attributes and tradition-
al
medicinal
uses.'
However,
renewed
industrial
interest
in
the
poten-
tial
value
of
biological
diversity
is
tempered
by
considerations
enshrined
in
the
third
objective
of
the
CBD:
'the
fair
and
equitable
shar-
ing
of
the
benefits
arising
out
of
the utilization
of
genetic
resources.'
Access
and
benefits
sharing
(ABS)
has
become
a
significant
issue
for
negotiation
between
various
'users'
in
the industrialized
North
and
'suppliers'
in
the
biodiversity-rich
South.
Although
the
authors
of
the
CBD
acknowledged
that
indigenous and
local
communities
were
important
stakeholders
in
biodiversity conser-
vation, the
representation
of
their
interests
in
bioprospecting
never-
theless
remains
somewhat
limited.
Because
indigenous
peoples
and
local
communities
play
a
key
custodial
role
in
the
conservation
and
'sustainable
use'
of
biological
diversity,
and
particularly
the compo-
nents
of
biodiversity
that
have
traditional
medicinal
value,
their
tragic
marginalization
and cultural
decline
is
frequently
seen
as
detrimental
to
the
conservation
bf
biological diversity.
The
new
bioprospecting
'regime,'
as
articulated
in
the
CBD,
offers
some
hope
to
those
on
the
margins
of
their
states
and
may
promote
a
broader appreciation
of
their
knowledge
and cultures.
At
the
same
time,
the
exploitation
of
biodiversity
by
Northern
corporations
and
governments
and
the
appropriation
of
indigenous
knowledge
threatens
the
cultural
integri-
ty
of
native
peoples.
Moreover, the
new
regime,
as
it
stands,
invites
opportunistic
behaviours
that
may
undermine
the
cohesion
of
local
and
global
indigenous
movements.
Although
the
terminology
of'sus-
tainable
development'
is
bandied
about
and
ABS
contracts
are
general-
ly
phrased
in
terms
of
'partners,'
we
are
tempted
to
ask
whether
'neo-
imperialism,'
or
even
piracy,
are
not
more
accurate words
for
bio-
prospecting
under
the
CBD.
A
contemporary
project
in
the
troubled
state
of
Chiapas,
Mexico,
that
has
the
'benefit'
of
United
States
government
funding
is
indicative
of
the
unresolved
tensions
evoked
by
bioprospecting
projects. Amidst
a
localized
armed
struggle
and
accusations
of
systemic
state
abuse
of
indigenous
populations,
a
team
led by researchers
from
the
University
of
Georgia
is
attempting
to
explore
and
export
the
indigenous
medici-
I
IUCN,
WHO,
WWF,
The
Conservation
of
Medicinal
Plants
(Gland
Switzerland:
IUCN
1993).
INTERNATIONAL
JOURNAL
Spring2000
225

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