What are some examples of the benefits of biodiversity?
I think the most dramatic of recent times has been among the pharmaceuticals. Many are familiar with the uses of alkaloids from the rosy periwinkle, a small plant of Madagascar. These substances have proved to be a highly effective agency in treating and curing Hodgkin’s disease and acute lymphocytic leukemia. The value of rosy periwinkle products is now in the vicinity of $200 million a year. Less well known, but in a way even more spectacular, is cyclosporine an immuno-suppressive substance from an obscure fungus originally found in Norway. It is so effective in suppressing the natural action of the immune system, which would otherwise reject the transplanted organ, that it is the basis of the entire industry of organ transplant. Some 40 percent of U.S. prescriptions are for pharmaceuticals derived from wild plants, animals, and microorganisms. So, we’re talking here of a multi-billion dollar industry. Q: You mentioned “biophilia” the affiliation for nature as a benefit of biodiversi
