What is bioprospecting and how does it relate to biopiracy?
“Bioprospecting” is the process of searching for, identifying and capturing the essence of naturally growing plants and animals that possess useful qualities that can later be used in the development of such things as therapeutic drugs or other high-technology products. Most bioprospecting is conducted in developing countries with rich natural resources by pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies based in industrialized countries. “Biopiracy” is a term to describe bioprospecting activities that do not equitably share the benefits of resulting products between the developed and developing countries.
