Who reaps the benefits of biodiversity?
However, the rules of collecting have changed. For the first time in history, bioprospectors are expected to compensate source countries, thanks to the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD), signed at the 1992 United Nations Conference on Environment and Development in Brazil. The CBD was drafted in response to concerns by international organizations and governments about the loss of global biodiversity and the need for equitable sharing of benefits from bioprospecting. This treaty set new standards that more than 155 member countries are expected to follow when engaging in bioprospecting. A Blueprint for Bioprospecting Throughout history most countries considered biological resources to be the common heritage of humankind, says Richard S. Cahoon, vice president of the Cornell Research Foundation and associate director of patents and technology marketing at Cornell University in Ithaca, New York. “This meant that there was no law or moral obligation requiring a company that collecte
