BIOPROSPECTING and BIOPIRACY
◇ Bioprospecting as a term refers to the exploration of biodiversity for commercially valuable genetic resources and biochemicals.
◇ Bioprospecting as an activity refers to deriving products of economic importance by nations endowed with rich biodiversity by exploring their molecular, genetic, and species-level diversity.
◇ Some in the west pass off biopiracy as bioprospecting.
◇ Biopiracy occurs when “genetic resources and traditional knowledge is taken from biodiverse developing coun tries without permission.”
◇ Moreover, the stolen traditional knowledge is used to benefit the non-indigenous people through a patent or product with no compensation or gain received by the indigenous people.
◇ Biopiracy of India’s “genetic resources and traditional knowledge” by advanced economies and large corpora tions is a matter of great concern.
