New Paradigms for Protection of Biodiversity

Abstract

The most successful bioprospecting venture was established in 1989 in Costa Rica. Interestingly, the distinction of being a forerunner in exploiting bioprospecting goes to India. In 1979, a full decade before Costa Rica, India established the Tropical Botanic Garden and Research Institute (TBGRI) at Trivandrum. Yet, the TBGRI venture with the Kani tribes, which had the potential to become a beacon of bioprospecting success, is showcased as the exemplar of failure. In this era of trade regime, this paper asserts, bioprospecting ventures are important tools for developing countries. Countries like India and organizations like TBGRI should learn from their failures and take leadership roles to evolve techniques to maximize returns by using biodiversity resources. With this as the background, this paper propounds three theoretical models for assigning bio-value to biotechnology products.