Prices paid at source for raw biological materials are low. This applies to samples used in the search for new products and to natural products exported in raw form. Because these prices generally bear no relation to resource replacement costs, they result in low returns to local harvesters and overexploitation of medicinal plants in the wild (Cunningham, 1990; Elizabetsky, 1991).^18,24 A national or regional infrastructure needs to be developed to a greater degree, similar to what has taken place in the rattan and timber industries. Here, governments have encouraged investment in local processing and have banned, or increased tax on, exported raw materials.

It is significant that a ban on the export of medicinal plant material may well be implemented in Malaysia to enable its pharmaceutical industry to develop (Anon, l991a).⁴ Repetto's 1988 evaluation of the timber industry, however, encourages caution by citing problems of log smuggling and a decrease rather than a rise in revenues after such legal changes. This can apply far more easily to medicinal plant samples due to their relatively small size. Controls over collection of such materials are extremely difficult to implement unless the industrial collectors behave ethically or the contracting organization takes responsibility for the actions of contract collectors.

7.1 Researchers as Expert Advisors

More formal recognition of traditional specialists as research partners can encourage reciprocal information flow in a wide variety of fields. This already takes place to some extent with researchers providing copies of research documents to the communities they have worked with. Researchers can also become involved as expert advisors in land-use conflicts, land-rights issues, or resource-management problems. Other possibilities include the involvement of chemists and pharmacologists in giving traditional specialists the results of their studies; and food chemists providing information on the nutritional values of wild food resources. In all cases, channels need to be set up for referral and information transfer, and the extent and limits of the assistance must be defined from the start.

7.2 Researchers as Brokers

An additional possibility is to link the legal approach to a "brokerage role" played by ethnobiologists acting at the interface between an urban-industrial culture and traditional cultures. University-based organic chemists and pharmacologists can similarly form a buffer between traditional knowledge and pharmaceutical companies. In some cases, researchers could provide plant-sample material to pharmaceutical companies for screening, but would maintain confidentiality through identifying extracts or macerated material by code number only. Coded samples could alternatively be supplied in large batches of extracts (60-100), stating which species were in the batch, but not identifying individual samples. Sponsoring organizations could also avoid duplication by supplying a list of species they had already screened. The identification of a potentially important new ingredient greatly strengthens the position of these «brokers» in negotiating an agreement with a large company. They can ensure that the contract reflects more of the interests of the local people and is less driven by the interests of the pharmaceutical company.

A different approach has been followed by organizations such as Cultural Survival and the Body Shop, which have been promoting the sale of «rainforest products». Links are established between the companies that market natural resources and the people who harvest them. This justifies higher retail prices for the products, with greater benefits to local communities and, possibly, to conservation. A similar approach could be applied to cultivated horticultural plants such as the African violet or to industrial products, such as food, perfume, pharmaceuticals, or cosmetics.

7.3 Fitting Research Objectives- to National and Local Priorities

As Tim Johns of McGill University, Canada, points out, unless screening programmes are linked with nationally defined priorities, they are bound to be viewed with suspicion by both scientists and politicians in the «South» (Johns, 1990).³⁸ It is important to involve local research organizations and communities when developing research objectives, to ensure that they address local needs and problems. Conservation biologists, phytochemists, ethno-biologists, anthropologists, traditional medicine specialists, and local people have a common interest in this process and in developing national research capability.

In the past, «hit and run» research and the collection of raw materials for export outside the country have contributed neither information nor training to the country of origin. In other cases, visiting researchers overlook or ignore the research capability that exists within the country or region. Often, the same research could have been done locally, and probably more cheaply. Using local research capabilities can help to develop them further through funding and training, including the involvement of graduate or undergraduate students. Both visiting and local researchers, as well as local traditional experts, can benefit from collaborative work through the sharing of expertise in collecting or evaluating samples (Boxes 1 and 2).

In developing countries, medical doctors are few and far between compared to traditional medical practitioners (TMPs). In Ghana, for example, there is one medical doctor for every 20,625 people, but one traditional medical practitioner for every 224 people (Anyinam, 1987).⁵ In Swaziland, the two ratios are 1:10,000 and 1:110 (Green, 1985).³¹ TMPs and traditional midwives play an important role in primary healthcare programmes in developing countries, but strong support is needed for the proper evaluation of traditional remedies. The TRAMIL programme centered in the Caribbean, for example, assesses traditional remedies according to toxicity and beneficial effects, and produces manuals on medicinal plants for health workers.

Within a number of developing countries, the expertise already exists to carry out initial extraction and simple screening for certain compounds (e.g. anti-fungal, anti-inflammatory, anti-parasitic). Where this expertise does not exist, local researchers need to call for political support for local scientists and research organizations. If this support is not given, well-trained researchers will often seek better-paid and better-supported positions elsewhere.

The NCI Letter of Intent makes provision for the sponsoring organization in the USA to be involved in the training of staff, such as senior technicians, scientists or postgraduate students, from the countries in which these organizations are working. This develops local expertise in the identification and development of natural products. However, it may be preferable and more effective to have visiting researchers develop local expertise in the country of origin. One visiting research specialist would be able to train many local researchers, with less chance of them being tempted to leave the country for more lucrative employment elsewhere.

Wherever possible, visiting researchers should work with local students, researchers, and traditional experts as research partners, or involve them in seminars and training. In turn, national governments must show a commitment to training, technology transfer and support for local scientists and research organizations. It is only through this kind of institution building that the «brain drain» of talented local researchers will be discouraged.

8. Regional Returns

If patent or contract rights are secured, what form should benefits take and how should they be distributed? Depending on local circumstances, the beneficiaries could include local communities and organizations concerned with conservation of biodiversity as well as organizations involved in the development of new natural products. When a new product is developed, patent or legal contract rights should ensure adequate and mutually acceptable return of benefits to the area of origin. Decisions on the use of these funds must be made with research partners and participants. For example, they may take the form of payments to institutions (e.g. universities, herbaria, botanical gardens, traditional healers’ associations) or contributions to conservation projects, education bursaries, or legal funds.

Alternatively, the benefits may not be in the form of money. The range of possibilities is great and decisions will obviously depend on local circumstances, but certain generalizations can be made about the factors to be considered:

• The ratio of medical doctors: total population is low in many developing countries, even in urban areas.
  
• Certain modern pharmaceuticals can deal with health problems that traditional medicines cannot. But they are often unavailable or very expensive, particularly in remote rural areas.
  
• Traditional knowledge that can lead to the development of new drugs is often found among people with the least formal education, sometimes in very remote areas.

These generalizations suggest that traditional societies would benefit from:

• sustained primary healthcare schemes in rural areas, coordinated with traditional practitioners

• public recognition of the value of traditional knowledge. This is particularly important in countries where an emphasis on the «superiority» of urban-industrial society denies or hides the value of the traditional knowledge of rural people with no formal education.

A participatory research model provides the means of deciding on a mechanism for return of benefits and guidelines for overseeing the appropriate forms of returning benefits. In these cases, it would be expected that returns would be consistent with the development goals and needs of the community.

A further problem is to establish intermediate forms of compensation and incentives that bridge the 10-15 year period sometimes required to develop a marketable drug (Schweitzer et al., 1991).⁶³ It is essential to ensure that false expectations of large immediate benefits do not develop in the source countries or regions but some form of short-term assistance could be provided. This could range from assistance in infrastructure development to support for social services, education, and healthcare.

Local corruption and misappropriation of funds have been a feature of some government and non-government organizations (NGOs) and safeguards have to be developed as far as possible. Income from patent rights are unlikely to accrue to a specific community unless a highly localized, endemic species is involved - plant uses are often known through much of the range of a plant species. Perhaps benefits could be allocated by bio-regions, or by cultural areas, both of which cross political boundaries. A regional fund, administered by an NGO, with the involvement of community leaders, is one way of distributing financial benefits.

Methods of organizing disbursements of funds, or non-monetary benefits, will vary according to local infrastructure and needs. Merck, Sharp, and Dohme, for example, developed the drug «Ivermectin» from Japanese soil micro-organisms, and have provided it free of charge through the WHO to combat river blindness in tropical countries. Although cases like this are rare, it may be possible to negotiate that new drugs developed from biological precursors are made affordable in the region or country of origin.

But even when the legal problems surrounding the capture of benefits are solved, others remain. These can include the problems of alcoholism, social inequality, and tensions that develop as money flows into communities from oil and land revenues (Anders, 1989).² Problems of this kind can only be avoided by sensitive planning, good communication, and a willingness to learn from the past. It would be tragic if attempts to direct benefits to traditional societies ended up by destroying them.

9. Policy and Principles for Equitable Partnerships

There is an urgent need for coordinated effort at international, regional, national, and local levels. International cooperation is essential in the collection, conservation, use, and development of new natural products from biological resources. It will involve collectors, sponsoring companies, or associated staff at herbaria, botanical gardens, and universities, as well as government departments. This coordinated effort will be facilitated by a code of practice (suggested in the Appendix) requiring:

• adequate legislation at a regional or national level to control the collection and export of biological material, based on advice from appropriate professional organizations
  
• a strict code of professional ethics to ensure that:
  
  • research participants (e.g. traditional specialists) and members of relevant local organizations (e.g. herbaria) are fully informed of the objectives commercial aspects and possible results of research
  • confidential information and requests for anonymity of research participants are respected
  • equitable compensation is made for assistance by individuals
  • the relevant national or regional organization receive fair royalty payments
  • national requirements for plant collecting, including collection with local counterparts, are observed.
    
• maximum use of local expertise within developing countries, or at regional level, to undertake extraction and screening of important compounds. This should apply equally to compounds of regional significance (e.g. anti-fungus, or anti-parasite) and global significance (e.g. anti-inflammation, anti-virus, anti-cancer). This will involve a commitment to training, technology transfer, and the development of practical, initial screening techniques. It will also require government support for local scientists and research organizations,
  
• supply agreements made with reputable organizations, rather with individuals whose primary interest may be personal gain.

10. Checks and Balances

Any code of practice which does not link costs with benefits will be difficult to implement. Why should collectors, national counterparts, or sponsoring organizations have any interest in following these guidelines?

Individuals, botanical gardens, or sponsoring organizations can all benefit from ethical professional behaviour. These benefits may include peer recognition, continued contracts, contact with national organizations, and swifter renewal of permits. Sponsoring organizations which sign agreements with national organizations may benefit from positive publicity which may even increase sales of their products. The extensive coverage given to Merck, Sharp, and Dohme’s agreement with INBio in Costa Rica is a good example of this. Similarly, two newer small companies, Shaman Pharmaceuticals and Biotics Ltd, have both publicized their intention to act as honest brokers in new drugs development. A good record as an ethical company may do more than boost support from shareholders prepared to make ethical investments: it may pave the way to receiving a collection license in places where less ethical competitors are excluded. Time will tell whether the temptation of short-term profits will outweigh the desire to build long-term credibility.

Botanical gardens can also benefit by adopting an ethical approach. Most have an important public profile and rely on support from private individuals to supplement their government grants. This support may grow if the public, which is increasingly aware of environmental problems, sees them acting responsibly towards the environment. National counterparts would hesitate to fall foul of national legislation, and would not want their relationship with sponsoring organizations to be terminated due to unreliable supplies of poorly identified or destructively sampled material.

Regular visits by a sponsoring organization to the country of origin of plant material may often be required, either to establish cultivation, or for further extraction and screening. For this reason, no sponsoring organization, collector, or national counterpart. Would want to be barred from a country due to a bad record. This is particularly the case where endemic species are involved.

It is in the interest of all parties to support the creation of an impartial ombudsman. Where disputes arise, his or her function would be to make a ruling that observes the balance between public and private benefits that these guidelines seek to establish.

Why should pharmaceutical companies produce drugs to treat tropical diseases? In some cases, as with the drug donated to the WHO to treat river blindness, it can create favourable publicity for the company involved. In others, there is a potentially large market: developing countries buy about a quarter of the world supply of pharmaceutical products today and may represent a major future market (Behrmann, 1980).¹⁰

The most difficult problems arise with the two issues of patent protection and terms of technology transfer. Why, in the short term, should the USA or any European country which manufactures pharmaceuticals transfer technology to those developing countries which are infringing patent law with the production of generic drugs? It is estimated, for example, that the total value of «pirate» sales in seven countries (India, Brazil, Taiwan, Korea, Argentina, Mexico, and Singapore) in 1986 was $1.3 billion. 60 per cent of this amount came from sales of pharmaceutical products (MacLaughlin et al., 1988).⁴⁶

The level of patent legislation will depend on the level of technological development in the developing country and the market potential for the products produced. India is an example of a country where adequate patent protection, coupled with proper infrastructure, could stimulate a new industry with exports to other tropical countries (Lesser, 1991).⁴⁴ This would result in better opportunities for local scientists, many of whom are currently forced to emigrate due to the limited opportunities for local employment. There may also be a greater incentive to transfer technology with the formation of free trade areas such as NAPTA, ASEAN, and the EC, so that the whole region may benefit from shared economic development and a wider market.

Alternatively, in a free-trade context, monopoly rights over genes and biotechnologies may result in a highly skewed distribution of benefits. There is clearly a need for more research on free trade, intellectual property rights, and the equitable compensation of local communities.

11. Conclusion

Ethical changes arise out of crisis, and professional ethics are no exception. The principles of the American Anthropological Association, for example, were drafted in the late 1960s at the time of the Vietnam war after «Operation Camelot» which involved anthropologists in counter-insurgency research (Horowitz, 1973)³⁶ .

For any professional concerned with biological or cultural diversity, this is a time of crisis. Both are disappearing at an alarming rate. For economists and ethnobotanists, as well as natural products chemists, there is an urgent need to publicize a broadly accepted, practical set of guidelines for the creation of research partnerships that not only benefit people but other forms of life.

The crisis has been heightened by the refusal of the United States government to sign the Convention on Biological Diversity at the UNCED «Earth Summit» in 1992. Unlike some politicians, professional researchers whose work depends on biological and cultural diversity are able to look beyond national economic interests and assist in the development of equitable partnerships. If nothing is done, an already politicized conservation issue will worsen and we will all be losers. At the Earth Summit, support for equitable partnerships on biodiversity and technology transfer to encourage conservation far outweighed the negative approach taken by the United States. Over the past few years, professional societies have shown strong support for ethical and equitable approaches. The time when companies had free rein to collect biological material for the development of new natural products has passed. The same applies to the misuse of permits for scientific collecting for commercial gain. Instead, the time has come to implement equitable approaches to benefit biodiversity and indigenous peoples.

Appendix

Guidelines for Equitable Partnerships in New Natural Products Development.

Recommendations for a Code of Practice

1. Licensing Authority

• Governments must accept the responsibility for establishing or implementing national policies for the conservation and use of biological diversity. The intent of many governments to do this has been shown in the acceptance of the UNCED Biodiversity Convention (1992). Linked to this is the need to control the collecting of biological materials, particularly where endemic or threatened species or unique habitats are involved, or where the species or the habitats have important cultural and economic significance
• Licences are required for collectors operating within national boundaries. It may also be useful for governments within a bio-region to consider joint control concerning the collection of regional endemics.
• National governments should establish a single competent authority to issue collecting licences. It is essential that duplication of licences or licensing authorities is avoided. Licensing procedures should also be streamlined. Excessively time-consuming and inefficient procedures stifle international or regional co-operation. They also tempt collectors and researchers to either work illegally, or collect with less trouble in neighbouring countries.
• If it does not yet exist, national researchers need to press for adequate legislation to control the collection and export of biological material, based on advice from appropriate professional organizations.
• Collectors, researchers, sponsoring organizations (organizations sponsoring collection of biological materials), and relevant government departments must be fully informed of national requirements, the approval process and any follow-up action required.
• Collectors, researchers, or national counterparts may propose entry into public or private lands, conservation areas, or sites of cultural significance. However, it is important that national governments and counterparts draw the attention of foreign collectors to areas of cultural and conservation importance. Collecting missions may also require collectors to deal with a range of government officials, ranging from forestry, fisheries, and conservation departments to customs and quarantine officers, in addition to creating links with sponsoring organizations. It is therefore important that licences are granted and terms of licensing established before collectors start fieldwork or arrive in the country. This requires efficient processing of requests for collecting licences.
• Licence applications should require collectors to specify their commercial intentions and state whether the collector or sponsoring organization plans to sell any biological samples obtained under the collecting licence or dispose of them for gain in any other way.
• When the government authority refuses a collecting application due to non-compliance with national laws and regulations or national codes of practice for collectors, it should inform national and foreign collectors, sponsoring organizations, and any others concerned of the decision.
• National governments, researchers, collectors, and sponsoring organizations must ensure that unrealistic expectations do not develop amongst participants in developing countries regarding benefits from potentially important industrial products.

2. Licensing Requests

• To enable the licensing authority to decide whether or not to grant a licence, prospective collectors and sponsoring organizations should follow the code of ethics for foreign collectors (Box 7) or, where national collectors are involved, to follow requirements of national laws and regulations. Collectors should also:

1. 1. have a good working knowledge of the species to be collected, their distribution and in situ / ex situ conservation status
   2. provide plans for the fieldwork, including which species and quantities to be collected, and what benefit the host government may derive from the collecting mission
   3. supply information on their scientific backgrounds.

• Collectors should specify commercial intent and state whether they or their sponsoring organization intend to sell any biological samples obtained under the collecting licence, or dispose of them for gain in any other way.

3. Granting of Licenses

The national authority granting licences to collectors should:

• Acknowledge licence applications, indicate how long it will take to process them, provide copies of the applications to relevant agencies for comment, and take account of benefits or detrimental effects that the fieldwork may create for local people, national or international organizations. State clearly which material may or may not be collected or exported and define areas where collection may not take place. In the case of foreign collectors, designate a local counterpart and/or institute for the collecting fieldwork; this counterpart / institute should provide relevant information and assist in planning travel, composition of the collecting team and follow-up activities. In the case of foreign collectors, clarify the financial obligation of collectors and sponsors in supporting local counterparts and providing other services (Box 7). Specify whether destructive harvesting, such as removal of roots, bark, bulbs, or whole plants is permitted and, if so, what quantities are permitted.

4. Collecting Responsibilities and Procedures

• Before collecting, collectors and researchers should disclose to their sponsoring organizations their need to comply with the ethical guidelines of their professional society, including the stipulation that those studied will be fully informed concerning the objectives, including commercial ones and possible results of the research. They also need to be familiar with the:

1. collection policies of their sponsoring organizations (e.g. Glaxo policy for acquisition of plant materials; the Bethesda Declaration, or the NCI "letter of intent")
   
2. policy of the professional society to which the collector may belong (e.g. International Society of Ethonobiology, Society of Economic Botany, American Society of Pharmacognosy).

• Upon arrival in the host country, foreign collectors should be briefed by appropriate authorities on the country's policy for the collection of biological material and all relevant laws and regulations.
• Collectors, local counterparts, and researchers should not give misleading information regarding the possible commercial benefits of the collecting mission and should ensure that unrealistic expectations do not develop regarding benefits from potentially important new natural products.
• Foreign collectors should discuss with their counterparts and other national scientists the collection of field data and become familiar with any unpublished research that might have a bearing on the field collecting. They should also clearly explain the need for exclusive rights for a set period as a requirement of contract work.
• Before fieldwork begins, collectors and national counterparts should decide on basic collecting strategies, information to be gathered, processing and conservation procedures, collecting procedures with regard to intellectual property rights and culturally sensitive sites, and financial arrangements for the mission.
• Researchers and collectors should familiarize themselves with the relevant literature and legislation (e.g. CITES regulations). Particular care should be taken when releasing any unpublished information to the public domain.
• When collecting in tribal areas or farming communities, it is essential to explain the aims of the mission to the local inhabitants. Foreign collectors and national counterparts should indicate when feedback from the fieldwork to local people can be expected.

5. During Collection

• Collectors should not deplete populations of the biological material collected and should exhibit particular sensitivity in collecting any material used by local people.
• Even when permission has been given by the national government to collect in national parks or forest reserves, it is important to liaise with the local forestry or conservation agency staff about the aim of the collecting exercise.

• Researchers and collectors should respect the right of privacy of informants. As the guide-lines of the Society for Economic Botany point out, researchers should not "trick" research participants or informants into revealing "secret" information and should respect the rights of informants to anonymity and privacy when it is requested (Padoch and Boom, 1990).53
• Collectors should respect local social values, traditions, and customary law, not only when dealing with knowledgeable local people who may assist with collections, but also the local community.
• Collectors and national counterparts should ensure that samples for supply to sponsoring organizations are collected from reliably identified material.

6. After Collection

• Collectors and sponsoring organizations have a number of responsibilities once fieldwork is completed. Attention is drawn to the contract guidelines set out as an Appendix 2 to the
• Manila Declaration, which are useful in this regard (Box 4). They also include the need for proper phytosanitary and quarantine arrangements, particularly if the material is to be exported.
• Collectors must report the confirmed identification and the localities of the collected material to the local authorities, stating where the biological samples will be sent and whether commercialization is involved.
• If agreed in the commercial contract, the exclusivity and confidentiality of test results required for a set period of time should be respected until a patent application has been filed on any potentially valuable active ingredients. It is important to ensure that when agreements have been made, these are respected by all parties and that samples from the same species are not sold to other companies during this period.

7. Responsibilities of Sponsoring Organizations

• All sponsoring companies - foreign and local, institutes of health, and commercial companies - should take measures to:

1. Return remaining materials or extracts to partner organizations within the host countries if so requested at the end of contract periods. (This is similar to the Material Transfer Agreement [MTA] for crop genetic resources.)
   
2. Implement their own stated policies on equitable partnerships regarding training, technology transfer, conservation, sustainable use of resources, and intellectual property rights
   
3. Involve and, where appropriate, help to develop local expertise. For example, the export of extracts or purified compounds is preferable to the export of raw materials. It is recognized that levels of technical expertise vary considerably between countries
   
4. Train local people to improve studies in the collection, use, development, and cultivation of biological material Provide information to the host country, that can help in meeting to local development needs, e.g. the development of health programmes
   
5. Provide support for local cultivation, if appropriate.

• In cases where destructive harvesting by contract collectors has taken place, sponsoring organizations must take responsibility for regeneration and restoration.

8. Intellectual Property and National Development

• The role played by indigenous knowledge in "ethno-directed" screening needs to be recognized as the product of an intellectual, inventive process both nationally and internationally.
• National governments should commit themselves to developing national or regional capacity for new natural products development through training and institution-building with greater support for local scientists, research organizations, and R&D. Development of regional capacity may be preferable in some cases, due to the expense of infrastructure and staffing requirements.
• National governments should be free to decide whether or not to adopt Intellectual Property Rights protection for new natural products, and how strong that protection should be. IPR should not be subjected to standard international control.
• If contracted to do so, national organizations have a responsibility to supply properly identified material to sponsoring organizations. Depending on the element of trust involved, however, it may be important to consider the supply of batches of coded, rather than named, extracts or macerated plant material. If sponsoring organizations wish to avoid duplication, they should provide a list of species which have already been supplied to them. This list should be kept confidential by the contracting national organization.

9. Monitoring Support for Code of Practice

• It is strongly recommended that a commission be founded which can act as ombudsman in the application of this code of practice. There are precedents for this. In 1991, the draft International Code of Conduct for Plant Germplasm Collection and Transfer (FAO, 1991) recommended that the FAO Commission of Plant Genetic Resources act as a mediator in cases of disputes between governments and collectors or sponsoring organizations. The Global Biodiversity Strategy (WRI, 1992)⁷⁰ similarly recommended that governments establish ombudsmen and public legal-support offices staffed by experts in intellectual property law to mediate in cases of complaints connected with plant genetic resources, farmers' rights, or intellectual property.
• It is suggested that a single Natural Products Commission, established under the UN system may be more effective as an ombudsman than many existing ombudsmen formed by national governments. The Commission could be formed with representation from conservation (WWF, IUCN, UNEP), cultural (UNESCO, WCIP), peoples’ organizations, and regional business interests such as the EC -and the recent economic zone formed by Canada, Mexico, and the USA (NAFTA).
• Governments should periodically inform the Commission of steps taken in implementing of this code of practice. This could be done through annual reports similar to those provided under Article 11 of the International Undertaking on Plant Genetic Resources.
• Governments may also wish to inform the Commission of situations where collectors or sponsoring organizations break regulations regarding collection or export of biological samples, or infringe the principles of this code of practice. The collectors and associated sponsoring organizations should receive copies of this information, and be encouraged to respond, so that these problems can be equitably resolved.
• A regularly revised list of offending collectors, or sponsoring organizations responsible for unresolved complaints, should be kept by the Commission.

10. Reporting by Collectors and Sponsoring Organizations

• Collectors and sponsoring organizations can make a valuable contribution to conservation and institution-building in host countries by submitting reports on their collecting missions and the conservation status of species or their habitats. These should be submitted to the host governments and the proposed UN Biological Resources Commission.

11. Monitoring and Evaluation

• Appropriate national and international authorities should periodically review the relevance and implementation of this Code of Practice. This document should be considered as an early draft of a code. In view of the rapid changes taking place in this field, it should be modified and updated in accordance with technological, legal, ethical, and cultural developments.
• Professional societies and associations which support the principles in this document may wish to establish peer-review ethics committees relating to the professional behaviour of their members.
• Governments permitting collection may wish to recommend to collectors and sponsoring organizations of prospective collecting missions, that they accept the principles and approaches outlined in this document.

List of Acronyms

ASEAN Association of South East Asia Nations

ASOMPS Asian Symposium for Medicinal Plants, Spices, and Other Natural Products

BSA Botanical Society of America

CGIAR Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research

EC European Community

FAO Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations

GATT General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade

IBPGR International Board for Plant Genetic Resources

INBio Instituto Nacional de Biodiversidad

ISE International Society of Ethnobiology

IUCN International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources, also known as World Conservation Union

NAFTA North American Free Trade Agreement

NCI National Cancer Institute

NIH National Institutes of Health

OAU Organization of African Unity

OECD Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development

PEMASKY Project for the Study of the Management of Wildlife Areas of Kuna Yala

PGR Plant Genetic Resources

SEB Society for Economic Botany

STRI Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute

TMP Traditional Medical Practitioner

UNCED United Nations Conference on Environment and Development

UNCTAD United Nations Conference on Trade and Development

UNESCO United Nations Education, Scientific, and Cultural Organization

UNEP United Nations Environment Programme

WCIP World Council of Indigenous Peoples

WHO World Health Organization

WRI World Resources Institute

WWF World Wide Fund For Nature

Glossary

Biodiversity. The totality of genes, species, and ecosystems in a region or in the world.

Biological Resources. Those components of biodiversity that are of direct or potential use to humanity.

Biotechnology. Any technology that is applied to living organisms to make them more valuable to people.

Conservation. The management of human use of the biosphere so that it may yield the greatest sustainable benefit to current generations while maintaining its potential to meet the needs and aspirations of future generations: thus conservation is positive, embracing preservation, maintenance, sustainable utilization, restoration, and enhancement of the natural environment.

Conservation of Biodiversity. The management of human interactions with genes, species, and ecosystems so as to provide the greatest sustainable benefit to current generations while maintaining its potential to meet the needs and aspirations of future generations: encompasses elements of saving, studying, and using biodiversity.

Cultural Diversity. Variety or multiformity of human social structures, belief systems, and strategies for adapting to situations in different parts of the world.

Endemic. Restricted to a specific region or locality.

Ethnobiology. The study of relationships between biological and cultural systems.

Ex situ Conservation. Keeping components of biodiversity alive outside their original habitat or natural environment.

Forest Products. Products such as fruits, medicines, rattan, and craftwork materials, as distinct from hard wood timber products.

Genes. The functional unit of heredity; the part of the DNA molecule that encodes a single enzyme or structural protein unit.

Genetic Engineering. Research and technology for artificial splicing and transplanting of genetic material from one organism to another.

In situ Conservation. The conservation of biodiversity within the evolutionary dynamic ecosystems of the original habitat.

Indigenous Peoples. People whose ancestors were dominated by persons from another culture or ethnic background through conquest, settlement, or other means, but who stil1 live more in conformity with their own social, economic, and cultural traditions than those of the country of which they form a part.

Intellectual Property Right. A right enabling an inventor to exclude imitators from the market for a limited time.

Landraces. A crop cultivar or animal breed that evolved with, and has been genetically improved by, traditional agriculturalists, but has not been influenced by modern breeding practices.

Parataxonimists. Field-trained biodiversity collection and inventory specialists recruited from local areas.

Sponsoring Organization. Any organization sponsoring collection of biological material for possible new commercial products.

Sustainable Use. Use of resources in a way that meets the needs and aspirations of the current generation without compromising the ability to meet those of future generations.

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Personal Communications

Cele M.P. 1991. "KwaZihlahla Zemithi", Umlazi, Durban, South Africa

Hamilton A. 1993. Plants Conservation Officer, WWF, Godalming, Surrey, UK

Harder D. 1991. Missouri Botanical Garden, St. Louis, Missouri, USA

Walsh F. 1992. Dept. Botany, University of Western Australia

Waterman P. 1992. Dept. of Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of Strathclyde, Scotland

Acknowledgements

Many people have contributed to this document at various stages, although the views expressed here may not reflect their views or those of their organizations. I am particularly grateful to Berhanu Abegaz, Carl Albrecht, Gene Anderson Jim Armstrong, Graham Baines, Brian Boom, Jack Cannon, Andrew Cooke, M.P. Cele, Gordon Cragg, Nigel Gericke, Linda Fellows, Alan Hamilton, Dan Harder, Chris Healey, Tim Johns, Christine Kabuye, Sarah Laird, Nordin Lajis, Ian MacDonald, Neville Marchant, Gary Martin, James Martin-Jones, Mike Martin-Smith, Steven Mavi, Helen Moss, Chayan Picheansoonthon, Michel Pimbert, Nat Quansah, Fiona Walsh, Peter Waterman, Darell Posey, Tsheding Rakolota, David Turner, Janna Weiss, Standford Zent and the African Traditional Healers Organization. Colleagues at the ASOMPS VII meeting in Manila, Philippines (February 1992) and at the International Society of Ethnobiology (ISE) meeting in Mexico City (November 1992), also made a contribution to this document, which was produced with financial support from WWF International. I also gratefully acknowledge the hospitality of the Gaia Foundation on my visits to the UK during this project, and to Michelle Cunningham and Ros Coles for their assistance and support.

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