Biodiversity prospecting: A new panacea for development?

Biodiversity has been touted by some as the developing countries’ new competitive advantage because these countries have sovereignty over the majority of the world’s biodiversity, the value of which is yet to be determined. Biodiveisity prospecting is the examination of biological resources in search of active compounds for pharmaceutical development, agricultural and industrial use. In this article, five cases of biodiversity prospecting are described, their future prospects are analysed, and policy options for other institutions and countries interested in pursuing such prospecting are discussed. The market for essential oils (particularly for cosmetics), phytopharmaceuticals and herbal preparations, agricultural chemicals, and industrial enzymes is much greater and easier to get into than that for new compounds to be tested for possible pharmaceutical use.