Ethical Issues in Prospecting Biodiversity

Biodiversity Treaty has recognized in an unequivocal manner the need for developing an accountable and equitable system for building relationship with people who conserve biodiversity and associated knowledge systems. Article 8J provides for ‘involvement and approval’ of the individual innovators, communities and others conserving biodiversity for accessing this resource in a manner that benefits are equitably shared. Article 15.5 stresses the need for prior informed consent. There are several other Articles of the Biodiversity Treaty which (a) legitimize national sovereignty over biodiversity resource, (b) provide mechanisms for technology transfer from countries which are advanced in technology but impoverished in biodiversity to the biodiversity rich but economically poor countries, (c) call for setting up clearing house of information etc. The treaty also provides for recognizing the importance of indigenous innovations and traditional knowledge system. The most important dilemma that one has to resolve deals with the responsibility of society towards those who have conserved biodiversity despite remaining poor. Obviously one cannot wish to keep people poor if one notices inevitable decline of biodiversity with increase in affluence. I discuss various questions that have to be addressed around seven issues or themes to help in the development of guidelines that may illuminate further deliberations on the subject. I hope we will be able to identify areas which are clear or unambiguous as distinct from areas where moral judgments have to be made. 1.) Accountability of researchers and biodiversity prospectors engaged by public or private sector in national or international organizations towards providers of biodiversity resource from wild, domesticated and public access resources. 2.) Accountability of researchers and biodiversity prospectors towards the countries from where resources are extracted. 3.) Accountability to profession engaged in generating universal knowledge and developing norms guiding this process. 4.) Accountability of international UN or other organizations which possess globally pooled germ plasm collections deposited in good faith but accessible to public and private corporations as well as other institutions without reciprocal responsibility. 5.) Natural resources as property governed by various kinds of property right regimes and consequent moral and ethical dilemmas. 6.) Accountability of civil society and consumers of products derived from prospected biodiversity or other competing alternatives. 7.) Accountability towards future generations.