Biodiversity prospecting and benefit-sharing: perspectives from the field.

Searching for new biologically active compounds from natural sources starts, obviously, in the field. Plant, microbial or animal materials to be sought and investigated may be selected through a number of approaches. No matter what selection criterion(a) is (are) used, the first step in obtaining the organism concerned is to undertake field collecting work to search for and to collect the organism. Good knowledge on the ecogeographic distribution and precision in the taxonomic identification of the organism(s) sought are crucial if the field work involves the search for a pre-determined organism or set of organisms. Such knowledge and precision during field work are of secondary importance, however, if the search and collection are based on biodiversity or ethnomedical uses, since accurate taxonomic identification may be made at a later date, in a Museum or Herbarium environment. When an individual or institution from a biotechnologically developed country wishes to obtain indigenous raw biological material from a biotechnologically less developed country, an agreement for the procurement of such raw material may be negotiated. Since the effort to search and develop a biologically active compound(s) from natural sources is a long-term process that involves teamwork between field and laboratory scientists, the success of the endeavor will depend in large part on the continued flow of raw material from the field. Goodwill to maintain such a flow may be achieved through appropriate scientific and monetary compensations, both in real-time and in long-term sharing of the benefits of discovery. Only with the prospect of financial return to the supplying country will there be an incentive for the protection of the natural resources towards sustainable use and development, as well as to allow time for continuing explorations and discoveries.