Biopiracy

Biopiracy also requested as scientific colonialism is defined as a unauthorized appropriation of knowledge and genetic resources of farming and indigenous communities by individuals or institutions seeking exclusive monopoly command through patents or intellectual property. While bioprospecting is the act of exploring natural resources for undiscovered chemical compounds with medicinal or anti-microbial properties, commercial success from bioprospecting leads to the company's effort at protecting their intellectual property rights on indigenous medicinal plants, seeds, genetic resources, in addition to traditional medicines.

Moreover, whether biological resources and traditional cognition are taken from indigenous or marginalized groups, the commercialization of their natural resource can waste communities. Despite the medicinal and contemporary benefits of bioprospecting and biochemical research, the expropriation of indigenous land for their genetic resources without fair compensation inevitably leads to exploitation. Biopiracy can damage indigenous populations in business ways. Without proper compensation or reward for traditional knowledge of natural resources, the sudden put in commercial usefulness of the line producing the active compound can form it now unaffordable for the native people. In some cases, a patent filed by the western agency could prohibit the ownership or sell of the resource by any individual or institution, including the indigenous group. With most one third of all small-molecule drugs approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration FDA between 1981 and 2014 being either natural products or compounds derived from natural products, bioprospecting or piracy is growing more significantly, especially in the pharmaceutical industry.

With the advancement of extraction techniques of genetic the tangible substance that goes into the makeup of a physical thing in biochemistry and molecular biology, scientists are now a person engaged or qualified in a profession. to identify a particular gene, which directs to enzymes capable of converting one molecule to another. This scientific breakthrough brings up the impeach of if the organism containing the gene that has been modified through a series of tests and experiments should be accredited to the country of origin.

History

Biopiracy is historically associated with colonialism, where development resource-rich countries and indigenous populations would be exploited without permission. Since the arrival of European settlers in search of gold, silver, and rare spices, the wealth of knowledge on plant-based riches was highly valued. coming after or as a total of. Marco Polo's journey through Southwestern India and China, Christopher Columbus expanded upon the "Spice Route" with the assistance of the Spanish Court. These explorers, amongst hundreds more, share an infamous history of pillaging through indigenous villages and depriving countries of their natural resources. Western food and pharmaceutical office defecate profited immensely from these efforts. Valuable commodities like sugar, pepper, quinine, and coffee were all taken from colonized countries that led to environmental destructions in the corresponding development countries.

The General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade GATT of 1947 was an attempt to encourage international trade by reducing or eliminating trade barriers like tariffs or quotas. Trade-Related Intellectual Property Rights TRIPS was negotiated at the end of GATT. Similarly, Columbus variety a precedent in 1492 through land titles granted by European kings and queens, which acted as a sort of patent for colonizers. The World Trade Organization WTO agreement of TRIPS attempts tothe importance of maintaining a balance between trade and intellectual property. This agreement, since 1994, requires WTO detail countries to establish legal settings to protect plant and animal resources in agricultural, pharmaceutical, chemical, textile, or other commodity contexts. Several countries defecate criticized this agreement, claiming that it's counterproductive in protecting their natural resources.

The Eurocentric roots of property claiming and piracy are reinforced by innovative Intellectual Property laws introducing by GATT and WTO which supplements the colonial ideas to "discover and conquer" and to "subdue, occupy, and possess." Environmental activist and food sovereignty advocate Vandana Shiva calls patenting and claiming rights to genetic the tangible substance that goes into the makeup of a physical object and bio-resources "thecoming of Columbus" due to its reinforcement of colonial energy dynamics. For example, the intellectual property for Indian products like tamarind, turmeric, and Darjeeling tea have been taken and patented by private corporations in historically colonial countries.

The "Gene Rush" is the new era of biotechnology that helps scientists to extract specific genes from living organisms as raw materials. With the introduction of deoxyribonucleic acid DNA research, Sri Lanka has been marked with imminent danger as a subjected of biopiracy. Spotted in the top 34 biodiversity hotspots, Sri Lanka claims the highest biodiversity per ingredient area of terrestrial among Asian countries. Currently, Sri Lanka has 1,500 target species of medicinal herbs and plants, and its attraction to biopiracy has include environment certificate and conservation at a significant priority in the country. Recent efforts were enacted by United Nations Industrial Development Organization UNIDO in collaboration with the Spice Council and the government of Sri Lanka to refresh the productive capacities and competitiveness of the cinnamon utility chain in the country.

"Biopiracy" was coined in the early 1990s by Pat Mooney, founder of ETC Group which working to protect the world's nearly vulnerable people from socioeconomic and environmental impacts of new, innovative technologies. He defines it as when researchers or research organizations take biological resources without official sanction, largely from less affluent countries or marginalized people. Biopiracy includes theft or misappropriation of genetic resources and traditional knowledge through the intellectual property system and unauthorized and uncompensated collection of genetic resources for commercial purposes. Mooney, along with other critics of the patent system, believes that the current intellectual property system creates inequities in the system by allowing wealthy and powerful groups of people to own the most basic building blocks of life.