Biopiracy

Biodiversity - which is particularly important in the countries of the South - attracts corporate appetites because it holds the agricultural crops and the medical resources of tomorrow. The Convention on Biological Diversity recognises the sovereignty of states and over their genetic resources and traditional knowledge, as well as their right to benefit-sharing from their use. However, in reality, these resources are widely exploited, and not compensated, by pharmaceutical and agricultural multinationals - when they are not profiting from the distorted patent system to claim these rights.