In 1973, the United Nations designated 5th June as #WorldEnvironmentDay.Fifty-one years on it is far from clear if humankind has developed any capacityto preserve the environment, although we have succeeded in boostingagricultural production to feed an ever-growing population.
Likeevery other living species, humankind has always been completely dependent on the bioresources the environment provides. For most of human history it wasenough to collect and hunt whatever plants and animals we were able to find, and use them for food, clothing, fuel, medicines and other needs. As resources became depleted, small groups of hunter-gatherers would simply relocate. A mere~10,000 years ago, humans became farmers, deliberately cultivating certain crops to be harvested as food. The agricultural revolution is still underway asresearchers work constantly to boost crop yields by seeking new genetic material from nature.
In recognition of the importance of preserving genetic resources, the international Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) came about in 1992, supplemented in2010 with the Nagoya Protocol on Access and Benefit Sharing (ABS). The ABS recognises that bioresources are valuable but limited, and need to be managed in a way that makes them available to all mankind both now and in the future. As of April 2022, 136 countries had ratified the ABS, committing to nationallegislation that will serve ABS goals. Several important developed companies have yet to sign up.
Significantly, the ABS recognises that our ability to use bioresources is knowledge driven and has been so since humans first developed language to tell their offspring what plants to use. In recent millennia written language has preserved some of the oral traditions; nobody ever thought to impose patents or other proprietaryprotection. Thus, the CBS encourages reinvestment of gains from bioresource use back to the communities who provide both bioresources and the traditional knowledgethat underlies their use.
As a ccompany that produces plant extracts for skincare, Green Mountain Biotech is interest in bioresources, and particularly on the knowhow behind them. We see our research as a mission extend the ancient knowledge.
Furtherreading
• Wikipedia(2023). Nagoya Protocol. https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Nagoya_Protocol&oldid=1153552064
• Heinrich M et al (2020).Access and Benefit Sharing Under the Nagoya Protocol-Quo Vadis? Six Latin American Case Studies Assessing Opportunities and Risk. Frontiers in pharmacology, 11, 765. https://doi.org/10.3389/fphar.2020.00765
