Benefit Sharing: From Biodiversity to Human Genetics—An Introduction - Benefit Sharing - page 1

Chapter 1
Benefit Sharing: From Biodiversity
to Human Genetics—An Introduction
Doris Schroeder and Julie Cook Lucas
Abstract What happens when people hand over natural resources for scientific
research or commercial use? And what should happen? This topic raises funda-
mental questions about benefit sharing to provide orientation for policymakers,
lawyers, ethicists and lobbyists on a topic of global concern.
Keywords Beneit sharing • Traditional knowledge • Human genetic resources
What happens when people hand over natural resources for scientific research or
commercial use? And what should happen? This topic raises fundamental ques-
tions about benefit sharing to provide orientation for policymakers, lawyers, ethi-
cists and lobbyists on a topic of global concern.
Scientific research and associated commercialization have gone global in recent
decades. While keen botanists might have travelled around the world for centuries
amassing foreign treasures for Northern botanic gardens, 1 today's efforts are both
more widespread and more systematic. For instance, in the ten years between 2000
and 2010, the export of raw agricultural materials from Africa, Asia, Central
America and South America almost tripled (WTO 2012 ). At the same time, human
tissue banks boomed.
Biobanks have multiplied significantly since the 1970's, and have become integral to
research facilities around the globe. The period 1990-1999 saw the most significant per-
centage increase, at 42%. Growth in 2000 to 2009 was almost as impressive, with a 36%
increase in biobanks (ASD 2012 ).
1 The growing critique of such activities is summarized in Shiva ( 1998 ).
D. Schroeder ( * )
UCLAN, Centre for Professional Ethics, Brook 317, Preston PR1 2HE, UK
e-mail: [e-mail]
J. C. Lucas
e-mail: [e-mail]