The convention redefined biodiversity as the “common heritage of humankind” and gave individual nations sovereign rights to it. Although it has not been ratified by the United States, the largest likely importer of biodiversity, the large pharmaceutical corporations are trying to work within its terms. But the Amazonian nations have made little progress in exercising their rights under the agreement. Instead, the use of the region's biodiversity by forest inhabitants, scientists and industrial groups remains a major source of controversy. Bioprospecting partnerships with foreign corporations raise even stronger feelings.
Supporters of the convention remain optimistic about its implementation, however. Roberto Cavalcanti, president of the Brazilian arm of the global conservation group Conservation International, and an ornithologist at the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro, says that bioprospecting — if done properly — will help to develop local scientific capacity, preserve and document indigenous knowledge, and provide incentives for conservation. “It could help attach an economical value to preserving Amazonian biodiversity,” he says.
