Sharing the Rewards

The Convention on Biological Diversity is set to meet soon in Japan to hammer out the details of a protocol on "access and benefit-sharing," reports Scientific American, which adds that "the aim is to ensure that the benefits resulting from researching animals, plants and microorganisms, such as the invention of new medicines or enhanced genes to improve crop varieties, are 'fairly and equitably shared' among the providers and users." The article continues that there are ethical and political reasons for having such a protocol in place as it would create partnerships between developing and industrialized countries that would spur commercialization as well as protect biodiversity.