Conservation and Sustainable Use of the Biosphere - WBGU

70 D The use of genetic and species diversity
D 3.3.5
Future development of natural substance
chemistry and the use of biological diversity
The high number of substances that are screened
with the aim of identifying substances for medicinal
or industrial use leads very quickly to a situation
where a large number of potentially interesting substances
are awaiting structural elucidation. In recent
times this collection of potential substances has
increasingly been joined by substances from syntheses
of combinatorial chemistry. These are chemical
preparations that are generated around a nuclear
structure in a controlled random process. The
strengths of this technology lie above all in the optimization
of known lead structures and a clear status
under patent law. The libraries emerging in synthetic
chemistry are being supplemented by natural substance
extracts that generally demonstrate a high
level of diversity in secondary metabolites and are
suited to the search for new lead structures.
Attention is directed more and more to untapped
natural substance sources such as the tropical rainforests,
hot springs, deep sea and other extreme
areas. Addressing symbionts and associated living
communities is often seen as a priority and is considered
a fascinating, but difficult, field that should
wherever possible be dealt with in an interdisciplinary
manner by chemists, microbiologists, biotechnologists
and medical specialists (Section J 1.3). This
cooperation should preferably be realized in university
research establishments. The development and
implementation of procedures for high performance
screening of substances for inclusion in substance
libraries on the other hand, given the strategies and
costs involved, are increasingly taking place in the
domain of industrial development and research. The
aim of such screening programmes is – by searching
for active substances – to identify chemical lead
structures and ultimately find interesting genes. A
lead structure and its chemical variations generally
serve as the basis for chemical mass synthesis. The
identified genes are transferred to organisms (eg cell
cultures, bacteria, plants) and can be used to produce
the substance or use the newly acquired metabolic
services for other applications. The networking
among research institutions and industry that is necessary
to achieve such goals was one of the stated
aims of the individual focal areas under the ‘Biotechnology
2000’ research programme implemented by
the German research ministry (BMBF). This is true
both for the project ‘Molecular natural substances’
and the project that is oriented strongly to industrial
application:‘Technology to decode and use biological
blueprints’. The Council expects that the current
evaluation of the results of the past 5-year support
period will be positive and recommends the work to
be continued.
D 3.3.6
Legal framework and socio-economic aspects of
bioprospecting
The potential for conflict between the developing
countries providing the natural substances and companies
operating globally that have an interest in
these resources is considerable.Various international
agreements address directly or indirectly the cooperation
between countries of origin of biological diversity
and the industrialized countries, or rather the
players interested in using that diversity.
The Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD)
sets the framework under international law for the
sustainable use of genetic resources (WBGU, 1995b).
The sovereignty of countries with regard to biological
diversity as a natural resource is explicitly
affirmed, but at the same time access to biological
diversity should in principle be facilitated. In order to
achieve both goals, the use of genetic resources is tied
to general conditions (PIC – Prior Informed Consent
[of the country of origin], MAT – Mutually Agreed
Terms). The concrete form of the cooperation agreements
is left up to the suppliers and the users of biological
diversity. Since the CBD came into force a
number of national and regional provisions have
been developed in the countries of origin of genetic
resources that reflect a generally high expectation in
the new bioprospecting market and also link the
research and use of biological diversity to complex
administrative procedures. Against this background
and on the basis of the fact that bioprospecting can
contribute to the conservation of biological diversity
and its sustainable use, the current negotiation of
guidelines for access to genetic resources and compensatory
measures under CBD are a welcome
development. The aim is to agree on a basis that is
accepted equally by the countries of origin and the
user countries for the establishment of agreements
for prospecting projects that also create incentives
for investment in bioprospecting research and for
comprehensive conservation programmes. It must be
considered at this point that bioprospecting is a very
dynamic field and the demands and requirements of
the parties supplying and the parties using the natural
substances, depending on the project, may vary
greatly. In the envisaged general guidelines, sufficient
scope should be reserved for the cooperating partners.
Costa Rica’s National Institute for Biodiversity
(INBio, founded in 1989) fulfils the criteria stated for