Module II: The Fundamentals of Bioprospecting Negotiations
Constructing a Contractual Agreement for Benefit Sharing

Bioprospecting is only one part of the overall biodiversity conservation picture, and possibly quite a small part. Biodiversity is to be valued for many reasons, some of which relate to its uses and some of which do not (see Figure 1). As exciting as the prospect of new drug discovery may be, for both the potential health benefits and the potential financial returns, biodiversity conservation cannot be predicated upon this possibility alone.

Bioprospecting is not a gold mine, cautioned faculty; dreams of generating hundreds of millions of dollars for developing countries are not likely to be realized, at least not in the near term. To date not a penny in royalties has been collected by Costa Rica as a result of the INBIO-Merck bioprospecting agreement. Drug development is an expensive and long-term process (typically half a billion US dollars and 10-15 years, see Figure 2), and royalties are not paid until revenue starts coming in. However, other types of payments can meanwhile accrue, and INBIO has earned some US$3 million in up-front fees and in-kind contributions since the 1991 agreement was implemented. Still, judging by the Costa Rican example the main benefits of bioprospecting are not financial, but consist of scientific and educational benefits (increased knowledge), environmental benefits (conservation), and capacity-building (training and technology transfer).