Biopiracy: When companies steal nature's secrets and indigenous knowledge.
- Dr Audrey-Flore Ngomsik
- Apr 16
- 6 min read
Updated: Apr 17
Have you ever wondered who owns nature?
This question is at the heart of a growing global concern called biopiracy.
Simply put, biopiracy happens when big companies from wealthy countries take plants, animals, or traditional knowledge from indigenous communities without permission or fair payment.
It's like someone taking your family recipe, patenting it, and selling it worldwide without giving you credit or compensation.
This practice raises important questions about fairness, justice, and the ownership of nature itself.
What is biopiracy?
Biopiracy occurs when companies or research institutions patent biological resources or traditional knowledge from indigenous communities have been using for generations, without proper permission or compensation. [1]
It is a practice that involves a company from a developed country registering patents on products derived from the biodiversity of a developing country without sharing the benefits with local populations.
The term emerged in the 1990s, coined by environmental activist Vandana Shiva to highlight what she viewed as a new form of colonialism.
The organization Public Eye describes it as biopiracy more specifically as the appropriation and monopolization of traditional knowledge and genetic resources by means of patents, without recognizing the contributions of indigenous and local communities to these resources and knowledge, and without sharing the benefits arising from their use.[4]
The stakes are high.
The global market for natural products reached approximately $1.06 trillion in 2021, with medicinal plants alone accounting for more than $800 billion.
With this much money at stake, companies are racing to claim exclusive rights to natural resources and the knowledge about how to use them.
Real-world examples anyone can understand.
Biopiracy isn't new. Throughout history, valuable plants and knowledge about their uses have been transferred from indigenous communities to global markets without recognition or compensation.
Here are some examples that show how biopiracy works:
The history of quinine
The history of quinine, derived from the bark of the cinchona tree and used to treat malaria, represents an early example. Indigenous Andean peoples knew of its properties long before European colonizers claimed the discovery as their own.
Hunger-Suppressing Cactus:
The San people in southern Africa traditionally chewed a type of cactus called Hoodia to avoid feeling hungry during long hunting trips. In 1996, a South African research organization patented the appetite-suppressing ingredient without asking the San people's permission. They later sold the rights to pharmaceutical companies hoping to create weight-loss products.
Neem Tree
For centuries, people in India have used neem tree extracts for medicine, pest control, and personal hygiene. A U.S. company patented these properties even though Indian communities had been using them for hundreds of years.
Yellow Mexican Bean
Mexican farmers developed and grew a specific yellow bean variety for generations. A U.S. businessman visited Mexico, took some beans home, and then patented this variety in the United States, claiming it as his "invention."
Basmati Rice
Companies have tried to patent varieties of basmati rice that Indian and Pakistani farmers developed through centuries of careful selection and cultivation.
In each case, something that belonged to a community became someone else's "property" through legal paperwork, without recognition or compensation for the original knowledge holders.
Why biopiracy matters for sustainability.
Environmental sustainability
Biopiracy directly threatens environmental sustainability in several ways:
When companies patent natural resources, they often encourage intensive harvesting or farming of single species, which can damage ecosystems that depend on diversity.
Indigenous communities typically manage their resources sustainably, harvesting only what they need while preserving the ecosystem. When outside companies take control of these resources, sustainable practices may be abandoned in favor of maximizing profits.
Biopiracy can accelerate biodiversity loss when resources are overexploited to meet market demands.[2]
Indigenous communities often protect biodiversity because their cultural practices and knowledge systems depend on diverse ecosystems. Disrupting these communities through biopiracy threatens the very biodiversity that makes these resources valuable in the first place.
Social Sustainability
The social impacts of biopiracy are profound:
Indigenous communities can lose access to resources they've managed for generations when these resources become privatized through patents.
Traditional knowledge is often central to cultural identity. When this knowledge is taken without permission, it threatens cultural survival.
The power imbalance between large corporations and indigenous communities creates situations where communities can't effectively defend their rights.
The appropriation of resources and knowledge from the South by Northern countries damages social cohesion and cultural practices that have evolved over centuries.[3][
Economic Sustainability
Biopiracy creates economic inequities that undermine sustainable development:
While companies may earn billions from products derived from traditional knowledge, the communities that developed and preserved this knowledge often remain in poverty.
Indigenous communities are denied economic opportunities when they can't benefit from their own resources and knowledge.
The lopsided distribution of benefits discourages communities from sharing knowledge that could benefit humanity, for fear it will be stolen.
Patents on genetic resources and traditional knowledge are predominantly held by industrialized countries in the global North, while the majority of biological resources and indigenous knowledge is found in the biodiversity-rich countries of the global South.This economic imbalance perpetuates global inequality.[4]
Rules meant to stop biopiracy (And why they often don't work)
Several international agreements try to address biopiracy.
The most important ones are the 1992 Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) and the 2010 Nagoya Protocol.
These agreements say companies need to:
Ask permission before accessing genetic resources and traditional knowledge
Share benefits fairly with the communities that provide these resources.
However, these rules often don't work well because:
Many countries don't have strong local laws to enforce these international agreements
Patent systems were designed for individual inventors and don't easily recognize community-owned knowledge
Traditional knowledge is often shared orally rather than written down, making it hard to protect under current intellectual property laws
Powerful economic interests resist changes that would limit their ability to profit from biological resources.
Switzerland's role in biopiracy
Switzerland plays an important part in this story.
The country is home to many pharmaceutical, agricultural, and biotechnology companies that file patents based on genetic resources.[4]
Switzerland has taken some steps to address the problem.
In 2008, it required patent applicants to disclose where they got genetic resources and traditional knowledge.
However, critics say these measures don't go far enough because:
There are few consequences if companies don't comply
The rules don't apply when Swiss companies file patents in other countries
Nevertheless,
Switzerland has a responsibility to ensure that its companies respect the rights of indigenous and local communities when accessing and using their resources and knowledge.
Public Eye [4]
Digital biopiracy: A new challenge
Technology is creating new forms of biopiracy.
With advances in genetic sequencing, companies can now access genetic information without physically taking plant or animal samples.
They can:
Digitize genetic sequences and store them in databases
Use this digital information to create new products
Potentially avoid sharing benefits with the communities where the original resources came from
When genetic information is digitized and stored in databases, it becomes easier to appropriate and harder to trace, potentially bypassing benefit-sharing obligations. Hence, this "digital biopiracy" is harder to track and regulate than traditional forms of biopiracy, creating new challenges for communities trying to protect their resources.
How we can fix the problem
Addressing biopiracy requires action on multiple fronts:
Better laws: Countries need strong laws that protect traditional knowledge and genetic resources, with real consequences for violations.
Improved patent systems: Patent offices should require proof that companies have permission to use biological resources and are sharing benefits fairly.
Supporting indigenous communities: Communities need legal help and technical support to negotiate fair agreements and protect their rights.
Ethical partnerships: Companies should work with indigenous communities as equal partners, respecting their rights and sharing profits fairly.
New rules for digital information: We need updated frameworks to ensure benefit-sharing applies to digital genetic information, not just physical samples.
Company accountability: Companies should face meaningful consequences for biopiracy violations.
Consumer awareness: When people understand biopiracy, they can demand more ethical practices from the companies they buy from.
Toward a more sustainable and fair future
Biopiracy isn't just about taking without permission, it's about respecting cultural heritage, recognizing indigenous contributions to our knowledge, and sharing the benefits of nature fairly.
As the OpenEdition book reminds us,[3]
"biodiversity cannot be reduced to genetic resources that can be freely taken."
Instead, we need to understand nature as part of complex systems where people and environments are connected, managed by communities with deep cultural ties to the land.
By addressing biopiracy, we can build more sustainable relationships between global industries and local communities, relationships that respect traditional knowledge, reward innovation fairly, and ensure that the benefits of biodiversity are shared by all who help preserve it.
True sustainability (environmental, social, and economic) requires justice in how we value, protect, and share the world's biological resources and the knowledge systems that have evolved alongside them.
Only by addressing biopiracy can we create a future where nature's gifts benefit everyone, not just those with the power to claim ownership.
References:
[1] "Biopiracy: The fight for fairness in the scientific exploitation of natural resources." France24, December 9, 2022.
[2] "Digital biopiracy: Tracking the new frontier of the North-South divide in genetic resources extraction." Science Direct, 2022.
[3] "Biodiversity, Biotechnology and Traditional Knowledge Protection." OpenEdition Books.
[4] "Biopiracy: Context and Switzerland's Role." Public Eye.
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