ABSTRACT
Biodiversity prospecting contracts (BPCs) are the most frequently used tool for establishing formal legally binding relationships between providers and users of genetic resources. Agreements come in all shapes and sizes, from those for collection of material for taxonomic research purposes, to multimillion-dollar projects for access to, and screening of, medicinal plant varieties. Conditions may be formally included in written documents or acknowledged with a shake of the hand. Contracts may involve the supply of biological raw material, isolated active compounds or material subject to patents. Samples may be provided by governments, landowners, indigenous and local communities, research institutions or gene banks. Access may be sought by pharmaceutical companies, plant breeders, post-graduate students, research institutes or local communities. Resources may be used for a range of purposes including commercial enrichment, scientific investigation and global health programmes. Benefits may be of monetary or non-monetary nature, and may be shared by a wide variety of public and private sector actors, including local and indigenous communities. The
range of conditions, relationships and materials covered in agreements is significant and diverse.
