ABSTRACT
A wide range of stakeholder groups are concerned about the implications of biopiracy. However, it is not always clear exactly how these individuals, groups, companies and governments might be affected. Depending upon the circumstances there are usually a number of direct and indirect impacts. For example, some of these impacts can be quantified in terms of lost income from exports – although this is often difficult to accurately gauge in practice. In other cases the implications are much less obvious, particularly when there are poor cross-cultural exchanges between those that have appropriated traditional knowledge and those groups that have provided it, either willingly or unknowingly.
