ABSTRACT
Biologically diverse organisms have provided us with a vast array of raw materials that finds commercial exploitation especially in the pharmaceutical, agrochemical, health care, horticultural and cosmetic sectors of industry. The potential to yield valuable new products is the basis of an intense interest in accessing biodiversity for research and development. The conservation of biodiversity, the sustainable use of its components and the fair and equitable sharing of the benefits arising from the use of genetic resources are the goals of the Convention on Biodiversity (CBD) that was initiated at the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development held in Rio de Janiero in 1992. The concepts behind the CBD are the sovereignty of states over their genetic resources, obligations on nations to facilitate access and that contracting parties can establish with the source nation measures for benefit sharing in the event of commercial utilisation.
