ABSTRACT
Working through the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute (STRI) with funding through the International Cooperative Biodiversity Groups (ICBG) programme, we have developed a bioprospecting programme that maximizes the participation of Panamanian institutions from government, academia and the conservation community. The scientific collaborations that have been established call for Panamanian scientists to carry out key components of the research programme, such as the screening and purification of natural products. Only those components of the bioprospecting research that cannot be practically carried out in Panama are accomplished in collaboration with USbased colleagues in academia and industry. To provide the contractual and legal framework for our work in Panama, a series of two-party agreements between STRI and each of the institutions involved have been drafted and signed. The agreements are coordinated, straightforward and mutually consistent. The absence of any applicable model agreements required that all of our agreements were developed from scratch.
