Biological Diversity: A Common Heritage

As human biology is in no way determined by the political boundaries of nation states, tags of nationality cannot be attached to plants or animals or the genetic diversity that man has been conserving over generations. Developing nations should realise that a system of royalties for use of genetic resources through multinational arrangements would only heighten the mistrust and chaos. Despite being associated with geopolitical entities historically, genetic resources should be treated as a common heritage in the best interests of humanity. A major snag of the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD)1 is a shift in focus from the ecological and scientific value of biodiversity to its commercial value. Articles 3 and 15 of the CBD recognise the sovereign rights of nation states over their biological re-sources and their authority to determine access to genetic resources through national legislation. Several countries have developed legal regimes and imple-menting mechanisms to regulate access to genetic resources (Grajal 1999). This undermines global food security that is critically dependent on transnational sharing and distribution of genetic re-sources among human societies. National legislation like India’s Biological Diversit