REGIONAL REPORT COSTA RICA Preserving Biodiversity in Costa Rica: The Case of the Merck-INBio Agreement

Compensation for biological samples and information obtained from develop-ing countries is now embodied in contractual relationships between nongov-ernmental organizations such as Costa Rica’s National Biodiversity Institute (INBio) and the Merck pharmaceutical company. This article discusses the innovative partnership between INBio and Merck. This agreement may serve as a model for sustainable development and preserving biodiversity in Costa Rica and elsewhere. Countries such as Costa Rica traditionally have received little remu-neration and minimal benefit from the chemical compounds derived from their own biological resources. Instead, pharmaceutical companies, almost exclusively from the developed world, have reaped financial benefits from such medicinally useful biodiversity. The shift toward compensation for biological samples and information about these samples is part of what has come to be called biodiversity prospecting. The term, coined by Cornell University professor Thomas Eisner (1989-1990) as chemical prospecting, currently is defined as &dquo;the explo-ration of biodiversity for commercially valuable genetic and biochemical resources&dquo; (Park, 1995, p. 52). Eisner took prospecting a step further by advocating that species samples and related information be compen-sated for in a systematic manner (Eisner, 1989-1990; 1994). If Costa Rica’s biodiversity is to be conserved, it has to earn its keep through more diverse commercial ventures than ecotourism can pro-vide. Although profitable for Costa Rica, ecotourism has the potential for disturbing the environment once parks exceed their human carrying capacity. It was Daniel Janzen, the University of Pennsylvania entomolo-gist and Costa Rica advocate, who urged Costa Ricans and foreigners alike to start thinking about Costa Rica’s biodiversity in concrete busi-ness terms. Janzen referred to Costa Rica as a &dquo;fifty thousand square kilometer corporation&dquo; that would benefit from joint ventures wit