BOTANY Higher Secondary Second Year - Textbooks Online

Biological warfare
Thus biological warfare introduces issues of pathogenicity, toxicity,
routes of exposure, safety measures and the movement, distribution and
persistence of dangerous biological materials in our environment. In
biological warfare strategies, the genetically engineered microorganisms
are made to spread into the enemy’s territorial environment, with
unpredictable and perhaps catastrophic consequences. The released
dangerous microorganisms ‘upset the balance of nature’.
6.5. Bio-piracy
Countries like America, Japan, United Kingdom, France and Germany
are industrialised nations. These nations are advanced in technology with
financial resources but compared with the Indian sub-continent are poor
in biodiversity and traditional knowledge related to utilisation of flora and
fauna that constitute the bioresources. The clandestine exploitation and
utilisation of bioresources from a country by several organisations and
multinational companies without proper authorisation is known as
Biopiracy. Although the developing nations are not so financially sound,
they are however rich in traditional knowledge and biodiversity.
For a very long period, the tribal people in the remote areas of jungles
as also the people of rural areas have been using certain important herbal
plants for treating certain diseases. Since, the habitations of the tribal
people are surrounded by a variety of plants and animals, they have acquired
a sound knowledge of their uses particularly of their medicinal values.
This knowledge can be exploited to develop commercially important drugs
from the plants. Traditional knowledge has greater utility value as it
saves time, effort and expenditure for their commercialisation.
Multinational companies of the rich nations are collecting and exploiting
the bioresources without any authorization in the following ways:
1. Plants like Catharanthus roseus (Vinca rosea) are exported to
countries as medicinal plants since they possess anticancerous properties.
The companies of the rich nations are interested in the biomolecules present
in the plant. These compounds produced by living organisms are patented
and used for commercial activities. As a result of this, the farmers who
cultivate the crop are being deprived of their rightful claims and
compensations.
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