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Message from the Director
Welcome to this first issue
of Biological Resources, a publication of
the Bioresources Development and Conservation Programme
(BDCP). This publication has a singular mission or purpose,
that is to provide a crosscut medium for the discussion
of strategies and technologies for the sustainable utilization
of genetic resources. It is an open forum, structured
in the format of the traditional academic journal but
relaxed enough to accommodate news and reports. Biological
Resources will cover current issues concerning
the discovery and development of natural products as consumer
goods, biodiversity based ecological prospecting, development
and optimization of innovative processing technologies,
and modern production options including biotechnology.
This publication will also feature articles and news on
biocultural approaches to biodiversity conservation.
A major part of our mission is to assist developing country
institutions and communities to position themselves strategically
in the emerging natural products markets through exchange
of relevant information on technology access and identification
of new business opportunities.
The current global interest in the use of naturally occurring
substances and conservation of genetic resources represents
a major paradigm shift in our understanding and valuation
of our world. In this new thinking, each biological entity
is a microcosm of the entire universe, each complete in
its form and function but dependent on others for growth
and fulfillment. For several decades, our study of biological
processes has been limited to the adoption of the Cartesian
model which seeks to isolate specific ingredients from
the whole. During this period, global resources were considered
infinite and dynamic, and resilient enough to withstand
the abuse of over harvesting and insatiable over-consumption
by a privileged and arrogant minority. Our understanding
of chemical ecology, for example, consisted almost entirely
of the study of plant phytochemistry, which was limited
to isolation of biologically active compounds. We are
now better informed. Only a few among us now subscribes
to the notion that nature is a frontier to be conquered
and exploited. The natural world is not only an object
to be analyzed and controlled but its preservation touches
the core of our very existence on earth.
Biological Resources will be people oriented
and our inquiry begins and ends with human needs and values.
We will focus on true human needs and values, not those
discovered and promoted by the most vocal or dominant
groups but the collective need of the entire human race.
These needs include the conservation of all species, including
indigenous peoples and the equitable distribution of resources.
This will be a forum where the views of scientists and
scholars in the western mold will be covered alongside
those of shamans, obas, babalawos, dibias, Inyangas
and the silent wisemen and wise women in villages in Africa,
Asia and South America.
It is our hope that you will support this initiative by
sending us your views and articles. Biological Resources
will be published three times a year in February, June
and October. Please assist us by including this publication
in your reading list.
Bye for now.
Maurice M. Iwu
Biological Resources
is published monthly by The Bioresources Development and
Conservation Programme. The information contained here
is intended to contribute to the development of an integrated
approach to biological resources management in which human
needs and habitat conservation can both be accomodated.
Your comments and questions
are welcome. Write to the Editor, Biological Resources.
For further information, contact:
BDCP Newsletter Bureau
Bioresources Development and Conservation Programme
11303 Amherst Avenue, Suite 2
Silver Spring, Maryland 20902
U.S.A.
Phone: 301-962-6201
Fax: 301-962-6205
Email: bdcp@bioresources.org
Administrative
Offices
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