Biopiracy (Noun)
Meaning
Biological theft; illegal collection of indigenous plants by corporations who patent them for their own use.
Classification
Nouns denoting acts or actions.
Examples
- The indigenous community claimed that the pharmaceutical company was guilty of biopiracy for patenting their traditional plant remedy without permission or compensation.
- Biopiracy is a growing concern for many countries as corporations seek to exploit their rich biodiversity for financial gain.
- The documentary exposed the biopiracy practices of a multinational company that had secretly collected and patented plant species from the Amazon rainforest.
- Activists argued that biopiracy is a form of neocolonialism, where corporations from wealthy countries steal the biological resources of poor countries without sharing the benefits.
- The UN Convention on Biological Diversity aimed to prevent biopiracy by requiring companies to obtain prior informed consent from indigenous communities before collecting and patenting their genetic resources.