Community autonomy and the Maya ICBG project in Chiapas, Mexico: How a bioprospecting project that should have succeeded failed

Human Organization

Volumn 63, Issue 4, 2004, Pages 472-486

  Berlin, Brent ^a   Berlin, Elois Ann ^a  

^a UNIVERSITY OF GEORGIA   (United States)

Author keywords

Bioprospecting; Chiapas; Community autonomy; Maya; Mexico; Natural resources; Sustainable economic development

Indexed keywords

AUTONOMY; INDIGENOUS POPULATION; LEGAL SYSTEM; NATURAL RESOURCE; RESOURCE MANAGEMENT;

CHIAPAS; MEXICO [NORTH AMERICA]; NORTH AMERICA; WESTERN HEMISPHERE; WORLD;

EID: 14744274593     PISSN: 00187259     EISSN: None     Source Type: Journal    
DOI: 10.17730/humo.63.4.xp2dpuh204b0h61b     Document Type: Article

References (67)

1. Action Group on Erosion, Technology, and Concentration (ETC group; formerly RAFI) 1994a Bioprospecting/Biopiracy and Indigenous Peoples. URL (September 29, 2004).
2. Action Group on Erosion, Technology, and Concentration (ETC group; formerly RAFI) 1994b Pirating Medicinal Plants. Occasional Papers Vol. 1, No. 4. URL: (September 29, 2004).
3. Action Group on Erosion, Technology, and Concentration (ETC group; formerly RAFI) 1999 Biopriacy Project in Chiapas, Mexico Denounced by Mayan Indians. URL: (September 29, 2004).
4. Action Group on Erosion, Technology, and Concentration (ETC group; formerly RAFI) 2000 Call to Dialogue or Call to 911? URL: (September 29, 2004).
5. Asebey, Edgar J. 1996 Andes Pharmaceuticals, Inc.: A New Model for Biodiversity Prospecting. In Biodiversity, Biotechnology, and Sustainable Development in Health and Agriculture. Julie M. Feinsilver, ed. Pp. 47-67. Washington, D.C.: Pan American Health Organization Scientific Publication No. 560.
6. Barthlott, Wilhelm, Wilhelm Lauer, and A. Placke 1996 Global Distribution of Species Diversity in Vascular Plants: Towards a World Map of Phytodiversity. Erdkunde 50:317-327.
7. Barreda, Andres 2003 Biopiracy, Bioprospecting, and Resistance: Four Cases in Mexico. In Confronting Globalization: Economic Integration and Popular Resistance in Mexico. Timothy A. Wise, Hilda Salazar, and Lauren Carlsen, eds. Pp. 101-128. Bloomfield, Conn.: Kumarian Press.
8. Berlin, Brent 1998 Drug Discovery and Biodiversity Among the Maya of Mexico. Proposal prepared in response to NIH RFA TW-98-001. Athens: Laboratories of Ethnobiology, University of Georgia.
9. Berlin, Brent 1999 Lexical Reflections on the Cultural Importance of Medicinal Plants Between Tzotzil and Tzeltal Maya. In Ethnoecology: Knowledge, Resources, and Rights. Theodore L. Gragson and Benjamin G. Blount, eds. Pp. 12-23. Athens: University of Georgia Press.
10. Berlin, Brent, and Elois Ann Berlin n.d.b The Maya ICBG Project in Chiapas, Mexico: A Past and Future History. Athens: Laboratories of Ethnobiology, Department of Anthropology, University of Georgia.
11. Berlin, Brent, and Elois Ann Berlin 2004 Conocimiento Indigena Popular: La Flora Común, Herbolaria y Salud En Los Altos de Chiapas. In La Diversidad Biológica de Chiapas. Mario González-Espinosa, Neptali Ramírez-Marcial, and Lorena Ruiz-Montoya, eds. Pp. 289-335. Mexico City: COCyTECH, ECOSUR y Plaza y Valdéz. In press.
12. Berlin, Brent, and Elois Ann Berlin 1994 Anthropological Issues in Medical Anthropology. In Ethnobotany and the Search for New Drugs. No. 185, CIBA Foundation Symposia Series. Ghillean T. Prance and Joan Marsh, eds. Pp. 240-258. New York: John Wiley and Son.
13. Berlin, Brent, and Elois Ann Berlin 1998 Enciclopedia Médica Maya. (Cuatrolingual CD ROM on medical ethnobiology of the Highland Maya.) San Cristóbal de Las Casas, Chiapas, Mexico: El Colegio de la Frontera Sur.
14. Berlin, Brent, Elois Ann Berlin, D. E. Breedlove, T. Duncan, Victor Jara Astorga, R. M. Laughlin, and T. Velasco Castellano 1990 La Herbolaria Médica Tzeltal-Tzotzil en los Altos de Chiapas, México: Un Ensayo Preliminar Sobre Las Cincuenta Especies Botánicas de Uso Más Frecuente. Tuxtla Gutiérrez, Mexico: Instituto Chiapaneco de Cultura.
15. Berlin, Brent, Elois Ann Berlin, Jose Carlos Fernández, Luis García-Barrios, David Puett, Robert Nash, and Mario González-Espinosa 1999 The Maya ICBG: Drug Discovery, Medical Ethnobiology, and Alternative Forms of Development in the Highland Maya Region of Chiapas, Mexico. Pharmaceutical Biology 37:127-144.
16. Berlin, Elois Ann, and Brent Berlin n.d.a Some Methods in Medical Ethnobiology. Field Methods. In press.
17. Berlin, Elois Ann, and Brent Berlin 1996 Medical Ethnobiology of the Highland Maya: The Gastrointestinal Diseases. Princeton, N.J.: Princeton University Press.
18. Berlin, Elois Ann, and Victor Jara Astorga 1993 Me' winik: Discovery of the Biomedical Equivalence for a Maya Ethnomedical Syndrome. Social Science & Medicine 37:671-678.
19. Berlin, Elois Ann, Brent Berlin, Juana Gnecco, Felciano Gómez Sántiz, and Sergio Gómez López 2000 Manual Etnomédico de Oxchuc: Guia Básica y Herbolaria. San Cristóbal de las Casas, Chiapas, Mexico: El Colegio de la Frontera Sur.
20. Bodley, John 1990 Victims of Progress. 3rd ed. Mountain View, Calif: Mayfield Press.
21. Brown, Michael F. 2003 Who Owns Native Culture. Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University Press.
22. Brunger, Fran, and Charles Weijer n.d. Politics, Risk, and Community in the Maya ICBG Case: Commentary on Brent Berlin and Elois Ann Berlin, "Private and Public Knowledge in the Debate on Bioprospecting: Implications for Local Communities and Prior Informed Consent." In Bioethics and Collaborative Partnerships. James Lavery, ed. London: Oxford University Press. In press.
23. Cáceres, Armando, B. Samayoa, and H. Logemann 1990 Plantas de Uso Medicinal en Guatemala: Tamizaje de la Actividad Antimicrobiana. Revista de la Universidad de San Carlos, Guatemala, June:48-60.
24. Castro Soto, Gustavo 2004 El Pukuj anda suelto en Montes Azules: Biopiratería y Privatización de la Vida. CIEPAC (Centro de Investigaciones Economicas y Politicas de Accion Comunitaria). URL:
25. Castro Soto, Juan 2000 Pukuj: Biopirateria en Chiapas. CIEPAC (Centro de Investigaciones Economicas y Politicas de Accion Comunitaria). URL: (October 5, 2004).
26. Chapela, Ignacio H. 1996 Bioprospecting in the Information Age: A Critical Analysis of Conservation-Linked Pharmaceutical Searches Through Biodiversity. In Biodiversity, Biotechnology, and Sustainable Development in Health and Agriculture. Julie M. Feinsilver, ed. Pp. 27-46. Washington, D.C.: Pan American Health Organization Scientific Publication No. 560.
27. Conference of the Parties (COP) n.d.a Decision III(1): Pending Issues Arising from the Work of the Second Meeting of the Conference of the Parties. URL: (September 27, 2004).
28. Conference of the Parties (COP) n.d.b Decision IV(9): Implementation of Article 8(j) and Related Provisions. URL: (September 27, 2004).
29. Conference of the Parties (COP) n.d.c Decision V(16): Article 8(j) and Related Provisions. URL: (September 27, 2004).
30. Conference of the Parties (COP) 1999 Report of the Panel of Experts on Access and Benefit-Sharing UNEP/CBD/COP/5/8, November 2. URL: (October 5, 2004).
31. Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) n.d. Handbook of the Convention on Biological Diversity. URL: (September 27, 2004).
32. Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) 1992a Article 1: Objectives. URL: (September 27, 2004).
33. Conventional on Biological Diversity (CBD) 1992b Article 15(4-5): Access to Genetic Resources. URL: (September 27, 2004).
34. Conventional on Biological Diversity (CBD) 1992c Article 15(7): Access to Genetic Resources. URL: (September 27, 2004).
35. Conventional on Biological Diversity (CBD) 1992d Article 8(j): In-situ Conservation. URL: (September 27, 2004).
36. Conventional on Biological Diversity (CBD) 1992e Article 3: Principle. URL: (September 27, 2004).
37. Crosby, Alfred 1986 Biological Imperialism: The Biological Expansion of Europe, 900-1900. New York: Cambridge University Press.
38. Feinsilver, Julie M., and Ignacio H. Chapela 1996 Summary, Concluding Remarks, and Policy Options. In Biodiversity, Biotechnology, and Sustainable Development in Health and Agriculture. Julie M. Feinsilver, ed. Pp. 213-224. Washington, D.C.: Pan American Health Orgnization Scientific Publication No. 560.
39. Glowka, Lyle 1998 A Guide to Designing Legal Frameworks to Determine Access to Genetic Resources. Environmental Policy and Law Paper No. 34. Bonn, Germany: IUCN Environmental Law Center.
40. Glowka, Lyle, Francoise Burhenne-Guilmin, and H. Synge 1994 A Guide to the Convention on Biological Diversity. Environmental Policy and Law Paper 30. Cambridge: IUCN Publication Services Unit.
41. Greene, Shane 2004 Indigenous People Incorporated? Culture as Politics, Culture as Property in Pharmaceutical Bioprospecting. Current Anthropology 45:211-237.
42. Gudeman, Stephen 2001 The Anthropology of Economy: Community, Market, and Culture. Oxford: Blackwell.
43. International Society of Ethnobiology (ISE) 1988 Declaration of Belém. URL: (September 27, 2004).
44. International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) 2000 Theme on Indigenous and Local Communities, Equity and Protected Areas. URL: (September 29,2004).
45. Lewis, Norman 1969 Genocide: From Fire and Sword to Arsenic and Bullets. London Sunday Times, February.
46. Lutz, Ellen L. 2004 Cultural Survival: A Human Rights Organization. Cultural Survival Quarterly 28(2):5-6.
47. Matsuura, Koïchiro 2004 UNESCO's Approach to Open Access and Public Domain Information. URL: (September 29, 2004).
48. Maurer, S. M. 2002 Promoting and Disseminating Knowledge: The Public/ Private Interface. Paper prepared for the U.S. National Research Council's Symposium on the Role of Scientific and Technical Data and Information in the Public Domain, Washington, D.C., September 5-6.
49. Meckes, Mariana, María-Luisa Villarreal, Jorge Tortoriello, Brent Berlin, and Elois Ann Berlin 1995 A Microbiological Evaluation of Medicinal Plants Used by the Maya People of Southern Mexico. Phytotherapy Research 9:244-250.
50. Mooney, Patrick 1999 Letter to Darrell Posey signed by Patrick Mooney. Posted by RAFI on ecopoliticsεfn.org, Thursday, December 9. Authors' files.
51. Mora, Mariana 1998 The EZLN and Indigenous Autonomous Municipalities. URL: (September 29, 2004).
52. Morton, Julia F. 1981 Atlas of Medicinal Plants of Middle America: Bahamas to Yucatan. Springfield, Ill.: Charles C. Thomas.
53. Nadal, Alejandro 2000 Biopiratería: El Debate Politico. La Jornada (Mexico City), September 12:22.
54. National Institutes of Health (NIH) 1993 Integrating Drug Discovery, Biodiversity Conservation, and Economic Development. Request for Applications TW-92-01.
55. Nigh, Ronald 2002 Maya Medicine in the Biological Gaze: Bioprospecting Research as Herbal Fetishism. Current Anthropology 43:451-477.
56. Ramos, Fidel V., President 1995 Executive Order No. 247. Republic of the Philippines, May 18. URL: (September 27, 2004).
57. Ratner, Blake D., and Alberto Rivera Gutiérrez 2004 Reasserting Community: The Social Challenge of Wastewater Management in Panajachel, Guatemala. Human Organization 63:47-56.
58. Rosenthal, Joshua P. n.d. Politics, Culture, and Governance in the Development of Prior Informed Consent and Negotiated Agreements with Indigenous Communities. Bethesda, Md.: Fogarty International Center, National Institutes of Health.
59. Rosenthal, Joshua P., DeAndra Beck, Amar Bhat, Jamie Biswas, Linda Brady, Kenneth Bridbord, Scott Collins, Gordan Cragg, James Edwards, Alexandra Fairfield, Michael Gottlieb, Lee Aann Gschwind, Yali Hallock, Richard Hawks, Ruth Hegyeli, George Johnson, Gerald T. Keusch, Elizabeth E. Lyons, Richard Miller, James Rodman, Joann Roskoski, and Douglas Siegel-Causey 1999 Combining High Risk Science with Ambitious Social and Economic Goals. Pharmaceutical Biology 37:6-21.
60. Sánchez, Consuelo 1999 Los Pueblos Indígenas: Del Indigenismo a la Autonomía. Mexico City: Siglo Veintiuno Editores.
61. ten Kate, Kerry, and Sarah L. Laird 1999 Commercial Uses of Biodiversity. London: Earthscan Publications.
62. Trotter, Robert T., and Michael H. Logan 1986 Informant Consensus: A New Approach for Identifying Potentially Effective Medicinal Plants. In Plants in Indigenous Medicine and Diet. Nina L. Etkin, ed. Pp. 981-112. New York: Gordon and Breach.
63. United Nations Environmental Program (UNEP) 1993 Convention on Biodiversity. Geneva: UNEP.
64. Weijer, Charles, and Ezekiel J. Emanuel 2000 Ethnics: Protecting Communities in Biomedical Research. Science 289:1142-1144.
65. Weiss, Gerald 1988 The Tragedy of Ethnocide: A Reply to Hippler. In Tribal Peoples and Development. John Bodley, ed. Pp 124-133. Mountain View, Calif.: Mayfield Press.
66. World Council of Churches 1972 The Situation of the Indian in South America: Contributions to the Study of Inter-Ethnic Conflict in the Non-Andean Regions of South America. Geneva: World Council of Churches.
67. XERA Radio 2000 Radio Interview with Rafael Alarcón, Esteban Ordiano, and Antonio Pérez, of COMPITCH, in San Cristóbal de Las Casas. August 10. XERA Radio 1 Frecuencia 760.