Binara” – a Victim of Bio Piracy
There has been great controversy about a Canadian National – A professor from British Columbia Botanical Garden – named Andrew Risemann, a world-renowned expert on applied Biology and Plant Breeding, of using this plant illegally after obtaining a specimen from a Sri Lankan scientist to create hybrid species of this plant for commercial purposes. Now he has close to 16 patents on this plant covering various areas, which is a huge injustice to Sri Lanka where this plant is naturally occurring and endemic to.
(Source:Sunday Observer : Sunday, 19 Sep 2021 : Sinharaja incident an attempt at bio-piracy? /Daily Mirror : 17 Dec 2012 : Bio Theft & Bio Piracy)
The exporting of this plant was first recorded in 1990 by a group of Dutch experts who came to Sri Lanka to participate in the International Conference on Endangered Plants. While participating in this summit, they were able to steal samples of the plant from Horton Plains National Park. Later they genetically developed hybrid version of this plant to produce bigger flowers and named it “Royal Blues” and “Royal Whites” which they obtained patents for.
Andrew Risemann and the Dutch experts were never charged in a court case either in Sri Lanka or any other country, instead they were given many awards for their hybrid variety.
There are many other endemic plants in Sri Lanka, same could happened to other plants too.
I have been to knuckles and seen this flower, when they clear overgrown bushes along the roadway, they just cut and clear everything, there is no proper protection of this plant, if they really protect this plant it will be lovely to see many of these blue flowers.
Why our Sri Lankans cannot introduce this plant to be grown in as a ornamental plant, they can sell it in Colombo. There has to be proper nursery to propagate this plant, if people from other countries can have patent rights to our plants, why can’t we have them as ornamental plant.
