Peru: Seeking benefit sharing through a defensive approach-the experience of the national commission for the prevention of biopiracy

Manuel Ruiz Located on the west coast of South America, Peru covers an area of 1,285,215 km2 broadly divided longitudinally into an arid coastal region and the very diverse Andes and Amazon regions. It contains more than 80 recognized life zones, making it one of ten mega-diverse countries of the world. It is a center of origin of agriculture and of some of the most important food crops in the world, including the potato, as well as many varieties of maize, hot peppers, Andean roots and tomatoes. It is also home to over 70 groups of indigenous peoples, mainly Quechua and Aymara in the Andes, but very diverse and many unique groups in the Amazon. Culture and diversity are closely related: new crops, medicinal plants, domesticated animals, natural dyes and a wide array of other natural products have been discovered, developed and put to use by Andean and Amazon communities. These communities continue to develop, adapting to new conditions such as climate change, and broader society has also benefi ted (Brack Egg 2003).