Ethical Issues And Biosafety

Biopiracy refers to the use of bio-resources and associated traditional knowledge by multinational companies and organisations without proper authorisation from, or compensation to, the concerned countries and communities, as explained in NCERT Class 12, Chapter 11 (Biotechnology and its Applications). Developing nations rich in biodiversity have often had their genetic resources and indigenous knowledge exploited, prompting laws to prevent such unfair patenting, illustrated by disputes over Basmati rice, neem and turmeric. Bioremediation is the use of organisms to clean up pollutants from the environment and is unrelated to exploitation of resources. Biofortification involves breeding crops with higher nutrient content and concerns nutrition, not unauthorised appropriation. Biomagnification describes the increasing concentration of toxic substances along a food chain, an ecological phenomenon distinct from this issue. A consistency check confirms biopiracy: the question specifically emphasises taking bio-resources and traditional knowledge without permission or payment, which is precisely the meaning of this term.