Although rainforests cover only two percent of the Earth's surface, they contain over half of the planet's plant and animal species. Because Borneo has been an island for millions of years, its rainforests have a staggering number of unique species and unusual diversity. One sampling of just one-tenth of a square kilometer of Borneo's rainforest yielded over 700 tree species, which is equal to the total number of species found in all of North America.

These species are of course valuable in and of themselves, but additionally many of them have practical uses. In particular, the rainforest plays an important role in medicine. Many plant species have evolved sophisticated chemicals to protect themselves from natural enemies, to subdue prey, or to survive in a variety of ecosystems. Thus, the rainforest provides--for free--the building blocks of the lucrative pharmaceuticals industry. For millennia, people have used plant extracts to treat illnesses, and traditional medicines are still widely used. Medicines for leukemia, heart ailments, hypertension, arthritis, birth control and Hodgkin's disease and other cancers come from rainforest plants. Seventy percent of the plants identified by the National Cancer Institute as useful in cancer treatment are found only in the rainforest.

Exciting New Cures From Sarawak

The bintangor (Calophyllum lanigerum) is a tree found only on swampy ground in the Malaysian state of Sarawak. The indigenous people know that the poisonous latex which oozes from its trunk can be used for stunning fish and its bark can help soothe headaches and skin rashes. Furthermore, if tests carried out in the United States are to be believed, the bintangor may contain a treatment for HIV and AIDS. Clinical trials show that a drug called Calanolide A, extracted from the tree's latex, reduces levels of the HIV virus in the blood. It also works against tuberculosis. The drug is several years away from being sold commercially, but if it is, it could earn as much as 350 million dollars a year.

Another plant in the Sarawak rainforest is now undergoing tests to determine if it presents a cure for prostate cancer. The Malaysian government has not released the plant's name for security reasons, but they are working with an Australian company to bring it to market.

A third example is tongkat ali (Eurycoma longifolia). Its roots contain biologically active compounds, which are being tested as an anti-malarial drug. These roots are widely used traditionally as an aphrodisiac and to lower high blood pressure.

Who knows what other surprises the rainforest may yield? At this point, less than one percent of tropical forest species have been thoroughly examined for their chemical compounds. Borneo's tropical rainforest may well contain many more miracle cures for today's major plagues. Yet, the rate at which this rainforest is being destroyed is staggering. Numerous plant and animal species are becoming extinct before we know even the most basic facts about what we are losing.

Who Finds the Medicines and Who Profits?

New advances in medicine often come from information provided by indigenous rainforest communities. These people have lived for generations in this extreme environment, building up a vast archive of knowledge about the uses of the local flora and fauna. More often than not, this indigenous knowledge is orally passed down the generations, and in some communities, it is a closely guarded secret known only to shamans or medicine men/women.

Researchers, "bioprospectors" and pharmaceutical companies often tap into traditional knowledge to narrow their search for compounds with potentially valuable medical applications. This saves the work of blindly testing the thousands of species in the rainforest. While there are many stories of miracle drugs "discovered" in the rainforest, the vast fortunes that large pharmaceutical companies make rarely find their way back to the inhabitants of the rainforest where the drugs came from.

As more and more cases of "biopiracy" are reported, indigenous peoples around the world are fighting for the recognition of "intellectual property rights." The world market for patents of natural products grosses some $780 billion annually. In Brazil, 97% of the 4,000 patents on natural products in its country between 1995 and 2000 were requested by foreigners.

The Malaysian Government: Biggest Biopirates in Borneo?

Malaysia signed the International Biological Diversity Convention and established a National Biodiversity Policy in 1997. As part of this new policy, the government has just built the "Sarawak Biodiversity Centre," whose purpose is to help determine national policy and guidelines, and to document indigenous medicinal practices. They have also been very aggressive in catching foreign "biopirates" trying to smuggle plants and animals out of the country.

This all sounds good in theory, but in practice, the indigenous people are being cheated of their natural wealth. These people are expected to come to the Centre and share their traditional knowledge, while receiving nothing in return. Then, the government and/or private companies will copyright this knowledge for their own gain.

To add insult to injury, a new Sarawak law states that use fees will be imposed on any resources with "pharmaceutical, medicinal, biotechnological, scientific, commercial or economic value, properties or potential." Violations will result in a fine of approximately $5000 US, and/or up to three years in prison.

In a better world, the Malaysian government would realize the need to protect portions of the rainforest if only for their medicinal value, and indigenous people would share in the copyrights and profits of all products derived from their traditional knowledge. Instead, they are asked to freely tell all that knowledge to the government, and in return be charged fees to use items they have been using for hundreds or even thousands of years for free!

In order to preserve the rainforests' genetic diversity, it is essential that the indigenous people who know the rainforest well enjoy the direct and indirect benefits of such research and development. Several of the organizations we work with in Sarawak are currently campaigning on biopiracy issues. Medicinal use is just one more reason why the forests of Borneo are more valuable standing than cut down.