It is often claimed that Malaysia is rich in biodiversity resources, that we have the world’s oldest rainforests, that our rainforest is pristine and virgin, untouched commercially by the human hand. But are we taking advantage of this biodiversity asset to serve the needs of the country or the global community? Do we have the technical know-how or the financial resources and incentives to do that?
The abundance of natural resources in Malaysia has yet to be fully exploited by researchers here. Many believe that possible cures for some of today’s life-threatening diseases can be found in the rainforests of countries rich in cultural and biological diversity, where so much has yet to be explored. With resources in some developed countries fast depleting, many corporations are looking at other countries in search of potentially valuable genetic material and biochemical compounds in nature.