The increasing economic importance of biological resources and, in particular, knowledge related to these resources, has made the allocation of property rights one of the most contentious issues in the debate concerning biodiversity management at the international level. The author surveys the different property-rights regimes developed to regulate access to and control over biological resources, and the relevant international instruments and institutions. He argues that the overemphasis on private property rights regimes, in particular monopoly intellectual property rights such as patents, has been inimical to the sustainable management of biological resources at local and international levels. He suggests ways to allocate property rights so as to promote forms of biodiversity management that are both socially equitable and environmentally sustainable, and analyses some of the recent developments concerning alternative forms of intellectual-property protection.
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