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The state of Queensland is about to declare ‘sovereignty’ over its native
plants and animals. Late last month, the state’s environment minister Molly
Robson announced that the Queensland government is going to amend the Nature
Conservation Act to give the state outright ownership of its flora and fauna
and guarantee that it shares in any profits made from exploiting them. This
is the first time any government has taken such action.

Queensland’s move stems from the Biodiversity Convention signed at the
Earth Summit last June in Rio de Janeiro. The treaty was in part a response
to complaints by developing countries that their plants and animals are
being plundered by rich nations in search of better seeds, farm animals,
and drugs. The treaty urges countries to take control of their genetic resources.

The action was essential to halt a ‘systematic search of our biota’
by foreign laboratories and pharmaceuticals companies, says Gordon Guymer,
head of the Queensland Herbarium and a prime mover behind the amendments.
He says researchers are especially interested in natural compounds with
anti-HIV or anticancer properties which are potentially ‘million-dollar
earners’. Guymer claims some collectors are ‘operating through the back
door’ without approval. Robson says the new legislation will allow the Queensland
government to crack down on these ‘unscrupulous individuals’.

The announcement took the country’s chief scientist, Michael Pitman,
by surprise. Pitman recently set up a working party to examine the complex
issues surrounding access to Australia’s biological resources.

The head of the working party, John Bell, who is also deputy secretary
of the federal Department of Industry, Technology, and Regional Development,
says Queensland may not have the power under the Australian constitution
to declare sovereignty over its biota. Roger Smith, head of seed conservation
at the Royal Botanic Gardens at Kew, says there is no need for governments
to declare sovereignty over their genetic resources because once a country
ratifies the biodiversity treaty, the convention assumes it automatically.

Queensland argues that because it is responsible for wildlife conservation,
and owns resources such as water and minerals, it has the right to own and
profit from its plants and animals. ‘It’s like a mining lease or permit,’
Guymer says.