Biopiracy is associated with which of the following?

The correct answer is Option (4) → Use of bio-resources by multinational companies without proper authorisation and compensatory payment

Biopiracy means taking a country’s bio-resources, or its people’s traditional knowledge about them, without permission and without paying for them. It is usually done by multinational companies from rich nations, while the bio-resources and the knowledge come mostly from developing nations.

Option (1) Transfer of genes from one species to another to produce transgenic organisms — Incorrect. This is genetic engineering. Transgenic organisms such as Bt cotton or transgenic mice are made this way. It is a technique, not the unfair use of another country’s resources.

Option (2) Conservation of the bio-resources of a region in protected areas such as biosphere reserves — Incorrect. Keeping bio-resources safe in biosphere reserves, national parks and sanctuaries is in situ conservation. It protects biodiversity; biopiracy exploits it.

Option (3) Development of new crop varieties from local bio-resources through conventional plant breeding — Incorrect. Plant breeding develops better varieties from the genetic variety of a crop. When a country does this with its own bio-resources, it is legitimate use, not biopiracy.

Option (4) Use of bio-resources by multinational companies without proper authorisation and compensatory payment — Correct. This is the book’s definition of biopiracy. The companies use bio-resources and the traditional knowledge about them without the consent of the countries and people concerned, and without paying them.

NCERT Extract:
Biopiracy – “Biopiracy is the term used to refer to the use of bio-resources by multinational companies and other organisations without proper authorisation from the countries and people concerned without compensatory payment. Most of the industrialised nations are rich financially but poor in biodiversity and traditional knowledge. In contrast the developing and the underdeveloped world is rich in biodiversity and traditional knowledge related to bio-resources. Traditional knowledge related to bio-resources can be exploited to develop modern applications and can also be used to save time, effort and expenditure during their commercialisation.”