RAS question
Bioprospecting refers to:
Correct answer: (A) Searching for biological resources with commercial potential.
Bioprospecting is the systematic search for biological resources, genetic resources, or biochemical compounds that may have commercial value.
Explanation
Bioprospecting means looking through biodiversity for commercially valuable genetic and biochemical resources. The cited Convention on Biological Diversity note defines biodiversity prospecting, or bioprospecting, as exploration of biodiversity for commercially valuable genetic and biochemical resources, and also describes it as gathering information from the biosphere's genetic resources for developing new commercial products. The search is systematic and is aimed at possible pharmaceutical, agricultural, or industrial applications. The Nagoya Protocol matters because discoveries from biological resources raise the question of benefit sharing, not merely scientific collection.
Why the other options are wrong
- (B) Oil exploration deals with petroleum resources, while bioprospecting concerns biodiversity, genetic resources, and biochemical compounds with possible commercial value.
- (C) Gold mining is extraction of a mineral resource, whereas bioprospecting is the search within biological resources for useful genetic or biochemical material.
- (D) Weather forecasting predicts atmospheric conditions; it does not involve exploring biodiversity for commercially useful biological compounds or genetic resources.
Concept
This tests the Environment and Ecology concept of biodiversity use, especially how biological resources can generate economic value while requiring benefit-sharing safeguards. It recurs in RAS because terms such as bioprospecting connect biodiversity, biotechnology, conservation incentives, and the Nagoya Protocol.