66
3
In environmental studies, Maarten Hajer (1995) and John Dryzek (1997) introduced discourse analyses that have later been applied and further elaborated by
other scholars in the field.
Within a topic, we may identify and analyse which discourses are produced. We
call a collection of discourses on a topic a discourse order (Fairclouch 1995).
Furthermore, we find it useful to put a particular emphasis on leading discourses.
These discourses have consequences in terms of political and administrative decisions, and thereby, for instance, for the governance of natural resources.
Moreover, we can consider a discourse to be hegemonic if there are no other
leading discourses in the same field, so that this discourse dominates policy- making
and practice. Actors who contribute to leading or hegemonic discourses exercise
discursive power.
In the following, we present two discourses that during a large period have been
leading on the topic of bioprospecting. Both these discourses have influenced elements of politics and practices without being dominating. To identify these discourses, empirical data have been collected through participant observation at
international meetings and conferences, as well as by examination of written
sources.
3.2 The Bioprospecting Win-Win Discourse
There is a bioprospecting win-win discourse entailing a message that bioprospecting is an activity which is beneficial for all actors involved. Companies earn money
from the sale of new medicines that they develop. The medicines benefit patients,
and there has been a focus on remedies to combating cancer and HIV/
AIDS. Furthermore, from the win-win discourse it is argued that given the introduction of specific regulations, bioprospectors will pay part of the incomes accrued
from new medicines to the countries in which the relevant bioprospecting has taken
place. This often means tropical countries in the Global South that have a great
biological diversity and extensive traditional knowledge about medicinal effects of
plants. Besides bioprospectors themselves, conservation organizations have played
a key role in establishing this discourse. Conservationists have argued that revenues
from bioprospecting should in part go both to finance conservation and to compensate the local collaborators of the bioprospectors. In this way, people in areas of
abundant biodiversity will see that preserving diversity leads to economic benefits.
From the early 1990s, the win-win discourse integrated elements of discourse
production by four groups of actors. The first group consists of scientists specialized in biological and chemical studies of natural products, including traditional
medicines. The second group includes scientists concerned with conservation biology, a field of biology concentrated on methods for protecting nature, while the
third includes conservationists in organizations such as the World Wide Fund for
Nature (WWF), the International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural
Resources (IUCN) and the World Resources Institute (WRI), and the fourth consists of pharmaceutical companies.
Chapter 3 · Discourses and Narratives on Environment and Development: The Example…
3
In environmental studies, Maarten Hajer (1995) and John Dryzek (1997) introduced discourse analyses that have later been applied and further elaborated by
other scholars in the field.
Within a topic, we may identify and analyse which discourses are produced. We
call a collection of discourses on a topic a discourse order (Fairclouch 1995).
Furthermore, we find it useful to put a particular emphasis on leading discourses.
These discourses have consequences in terms of political and administrative decisions, and thereby, for instance, for the governance of natural resources.
Moreover, we can consider a discourse to be hegemonic if there are no other
leading discourses in the same field, so that this discourse dominates policy- making
and practice. Actors who contribute to leading or hegemonic discourses exercise
discursive power.
In the following, we present two discourses that during a large period have been
leading on the topic of bioprospecting. Both these discourses have influenced elements of politics and practices without being dominating. To identify these discourses, empirical data have been collected through participant observation at
international meetings and conferences, as well as by examination of written
sources.
3.2 The Bioprospecting Win-Win Discourse
There is a bioprospecting win-win discourse entailing a message that bioprospecting is an activity which is beneficial for all actors involved. Companies earn money
from the sale of new medicines that they develop. The medicines benefit patients,
and there has been a focus on remedies to combating cancer and HIV/
AIDS. Furthermore, from the win-win discourse it is argued that given the introduction of specific regulations, bioprospectors will pay part of the incomes accrued
from new medicines to the countries in which the relevant bioprospecting has taken
place. This often means tropical countries in the Global South that have a great
biological diversity and extensive traditional knowledge about medicinal effects of
plants. Besides bioprospectors themselves, conservation organizations have played
a key role in establishing this discourse. Conservationists have argued that revenues
from bioprospecting should in part go both to finance conservation and to compensate the local collaborators of the bioprospectors. In this way, people in areas of
abundant biodiversity will see that preserving diversity leads to economic benefits.
From the early 1990s, the win-win discourse integrated elements of discourse
production by four groups of actors. The first group consists of scientists specialized in biological and chemical studies of natural products, including traditional
medicines. The second group includes scientists concerned with conservation biology, a field of biology concentrated on methods for protecting nature, while the
third includes conservationists in organizations such as the World Wide Fund for
Nature (WWF), the International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural
Resources (IUCN) and the World Resources Institute (WRI), and the fourth consists of pharmaceutical companies.
Chapter 3 · Discourses and Narratives on Environment and Development: The Example…