The Suriname International Cooperative Biodiversity Group program: Lessons from the first five years

The International Cooperative Biodiversity Group (ICBG) work in Suriname over the last five years is described. Plants were collected on a botanical basis by collectors from Missouri Botanical Garden (MBG), and on an ethnobotanical basis by collectors from Conservation International (CI). Plant extracts were prepared by Bedrijf Geneesmiddelen Voorziening Suriname (BGVS), and bioassays and isolation chemistry were carried out at BGVS, Bristol-Myers Squibb Pharmaceutical Research Institute (BMS), and Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University (VPISU). A Forest Peoples' Fund was established with advance compensation from BMS. Plant collections by MBG yielded 19 new additions to the flora of Suriname and one completely new species. Conservation and development work by CI has included workshops, training courses, and the use of the Forest Peoples' Fund to support small scale economic development activities. In addition, the Central Suriname Nature Preserve was recently established by the Government of Suriname in cooperation with CI, in part as a result of ICBG activities. Plant collections by MBG and CI provided over 5,000 extracts for bioassay, and work on these extracts at VPISU has led to the isolation of bioactive alkaloids, terpenoids, and polyketides as cytotoxic agents.