The core argument was first presented in a keynote address to the Puerto Rican Association of Economists in San Juan, Puerto Rico, 26 August 2005. The manuscript was subsequently revised and appeared as “Una propuesta basada en ‘La tragedia de los comunes’: Un museo de bioprospección, de los derechos de propiedad intelectual y del conocimiento público,” Revista de Ciencias Sociales, núm. 16, invierno 2007, 118–135. The English translation first appeared in The Nexus of Law and Biology: New Ethical Challenges by Barbara A. Hocking, ed. (London: Ashgate, 2009). Support has been provided by The Institutional Research Fund (FIPI) of The Office of the Dean of Graduate Studies and Research (DEGI) of The University of Puerto Rico-Río Piedras.

Introduction

“The Tragedy of the Commons” by Garrett Hardin (1968) is one of the most cited articles in all of science. Having taught the tragedy in its distilled version for many years, I have only recently re-read the original article. I am startled to find that the text holds important and overlooked lessons for access to genetic resources and fair and equitable benefi t-sharing (ABS). I will take a few quotes, shamelessly out of context, and apply them to ABS. What emerges is a proposal for a “Museum of Bioprospecting, Intellectual Property Rights and the Public Domain” that is wholly consistent with both the letter and spirit in which Hardin penned his oeuvre.