The discoverers

(First of two parts)

International (e.g. CNN, BBC, Times, etc.) and local news organizations recently reported the discovery or “rediscovery” of a rat-eating plant in the mountains of Palawan. Detailed information about the said plant is found in a paper published by six authors (A. Robinson, A Fleischmann, S. Mcpherson, V. Heinrich, E. Gironella and C. Peña) in the Botanical Journal of the Linnean Society [Volume 159, pp. 195-202 (2009)]. The particular pitcher plant species has been named Nepenthes L., N. attenboroughii (Nepenthaceae), in honor of a famous British natural history broadcaster. The international news reports mentioned the names of the non-Filipino authors as the discoverers and did not give credit explicitly to the other two Filipino co-authors. One news article noted the presence of guides that helped in the Palawan expedition that resulted in this discovery. (news.bbc.co.uk/earth/hi/earth_news/newsid_8195000/8195029.stm)

Our country with its more than 7,000 islands is considered a biodiversity hot spot for both terrestrial and marine life forms. The Philippine government is encouraging its scientists to engage in research collaborations with foreign counterparts in the ardent hope of accelerating our country’s capability to produce new scientific knowledge. These projects would serve to train graduate students and researchers towards obtaining their MS and PhD degrees and encourage them to pursue postdoctoral studies in the basic and applied sciences, mathematics and engineering. These efforts would then help produce the critical pool of expert scientific manpower required to drive and sustain knowledge-driven development in our country.  

Some technological inventions do not exist prior to their conceptualization and testing, while other inventions draw from models from nature. In both cases, clearly intellectual property and recognition belong to the inventors. On the other hand, identifying and classifying a plant, animal or microorganism as a new species is perceived by many simply as a way to call attention to the wonders of nature and to document unique, interesting biodiversity, i.e., relate the newly discovered species with other known species based on established taxonomic characters. Recognition is given to those who first report new species in peer-reviewed taxonomy journals, and the unwritten rule is that the “discoverers” have the right to name the new species as they wish, within certain prescribed taxonomic guidelines.

But the said plants and animals are not really new — they have existed for hundreds of years prior to being found. The continued presence of exotic pitcher plants in Palawan up to this day owes much to the care rendered by indigenous peoples such as the Tagbanuas and Cuyunens to their pristine environment. Why not name the interesting pitcher plant in honor of one of these tribes?

In elementary school, we were taught that Ferdinand Magellan discovered our country (us). For a while, and helped by the popularity of a novelty song named after the Portuguese navigator, we grew up wrestling with the thought that our nation did not exist before March 16, 1521. We were wrong, of course. But such kind of thinking contributes to our great difficulty to achieve collective confidence as a people — a crucial element in the development of a genuine scientific culture.

If influential news organizations, many of them based in industrialized countries, are ambivalent or condescending of the scientific contributions and know-how of local experts, then what is the purpose of working with foreign collaborators and giving them precious access to our national patrimony?

(To be concluded)

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Caesar Saloma, PhD, is a professor of the National Institute of Physics and dean of the College of Science, UP Diliman. He is a member of the National Academy of Science and Technology and a recipient of the 2008 ASEAN Outstanding Scientist and Technologist Award from the ASEAN Committee on Science and Technology and the 2004 Galileo Galilei Award from the International Commission for Optics. E-mail him at [email protected].

Gisela P. Concepcion, PhD, is a professor of the Marine Science Institute and chairs the Dean’s Office on Special Initiatives for the Advancement of the Sciences, College of Science, UP Diliman. She leads the PharmaSeas and PMS-ICBG programs at UP MSI. She is a member of the National Academy of Science and Technology. E-mail her at [email protected].