This website is the creation of a motley team of University of Arizona honors biology students bent on ruling the world (or just a shot in hell at getting into med school). The content of this site is based on two articles recently published about the International Cooperative Biodiversity Group (ICBG) programs (see references). The ICBG (1993-2003) is funded by the National Institutes of Health (NIH), the National Science Foundation (NSF), and the USDA. Thank you for taking the time to look over the goals and accomplishments of this important and interesting project. We hope this site serves as a good introduction to the Latin American ICBG and that you will pursue further information through their official website and related links (see links).

ICBG Collaborators from Latin America

From left to right: Enrique Suarez (Argentina), Rachel Mata (Mexico), Robert Bye (Mexico), Barbara Timmermann (USA), Ana Maria Beeskow (Argentina), and Gloria Montenegro (Chile).

Mission and Background
The Latin American International Cooperative Biodiversity Group program (LA ICBG) was established to study semi-arid region biodiversity in Meso and South America in the hopes of discovering natural products suitable for pharmaceutical and pesticide development. It is the first ever large-scale drug discovery study of dryland biodiversity to be undertaken following the International Convention of Biodiversity. Initial findings from the study of semi-arid plants demonstrate potentials for medicines that would target infectious disease and cardiovascular and central nervous system disorders to name a few. However, of equal importance is the project's ability to foster and encourage conservation and sustainable economic development, transforming the concept of biodiversity from a resource to be reaped, into an asset to be developed and protected. The project will also be the first to describe and establish a database of hundreds, even thousands, of dryland plant and endophytic microbe species never before studied or recorded. The activities of the project will also be used as teaching vehicles for college students of all levels, including undergraduate, graduate, and post-doc students. Although pharmaceutical or agrochemical leads may not manifest themselves, many well trained and experienced scientists as well as large quantities of data about dryland biodiversity will certainly be valuable products of the LA ICBG's efforts.