Politics, Culture, and Governance in the Development of Prior Informed Consent in Indigenous Communities/Comments/Reply

Two projects funded under the International Cooperative Biodiversity Groups (ICBG), one working with Aguaruna people in Peru and another working with Maya people in Chiapas, Mexico have struggled with identification of appropriate representation of community interests and with concerted campaigns by nongovernmental organizations to halt their efforts despite broad interest among the indigenous communities they contacted. Rosenthal summarizes the relevant aspects of the history of these two landmark projects and draw some lessons about the role of culture, politics, and local governance in the differing outcomes of their efforts. Comments on the study and Rosenthal's reply are presented.