Indicator: LD-10 Number of compounds from terrestrial sources at some stage of commercial development
Data
The actual number of compounds at some stage of development is not currently available. Some useful discussion of the potential for drug discovery from Australian native biota can be found in "Australian biodiversity via its plants and marine organisms. A high-throughput screening approach to drug discovery".
What the data mean
The number of compound, or products being developed from them, would not be environmentally significant in its own right but provide a baseline for tracking changes in the contribution of medicines and other biological compounds from land sources to human life which may result from either the declining condition of the resource or from societal responses to that decline. It would be useful to track development of these materials, and availability of these materials, against future declines and/or improvements in the aspects of the land environment that are vulnerable to degradation, including degradation as a result of their extraction.
Issues for which this is an indicator and why
Many terrestrial organisms are a source of potentially useful biological compounds, including medicines. Number of compounds at some stage of commercial development is indicative of the land’s past, current and potential future contribution to medicine and science.
Biodiversity - Utilisation and value of biodiversity - Harvesting and trade in wildlife
Trends in the development of medicines and other useful compounds from terrestrial biodiversity would be indicative of a significant use of biodiversity.
Other indicators for this issue:
- BD-23 Some selected nationally significant native terrestrial species subjected to harvesting and population trends
- CO-07 Australian fisheries production - national tonnage and value of retained catch
- CO-09 Number of compounds from coastal and marine sources at some stage of commercial development
- CO-16 Status of Australian fisheries
- CO-17 Change in species and trophic structure of fish species caught
- CO-19 Estimated tonnage taken by illegal fishing; estimated number of illegal boats, estimated number of individuals of threatened species taken
- CO-20 Non-target effects: Area of seabeds trawled
- CO-21 Non-target effects: Number and/or weight taken as bycatch, and change since introduction of exclusion devices
- CO-32 Number of injuries to marine animals from marine debris
- CO-62 Estimated number of marine animals harvested by recreational fishers
- CO-63 Estimated number of marine animals harvested by indigenous fishers
- CO-65 Correlation between various human activities and introduction of coastal and marine species
- AAT-19 Annual catch in tonnes of marine species harvested in Australian Antarctic and sub-Antarctic waters - legal and illegal
- AAT-20 Fishing by-catch numbers and/or weight taken as bycatch
Human Settlements - Services provided by the environment to human settlements - Medicines and biological compounds
Biological compounds derived from terrestrial sources are important contributions to the health and welfare of human settlements.
Other indicators for this issue:
Key
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