) With a Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of about $1,140 per capita, and a Human Development Index (HDI) ranking of 121 out of 175, Vietnam is one of the least developed nations in the world. Similarly, Laos, with a GDP of $850 and a HDI ranking of 136 out of 175, is another of the least developed nations. Both countries possess a high tropical biodiversity. Yet these rich biodiversities are under threat: the rate of deforestation is estimated at 600 sq km/year for Vietnam, and 1,00 sq km/year for Laos. Clearly, whatever tropical biodiversity each of these two countries still has must be protected, and, as a resource, must be investigated for its economic potential. A demonstration that these forests could provide new medicines and general revenue for the country would help strengthen the cause of protecting these highly diverse ecosystems. In view of a long- standing relationship that exists between the organization of the Principal Investigator, the Program for Collaborative Research in the Pharmaceutical Sciences at the University of Illinois at Chicago (PCRPS/LAC), and two research institutions in Vietnam, the National Center for Natural Sciences and Technology and the Cuc Phuong National Park, on the one hand, and between the PCRPS/UIC and the Research Institute for Medicinal Plants in Laos, on the other, a proposal is made to carry out a collaborative study for an initial period of five years. The long-term objectives of the study are (1) to undertake a documented inventory of tropical forest plant diversity and medicinal plant use in these countries (Cuc Phuong National Park in Vietnam, and ethnobotanical surveys of selective tribal groups in Laos); (2) to discovered novel biologically active molecules from plants from both countries as possible candidates for drug development in the treatment of malaria, viral diseases (including AIDS) and CNS-related diseases; and (3) to improve the standard of living of the members of the tribal communities studied, and of the countries in general, through community education and biomass production of plants that have been identified as having promising economic potential, particularly medicinal potential. An industrial partner, Glaxo Wellcome Research and Development Limited, Stevenage, UK, will strengthen this PCRPS/UIC-based International Cooperative Biodiversity Group (ICBG).
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