NACLA
March/April 2002
By Barbara Belejack

The road from the airport at Tuxtla Gutiérrez to San Cristóbal in Chiapas, Mexico wends its way from balmy tropics to cloud covered mountains; a remarkable diversity of topography and climate for a drive of less than two hours. Those extremes of climate and topography make Chiapas rich in plant biodiversity. It is this diversity which has long made the region attractive to botanists -- and to so-called bioprospectors seeking plants which can be turned into pharmaceutical drugs, pesticides, or other marketable products.

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