There is little doubt that in the future we will find new ways of utilizing natural resources that are unexploited today. This can be the foundation of new industries and places of work.. Today we have an increasing interest in harvesting of kelp along the coast. The kelp contains several substances that can be utilized in the industry. And who would have thought 30 years ago that Iceland scallop would be used commercially?
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| Sea urchins can become a new important export product. The Japanese see this animal as a delicacy. |
It is a well known matter that many animals and plants contain substances with medical effects. From Norwegian folk medicine we know hundreds of plants being used to treat diseases. In fact, over 40 % of all the medicaments we use, are based on substances from the nature. Just a tiny fraction of the living organisms have been screened, so there is little doubt that we will discover new substances from the species surrounding us. In 1969 it was discovered a fungus on Hardangervidda that had substances that could moderate the body's immune defense. This was the beginning of the medicament Cyclosporin that today is used world wide in transplant surgery. Maybe there exist medicaments against HIV, cancer and other yet unknown diseases in a plant, or a microorganism here in North-Norway?
We know little about which species will be important in the future. When species are being exterminated we reduce at the same time our own and our descendants potentialities.
