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One of the most recently funded groups, known as the Maya ICBG, is being carried out in the Highland region of Chiapas Mexico. The area of study is based on cultural and linguistic factors as well as topographical and environmental characteristics. Although the Maya ICBG is primarily driven by ethnoscientific principles, a concurrent regional botanical survey is being undertaken as part of the biodiversity conservation commitment of the program. This survey will also yield opportunities for random collection of botanical species that will be subjected to phytochemical and pharmacological analysis to test the relative efficiency of ethnomedically driven vs. random screening. This ICBG also differs from sister groups in that one Associate Program is dedicated to community development, natural resource and cultural conservation. It is our goal to develop natural products for the alternative therapy market and agroecological programs, as well as to discover and develop patentable pharmaceuticals. A major emphasis of the group is to return cultural as well as economic benefits in the form of books, videos, and community gardens, to name a few. Lack of well-defined laws governing biotechnological research and development in Mexico has contributed to a prolonged delay in initiation of the screening programs of Associate Program 1. However, we currently report progress to date in Associate Programs 2 and 3 including technology transfer, capacity building, community development, and botanical surveys. Inglés