scholarly journals Traditional Knowledge on Genetic Resources: Safeguarding the Cultural Sustenance of Indigenous Communities

2012 ◽  
Vol 8 (7) ◽  
Author(s):  
Wan Izatul Asma Wan Talaat ◽  
Norhayati Mohd Tahir ◽  
Mohd Lokman Husain
2013 ◽  
Vol 47 (4) ◽  
pp. 1403-1433 ◽  
Author(s):  
CHRISTOPH ANTONS

AbstractTraditional knowledge related to biodiversity, agriculture, medicine and artistic expressions has recently attracted much interest amongst policy makers, legal academics and social scientists. Several United Nations organizations, such as the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) and the Convention on Biological Diversity under the United Nations Environmental Programme (UNEP), have been working on international models for the protection of such knowledge held by local and indigenous communities. Relevant national, regional or provincial level legislation comes in the form of intellectual property laws and laws related to health, heritage or environmental protection. In practice, however, it has proven difficult to agree on definitions of the subject matter, to delineate local communities and territories holding the knowledge, and to clearly identify the subjects and beneficiaries of the protection. In fact, claims to ‘cultural property’ and heritage have led to conflicts and tensions between communities, regions and nations. This paper will use Southeast Asian examples and case studies to show the importance of concepts such as Zomia, ‘regions of refuge’ and mandala as well as ‘borderlands’ studies to avoid essentialized notions of communities and cultures in order to develop a nuanced understanding of the difficulties for national and international lawmaking in this field. It will also develop a few suggestions on how conflicts and tensions could be avoided or ameliorated.


2012 ◽  
Vol 19 (3) ◽  
pp. 401-422 ◽  
Author(s):  
Krishna Ravi Srinivas

AbstractThe experience of the indigenous communities regarding access and benefit sharing under the national regimes based on provisions of Convention on Biological Diversity and Bonn Guidelines has not been satisfactory. The communities expect that noncommercial values should be respected and misappropriation should be prevented. Some academics and civil society groups have suggested that traditional knowledge commons and biocultural protocols will be useful in ensuring that while noncommercial values are respected, access and benefit sharing takes place on conditions that are acceptable to the communities. This proposal is examined in this context in the larger context of access and benefit sharing under the Convention on Biological Diversity and implementing prior informed consent principles in access and benefit sharing. This article examines knowledge commons, provides examples from constructed commons in different sectors and situates traditional knowledge commons in the context of debates on commons and public domain. The major shortcomings of traditional commons and bicultural protocol are pointed out, and it is suggested that these are significant initiatives that can be combined with the Nagoya Protocol to fulfill the expectations of indigenous communities.


Author(s):  
Maria Alejandra Hernandez Marentes ◽  
Martina Venturi ◽  
Silvia Scaramuzzi ◽  
Marco Focacci ◽  
Antonio Santoro

AbstractChagras are complex agroforestry systems developed by indigenous populations of the Amazon region based on shifting agriculture, as part of a system that includes harvesting of wild fruits and plants, hunting and fishing. During the centuries, thanks to their traditional knowledge, indigenous populations have developed a deep relationship with the surrounding environment, as, living in remote places, they must be self-sufficient. The result is the chagra, a system whose cycle is based on seven basic steps to establish a successful and sustainable system, starting from place selection and ending with the abandonment of the plot after harvesting of the products. After the abandonment, the forest starts to grow again to allow the agroecosystem to recover and to take advantage of the residual vegetal material to avoid erosion. The paper takes into consideration the Indigenous Reserve of Monochoa in Colombia as an example of how traditional knowledge can support a rich biodiversity conservation. Moreover, differently from other parts of the world where there is a growing contrast between indigenous communities and protected areas, in the Indigenous Reserve of Monochoa local communities have been recognized as the owners of the land. Results highlighted the crucial role of the indigenous communities for biodiversity conservation. The preservation and adaptation of traditional knowledge and practices, a decentralized autonomous governance system demonstrates that local communities not only can be part of ecosystems with unique biodiversity, but that they can represent the main actors for an active conservation of biodiversity. Agroforestry systems based on traditional forest-related knowledge can therefore be an effective alternative to biodiversity and ecosystem services conservation based on strict nature protection where humans are perceived as a negative factor.


2014 ◽  
Vol 1 (2) ◽  
pp. 68-71
Author(s):  
Nithya Jeniffer P ◽  
Manish Kumar ◽  
Logan Kumar K

Traditional knowledge on plant has a long-standing history in many indigenous communities, and continues to provide useful tools for treating various diseases. Tribal communities living in biodiversity rich areas possess a wealth of knowledge on the utilization and conservation of food and medicinal plants. They are well versed in the usage of plant for treating various diseases. The present study carryout by survey method aimed to identifying the plants used for the general health of the tribal communities such as Kadar, Muthuvar and Malai Malasars of Western Ghats region. Ethno medicinal information was gathered throughquestionnaire from the majority of tribal people of Valparai hills Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu. All the traditional and other knowledge related to the collection and consumption of the medicinal plants, their environment on which communities depends was documented. The present study observed that, the tribal peoples from valparai having knowledge of 29 species on the traditional medicine. These tribes are one of the major conservators of environments. Their traditional knowledge can be utilized for the breeding technology of variety of threatened species and develop for the biodiversity conservation as well as for pharmacological research in various dimensions.


2015 ◽  
Vol 3 (1) ◽  
pp. 117-128
Author(s):  
Nur Muhammed ◽  
Theresa Antonia Muthu

This study was conducted in Murut indigenous people inhibited two villages of Keningau district of Sabah Borneo which is blessed with vast cultural diversities. In this regard, 120 randomly selected households from the Nabaai and Gana tribes of Murut community were investigated with a view to identify their homestead plants, use pattern and also their Traditional Knowledge on plant utilization. Five major research tools (e.g., review of secondary information, key Informant interview, household survey with semi-structured questionnaire and focus group discussion) was employed in this study. It is found that the plant species found in the homestead of the Nabaai and Gana tribes are utilized for three main reasons i.e., i) food production, ii) medicine, and iii) fuel wood. There are 23 utilization pattern has been identified in this study which is much lesser than what was found a decade ago (68 utilization). The Nabaai and Gana tribes practice Traditional Knowledge in their daily life especially, in medicinal plant utilization. The findings also show that most of the Traditional Knowledge on plant utilization is lying with the respondents with low income group (59%) because of their high dependency on utilization of the surrounding resources in their daily life. Appropriate steps to preserve and conserve the Traditional Knowledge on plant utilization possessed and practiced by the Murut indigenous communities are deemed necessary before this huge nature treasure is forgotten.


2020 ◽  
Vol 29 (2) ◽  
pp. 25
Author(s):  
Paweł Gała

<p>Traditional knowledge, including genetic resources of living organisms, especially plants, plays an extremely important role also in the development of modern science and present-day industry. This prompts us to consider the need, scope, and model of legal protection for such knowledge, both for the needs of the communities that create and cultivate it and for the wider public good. The present article includes an analysis of international legal regulations concerning the protection of traditional knowledge, with particular emphasis on the knowledge related to genetic resources, as well as legal works in this field. The considerations cover issues related to the development of the conceptual framework of such legal norms and the foundations of the legal protection of traditional knowledge, in particular the arguments concerning the need for such protection. The article also presents the basic types of intellectual property rights that can be the basis for legal protection of traditional knowledge.</p>


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