International
Cooperative Biodiversity Groups Program
The
ICBG Program not only brings together
partners from developed and developing
countries, but also creates links between
industry, academia and conservation
organizations. Josh Rosenthal - who
studied botany and ecology at the
University of California, Berkeley - is
in charge of keeping the initiative on
track. - GJM
The International Cooperative
Biodiversity Groups (ICBG) Program is an
integrated conservation and development
initiative set up in 1992 by the National
Institutes of Health, National Science
Foundation and Agency for International
Development of the United States. The
Program has three goals: biodiversity
conservation, sustainable economic
activity and drug discovery. It seeks to
accomplish these through the development
of pharmaceuticals from natural products
for the treatment of diseases in both the
developing and developed world.
The development of new drugs is
facilitated by linking organizations and
indigenous peoples from developing
countries with academic and industrial
partners from the United States. The
Program is also active in building
scientific capacity within participating
countries, by providing infrastructure
and training opportunities. The Program
seeks to develop and implement innovative
agreements to ensure that equitable
economic benefits from these discoveries
are returned to the country of origin and
to the community or group which
facilitated the discovery.
"One of the pitfalls of
“bioprospecting” ... is the
danger of falling into a new form of
colonialism - extracting and
exporting raw materials from
developing countries without
increasing the capacities of the
countries to develop and export their
own products.
The ICBG projects are pioneers in
developing legal agreements and
procedures to prevent the possibility
of resource exploitation in
third-world countries. The aim is to
ensure, through legal agreements,
that the host countries, villages and
organizations taking part in the
effort share equitably in the
benefits of whatever drugs are
discovered. Setting up these
contractual agreements, however, has
required far more time and energy
than participants expected. As they
scratched the surface, a host of
tough issues emerged: How to ensure
that the project's contractual
arrangements met the highest
standards of fairness, including full
disclosure and informed consent? How
to protect against over-exploitation
of commercial harvesting of plants?
What if local authorities object that
sacred knowledge or substances should
not be made public or should not be
commercialized? What if a particular
plant extract does not turn out to be
a useful drug in itself, but provides
an intellectual lead that assists
researchers in the development of a
valuable drug - who should share in
the economic benefits and patent
protection?"
Anonymous.
1996. Finding medicines in the
forest: can shamans point the way?
Frontiers (Newsletter of the National
Science Foundation), March:4-6.
CONTACT
- Joshua
Rosenthal, Biodiversity
Program
Director, Fogarty International
Center, National
Institutes of Health, Building
31, B2C39, 31
CENTER Dr MSC 2220,
Bethesda, MD
20892-2220, USA;
Tel.
+1.301.4962516, Fax
+1.301.4022056, e-mail
joshua_rosenthal@nih.gov
To
assist you in obtaining information
regarding the Fogarty International
Center Biodiversity Program,
International Cooperative Biodiversity
Groups (ICBG), and Report of Special
Panel of Experts on the International
Cooperative Biodiversity Groups (ICBG),
internet addresses are as follows:
Back
The Rainforest
Alliance
The Rainforest Alliance first attracted
the attention of ethnobotanists with its
Periwinkle Project on medicinal plants,
spearheaded by Sarah Laird. Since Charles
Zerner - a Southeast Asia specialist and
lawyer - joined the staff in 1992, the
Alliance has been increasingly active in
intellectual property and resource rights
issues. - GJM
The Rainforest Alliance is an
international, non-profit organization
dedicated to the conservation of tropical
forests. It seeks to develop and promote
economically viable and socially
desirable alternatives to the destruction
of endangered habitats and biological
diversity through education, research in
the social and natural sciences, and
establishing partnerships with
businesses, government and local
communities.
The
Natural Resources and Rights Program
(NRRP) of the Rainforest Alliance seeks
to integrate concerns for pluralistic
societies and for social and economic
justice with community-based conservation
and resource management programs.
The NRRP pursues these goals by promoting
field research and projects which
emphasize the relationships between
community, culture, biodiversity and
property rights. It is active in
Southeast Asia, the South Pacific and
Latin America. In Indonesia, the NRRP is
working with local researchers to
evaluate community-based tenurial control
of reefs in the Maluku and Sangihe
Islands. In the South Pacific, in
collaboration with plant chemists, marine
biologists, patent lawyers, government
officials and community leaders, the NRRP
is shaping a progressive social and
environmental agenda for biodiversity
prospecting. An important goal of the
NRRP is to influence environmental policy
and education by stimulating and
disseminating original research. The NRRP
has commissioned case studies of the
social and environmental effects of
tropical resource extraction in Asia,
Latin America and Africa, which will be
published in a book, People, Plants and
Justice.
" ... community-based
institutions and customary laws may
be used to develop contemporary
conservation and economic development
programs. Examples can be found
throughout Asia, the South Pacific
and Africa ...
There
are many lessons to be learned from
existing institutions about local
control and incentives. Where
these institutions still function, we
can develop programs and policies
that provide support on the national
and international level. Where they
are weakened, we can understand what
forces are undermining them. Where
these institutions don't exist, we
may assist in developing them."
From:
Anonymous. 1994. Alliance program
spotlights natural resources and
rights [Interview with Charles
Zerner].
The
Canopy Winter:1,4-5.
CONTACT
- Charles
Zerner, Program Director,
or
Ina F. Chaudhury, Program
Assistant, The
Rainforest Alliance, 65 Bleecker
Street, New
York, NY 10012, USA; Tel.
+1.212.6771900, Fax
+1.212.6772187, e-mail canopy@igc.apc.org
- Diane
Jukofsky or Chris Willie,
Co-Directors,
Latin American Office,
The
Rainforest Alliance, Apdo.
138-2150, Moravia,
San José, Costa Rica;
Tel.
+506.2363073, Fax
+506.2402543, e-mail
tcnbcr@huracan.cr
Back
World
Resources Institute
Apart from the activities described
below, the WRI supports a community law
program. Through seminars given in
various developing countries, the program
seeks to inform communities about their
property, resource and intellectual
property rights. For more information,
contact Owen Lynch.
-
GJM
The World Resources Institute (WRI) is an
independent policy research center
focusing on global environmental and
development issues. Within the Institute,
the Biological Resources and Institutions
Program has been working to develop new
policies and management regimes in order
to promote conservation and sustainable
development. In particular, research is
undertaken into the legal, economic,
ethical and conservation issues related
to genetic resource use. The Program
seeks to stimulate the establishment of
policies that will act as an incentive
for conservation and will promote
long-term development in those countries
which are the source of valuable genetic
resources. Initial work has focused on
the rights of local communities and use
of natural products in the pharmaceutical
industry. Recognition
of the value of local knowledge and of
the rights of local communities has been
promoted through workshops and the
process of writing The Global
Biodiversity Strategy.
The Strategy, developed by WRI, the
United Nations Environment Programme
(UNEP), and IUCN - the World Conservation
Union, is a comprehensive agenda of
policy reforms and conservation action by
which nations can preserve biodiversity
while utilizing its benefits for food,
medicines, chemicals and other
necessities. WRI’s work on natural
products in the pharmaceutical industry,
which included research into policy tools
and legal frameworks, resulted in the
report Biodiversity Prospecting
(co-published with Costa Rica’s
National Biodiversity Institute (INBio),
the African Centre for Technology Studies
and the Rainforest Alliance).
" ... there is no guarantee that
the institutions created to capture
the benefits of biodiversity will
contribute to economic growth in
developing countries. Quite the
opposite has been the case
historically. The chief commercial
beneficiaries of genetic and
biochemical resources found in
developing countries have been the
developed countries able to explore
for valuable resources, develop new
technologies based on the resources
and commercialize the products. The
Convention on Biological Diversity
provides a framework that may boost
developing countries’
negotiating strength and foster
needed investments in conservation,
but it will be up to individual
nations to pass the laws and
establish the regulations needed to
achieve these benefits. From a
conservation standpoint, unless
developing countries do realize
benefits from these resources,
summoning the political will to
conserve them will be
difficult."
From:
Reid, W.V., S.A. Laird, C.A. Meyer,
R. Gómez, A. Sittenfeld, D.H.
Janzen, M.A. Gollin and C. Juma,
editors. 1993. Biodiversity
Prospecting. WRI, Washington, DC.
CONTACT
- Walter
Reid, Vice-President, Biological
Resources and Institutions
Program, WRI, 1709
New York Avenue, NW,
Washington,
DC 20006, USA; Tel.
+1.202.6386300, Fax
+1.202.6380036
- Owen
J. Lynch, Senior Associate,
World
Resources Institute, 1709 New
York Avenue, NW, Washington,
DC 20006, USA; Tel.
+1.202.6622514, Fax
+1.202.6380036, e-mail owen@wri.org
- Copies
of Biodiversity Prospecting
and
The Global Biodiversity Strategy
can be obtained from:
WRI Publications, PO Box
4852, Hampden
Station, Baltimore, MD 21211,
USA; Tel.
+1.410.5166963, Fax
+1.410.5166998
Back
IUCN
Environmental Law Programme
In 1994, IUCN’s Environmental Law
Centre, together with the IUCN
Biodiversity Programme, published A Guide
to the Convention on Biological
Diversity, by Lyle Glowka, Francoise
Burhenne-Guilmin and Hugh Synge. It
explains the text of the Convention and
provides additional background material.
Spanish and French editions are now out,
and work is underway on Arabic and
Chinese versions. Other initiatives of
the IUCN - including its Indigenous
Peoples’ Programme - will be
described in future issues of the
Handbook. - ALH
.
Founded in 1948, IUCN - The World
Conservation Union brings together
States, government agencies and a diverse
range of non-governmental organizations
in a unique partnership of some 773
members spread across 123 countries. The
Union seeks to work with its members to
achieve development which provides a
lasting improvement in the quality of
life for people all over the world.
The mission of the IUCN Environmental Law
Programme (ELP) is to assist
societies in strengthening the
framework and implementation of
environmental law for conserving the
integrity and diversity of natural
environments, managing natural resources
and ensuring that any use of natural
resources is equitable and ecologically
sustainable. The Programme has four
goals: to promote the adoption of sound
international and national environmental
legal instruments; to provide technical
assistance and services in this field; to
build capacity in the field through
workshops, research fellowships, and
support of specialized regional centers;
and to monitor developments in the field
of environmental law and provide
information on them. Three integrated
units comprise the ELP: Environmental Law
Development, Environmental Law Services
and the Environmental Law Information
System. The ELP is carried out jointly by
the Commission on Environmental Law (CEL)
and the Environmental Law Centre (ELC).
CEL is a network of more than 200
international and environmental law
specialists in over 60 countries who,
usually on a volunteer basis, provide
time and expertise to support ELP
projects and other IUCN initiatives. All
activities are coordinated through the
ELC, a unit of IUCN headquarters
established in 1970, that develops and
manages projects, assists other IUCN
programs and serves as the Secretariat of
CEL.
"In some cases, indigenous
and local communities will be the
ultimate providers of genetic
resources and related knowledge.
Mechanisms might be explored which
guarantee respect for the wishes of
communities in whose territory
collecting activities are proposed.
Mechanisms might include (1)
identifying the communities living in
areas where collecting will occur;
(2) consultation by the government or
by a designated NGO with the
communities to ascertain their
interest in allowing collecting in
their territories and in negotiating
an agreement with the potential user;
(3) assisting communities to
negotiate terms of access and
benefit-sharing; and (4) reviewing
the agreement between a community and
a potential user of genetic resources
to ensure conformity with relevant
access criteria."
From:
Glowka, L. 1995. Determining Access
to Genetic Resources and Ensuring
Benefit-Sharing: Legal and
Institutional Considerations for
States Providing Genetic Resources.
Paper presented to the Global
Biodiversity Forum, 4 November,
Jakarta.
Back
Rural
Advancement Foundation International
RAFI is the pre-eminent international
organization concerned with patenting of
life and biogenetic resources. It is a
major source of information on the
unethical practices and exploitative
nature of the biotechnology,
agricultural, seed and pharmaceutical
industries. - DAP
 |
The
Rural Advancement Foundation
International (RAFI) is an
international non-governmental
organization that conducts
research on agricultural
biodiversity, biotechnology and
intellectual property. RAFI
also campaigns on policy issues
and practices related to plant
genetic resources. Studies
undertaken have included an
investigation into the
implications of intellectual
property rights and biodiversity
for indigenous peoples, for the
United Nations Development
Programme. This report, published
in both Spanish and English, is
entitled Conserving Indigenous
Knowledge: Integrating Two
Systems of Innovation. RAFI
produces regular publications,
including RAFI Communique and
an Occasional Paper Series,
both available free of charge on
RAFI’s home page on the
Internet. |
Titles
include Bioprospecting/Biopiracy and
Indigenous Peoples and COPs and Robbers:
Transfer Sourcing Indigenous Knowledge
and Pirating Medicinal Plants
(jointly produced with the Indigenous
Peoples Biodiversity Network).
 Possibly
two-thirds of the world’s
people could not survive without
the foods provided through
indigenous knowledge of plants,
animals, insects, microbes and
farming systems. |
‘... indigenous communities are
faced with a number of possible
policy strategies. Whichever strategy
they adopt, however, indigenous
communities should not move toward
environmental entrepreneurism but
toward collective self-reliance.
Bargaining between developing
countries and indigenous peoples on
the one hand and developed countries
and private industry on the other
hand should be undertaken within the
framework of intergovernmental
arrangements and on a collective
basis.
The
major strategies available to
indigenous communities include
adopting existing (and evolving)
intellectual property systems;
developing a sui generis system of
intellectual property protection;
entering bilateral contractual
arrangements; or creating a new
system combining various elements of
each of these.’
RAFI.
1994. Conserving Indigenous
Knowledge: Integrating Two Systems of
Innovation. United Nations
Development Programme, New York.
CONTACT
- Hope
Shand or Edward Hammond, RAFI,
P.O. Box 655, Pittsboro, NC
27312, USA; Tel. +1.919.5421396,
Fax +1.919.5420069, e-mail rafi@nando.net
- Pat
Roy Mooney, Executive Director,
RAFI, 71 Bank Street, Suite 504,
Ottawa, Ontario K1P 5N2, Canada;
Tel. +1.613.5676880, Fax
+1.613.5676884, e-mail
rafican@web.apc.org
Internet http://www.charm.net/rafi/rafihome.html
- To
obtain a complimentary copy of
Conserving Indigenous Knowledge
write to: UNDP, Bureau for Policy
and Programme Support, UNDP, One
United Nations Plaza, New York,
NY 10017, USA
Back
United
Nations Development Programme
Among the diverse initiatives supported
by the UNDP, there are several projects
which focus on the sustainable use of
plant resources and its relationship to
conservation and development. Reflecting
its interest in the ethical use of
traditional ecological knowledge, the
UNDP commissioned RAFI to carry out a
study of intellectual property rights of
local people.
- GJM
Through a unique network of 136 offices
worldwide, the United Nations Development
Programme (UNDP) helps people in 175
countries to help themselves, focusing on
poverty elimination, environmental
regeneration, job creation and the
advancement of women.
An ethnobotanical exchange program was
created by UNDP’s Regional Bureau
for Latin America and the Caribbean
(RBLAC) and funded by UNDP’s Special
Unit for Technical Cooperation among
Developing Countries (TCDC) following a
meeting on ‘Ethnobotanical Exchange
between Asia and Amazonia’, held in
Belém, Brazil in December 1991. So far,
two exchanges have taken place: between
Brazil and India, on the comparison of
medicinal plants and their uses in two
specific areas; and between Vietnam and
Brazil, on the coordination of
ethnobotanical initiatives through the
medium of workshops.
Ethnobotany is also an integral part of a
UNDP-supported program, funded through
the Global Environmental Facility (GEF),
entitled ‘Regional Support for the
Conservation and Sustainable Use of
Natural Resources in the Amazon’. A
pilot project based on the establishment
and cultivation of a medicinal plant
garden is currently underway in Iquitos,
Peru. This project is part of a series of
demonstration projects which promote the
transfer of information on sustainable
uses of natural resources and the
duplication of successful pilot
initiatives throughout the Amazon
basin.
‘According to our initial
investigation, most of the Muong
medical practitioners are women. We
contacted them often to gather
information about medicinal plants,
yet it was not always easy to obtain
data. Some Muong healers in Long San
village (Kim Boi district, Hoa Binh
province) strongly believe that if
they share knowledge with someone
else, the efficacy of their remedies
will be reduced or disappear
completely. They also believe that
they might be punished by their
spiritual sponsor or deity.
We
heard a similar story from an
herbalist in Ba Trai village (Bavi
district, Ha Tay province). A man
from our research team asked her to
keep a list of the medicinal plants
she used. Although she was hesitant,
she finally she gave it to him. Some
days later she fell sick. The illness
was mild, but she thought she had
been punished by a deity. Her husband
asked the researcher to return the
list, explaining that she could give
it back only if she were not to
practice medicine any more.’
Adapted
from: Nguyen, T.Q. 1995. Material for
a Common Report of Joint Project:
‘Ethnobotanical Research and
Exchange between Vietnam and
Brazil’. Manuscript, Department
of Biology, Hanoi University, Hanoi.
CONTACT
- Nick
Remple or Lita Paparoni,
Regional
Bureau for Latin America and the
Caribbean, United
Nations Development
Programme, One
United Nations Plaza, New York,
NY 10017, USA; Tel.
+1.212.9065376, Fax
+1.212.9065892
- Peter
T. Hazlewood, Coordinator,
Small
Grants Programme, GEF,
NGO
Division/BPPE, UNDP, One United
Nations Plaza, New
York, NY 10017, USA;
Tel.
+1.212.9065084, Fax
+1.212.9066690, e-mail
peter.hazlewood@undp.org
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