Bridges Trade BioRes • Volume 5 • Number 14 • 22nd July 2005

CBD Considers Ways to Support Traditional Knowledge

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At the first-ever meeting of the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) Advisory (”Steering”) Committee for the Programme of Work on Article 8(j) and Related Provisions, held in Montreal, Canada on 11-14 July, representatives from all of the sixteen UN regions gave their advice on issues pertaining to traditional knowledge (TK). Article 8(j) of the CBD calls on signatories to respect, preserve and maintain knowledge, innovations and practices of indigenous and local communities embodying traditional lifestyles relevant for the conservation and sustainable use of biological diversity. Among other issues, the participants, most of whom were from indigenous communities, considered a draft document on elements of sui generis systems for the protection of TK that had been prepared by the CBD Secretariat on the basis of domestic legislation. Several participants argued that intellectual property rights, as enforced for example in the WTO Agreement on Trade-related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS), are not appropriate and should either be entirely or partly replaced by a sui generis system. However, participants struggled to describe elements that would be capable of addressing the wide diversity of cultural, social and economic conditions faced by TK holders, with some suggesting that customary practices used by traditional and indigenous communities are enough and that these groups should be left alone. Other issues raised included who should claim knowledge of TK, the issue of prior informed consent, the rights that should be conferred by a sui generis system and other issues that connect to CBD negotiations on access and benefit sharing (see BRIDGES Trade BioRes, 4 March 2005) as well as discussions in the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) on the same issue (see BRIDGES Trade BioRes, 24 June 2005). The revised list of elements, along with a draft ethnical code on the cultural and intellectual heritage of indigenous communities, indicators for assessing progress towards 2010 biodiversity targets and a revised composite report assessing trends, status and a plan of action to retain knowledge, innovations and practices of indigenous and local knowledge in each of the UN regions, have been forwarded to the upcoming working group for the programme of work on Article 8(j) which will be held in Grenada, Spain on 23-27 January 2006.

For further information, see http://www.biodiv.org/doc/meeting.aspx?mtg=ACPOW8J-01.

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