International Expert Meeting on “Community to Community Exchange and Capacity
Development Workshop for Traditional Knowledge”
2-4 October 2015
Bengaluru, India
Summary of Day 02 of the Meeting1
Introductory Session on Research and Innovation
The session facilitated by Prof. Padma Venkat from the Trans Disciplinary University began
with the introduction of the notions of research. According to her the notion of a linear form of
research does not hold true in the study of traditional knowledge. To get the most out of the
research there must be multiple approaches to truly understand and appreciate the value of the
knowledge gathered. The presentation highlighted the various cases where the further study of
a traditional knowledge lead to discoveries in medicine. At the same time it also highlighted
the problems of not fully understanding the traditional knowledge themselves leading imperfect
solutions. An example that was described was the long paper example, which helped in the
discovery of piprin as a cure for tuberculosis. Long paper has been documented since 5500 BC
and there are 330 references to understanding long paper. The major lead for piprin came solely
from traditional knowledge, due to which the newer medications proved to be more effective
in a lesser period of time. Yet by the 1980s the compound was taken of the shelves as it affected
its consumers with suicidal tendencies.
In a trans disciplinary study of traditional knowledge both biomedical evidence and cultural
perspectives are taken into account. It uses the notion of top down and bottom up approach for
the further understanding and improvement of traditional knowledge. By doing so not only shall
the scientific understanding improve but also the procurement and processing understanding.
An example used was through the observation of an ayurvedic practitioner the ability to
understand the various cultural pre-requisites for the administration of the medication can help
1
This brief is prepared by Mr. Pratik Harish, Ms. Bhavani Seetharaman, Ms. Meenu Maria
Joseph and Ms. Srishti Pandey, Fellows at Forum for Law, Environment, Development and
Governance (FLEDGE), India. They are currently pursuing Master’s programme in Public
Policy at National Law School of India University (NLSIU), Bengaluru. The daily briefs will
be made available for the participants at the meeting and will be posted on FLEDGE website.
Full summary of the meeting will be available to all participants on 06 October 2015. The
summary will also be shared globally through various list serves and portals.
in creating more effective medication. This notion coupled with scientific research leading up
to the clinical trials stage can create a more effective medication. Through traditional
knowledge the medication for diseases such as malaria can be found.
The next important aspect spoken about in the presentation was the observation of differences
in the medicines in different countries with regards to traditional knowledge. Traditional
knowledge treatment for the same disease shall vary greatly from region to region and their
customs and practices must be taken into account, as well as climate and biodiversity for more
specified treatment. These variations must be observed in the research on traditional knowledge.
An example given was the use of turmeric, a staple part of the diet in India while not so common
in a country like Italy. Prof Venkat further explained that the need for the spread of awareness
of ABS and the Nagoya Protocol must be improved for further understanding of knowledge to
provide better solutions for diseases that can be easily cured.
In summation Prof Venkat specified that the system of traditional knowledge must be used not
for the elites but must be available to all as traditional knowledge was meant to be.
Session on enterprise building
The second session was a group discussion on enterprise development in which participants
were required to enlist factors that enabled and restricted enterprise development. The
participants were divided into six groups and each of them had to come up with their own list
of enabling and challenging factors to enterprise development. The common enabling factors
that emerged from the brainstorming session included the presence of traditional knowledge,
availability of genetic and financial resources in a country and the institutional support in terms
of technology and legal framework. Similarly, the most common challenges identified by all
the groups included insufficiency of policies and their poor implementation. Also, the lack of
interaction between all groups of stakeholders—government, industry and local communities
— was identified as a major hurdle.
This was followed by a panel discussion. The panel comprised two representatives from India
and one from Swaziland. One of the Indian panelists spoke about the need to look at enterprises
as a business proposition that can last for a longer term instead of one-off ventures. By citing
the success story of Village Herbs Company Ltd and Aharam, the first Indian panelist suggested
that African countries too could start focusing on building strong small, medium and large
enterprises through strategic planning. Also, it was important to find the right business partners
who would help the community to identify their assets, raise funds and reach the markets. He
suggested that enterprises should start small and then branch out. They must first create a local
market where strong relations are built between buyers and sellers and later look at the prospect
of exporting the product. He also noted that the future of investment lies in Africa and that
countries like China were already entering the African market on a large scale to tap the
potential of developing enterprises in the continent.
The second Indian panelist warned against dilution of the rights of the traditional communities
in the enterprise building exercise and advocated for the traditional communities to be at the
centre of decision-making. He stressed on the fact that enterprise ownership should lie with the
community so as to benefit every member of the community. He noted that most organizations
begin by looking for initial funding and don’t look at long term sustainability. In order to
develop a successful enterprise one must have a long term financial plan. Funding, he said, had
been a problem even for his organization Sambandh. Support from institutions such as the
World Bank and NABARD was what kept the organization running. The panelist suggested
that one must not look at enterprise development only from a product perspective but must also
explore the possibility of promoting practice based enterprises wherein local healers could
institutionalize their practice. He concluded with an anecdote of an old traditional healer who
had pointed that knowledge could only grow if it was shared instead of being commodified.
The panel member from Swaziland discussed the experience of building enterprises through
community participation in Swaziland in order to ensure conservation. They adopted a
participatory approach to come up with a community business plan that empowers the
community. Her organization had come up with an integrated development plan to identify the
resources that are in abundance along with those that face the threat of being endangered. The
ideas for the development plan were derived from the local communities. There has been a
dramatic shift towards raising awareness regarding conservation among local communities.
Initially, when the communities were asked to participate in conservation, they would worry
about what their take-away would be. The panelist indicated that this had changed in Swaziland
as incentives had been created to encourage participation of communities along with an increase
in awareness regarding ABS. The most effective incentives have been the promotion of ecotourism and the local handicraft industry as benefits accruing from tradition knowledge.
In a nutshell, the session highlighted the need for collectivization of communities that can
engage with each other to establish strong enterprises. Also, the need for facilitators and
facilitating mechanisms was identified that would help communities in identifying their
strengths based on which communities can establish successful enterprises. The session also
reiterated the importance of looking at traditional communities as the centre for decisionmaking. It was also suggested that new ideas like implementing ABS through corporate social
responsibility (CSR) activities be further explored so that ABS goes beyond being bread crumbs
to becoming the bread and butter of the traditional communities. Finally, it was noted that one
must look at the possibility of going beyond product-based enterprises towards practice-based
enterprises.
Afternoon Sessions:
The afternoon session on the ‘Rights of Tangible and Intangible Property’ was divided into two
parts. While Professsor Damodran from the Indian Institute of Management, Bangalore spoke
in detail about the rights of tangible and intangible property and protection of community
knowledge. Ms. Alphonsa Jojan from Natural Justice focused on the need for maintaining
Biocultural Community Protocols (BCP). After a short introduction by both speakers , the house
was divided into several groups to raise questions based on their own experiences from the
community .
Session on Rights of Tangible and Intangible Property:
The presentation on the use of tangible and intangible rights on the protection of heritage began
with an understanding of the notions of property rights in communities. Facilitating the
presentation Prof Damodaran spoke about the variation between The Convention on Biological
Diversity (CBD) and the UNESCO Heritage of Humanity project. He further went on to
describe the interchangeable use of terminology such as culture, beliefs, traditions, etc. By
doing so the differences of such knowledge and their needs cannot be properly understood.
Similarly the notion of legality of the rights were also explained and questioned.
Taken to further debate, the notions of how to promote and evolve traditional knowledge while
only being granted rights to one type of knowledge created further issues. Without the evolution
of the knowledge the longevity of traditional knowledge and heritage could also decline. In
terms of furthering knowledge the need for cooperation between communities is essential. At
the same time the problems of rights in the creation of new discoveries and products create
problems for the governing bodies regarding ownership rights. In the current model the laws
curb this form of development and innovations between the communities around the world.
During the discussion session there was a further expansion of these thoughts from the
participants through the problems of understanding cultural rights over legal mechanisms, the
problems of different countries’ jurisdiction over a product created between countries, aspects
ranging from performance right and the types of database required are all taken into account.
There was a clear need for a change in the database formats to provide separation of terminology
such as culture and traditions to different categories. The right of culture over legal issues
providing the longevity of traditional medicines in countries such as Mongolia and China even
through there may be other legal issues involved such as poaching. The problem of copyright
over products created with multiple sources of traditional knowledge was a problem seen in a
globalized world by the participants. Similarly even with the variation between the CBD and
the UNESCO Heritage of Humanity there must be a creation of synergy between them for the
further promotion of Traditional Knowledge.
Session on Biocultural Community Protocols:
In the second part of the session, Alphonsa Jojan from Natural Justice focused on the need for
maintaining Biocultural Community Protocols (BCP). Every indigenous community has its
own system of governance, values, way of life etc. Biocultural Community Protocols which
emerged under ABS framework is a protocol which is developed by a community through a
consultative process to outline their customary laws relating to traditional knowledge and
resources , based on which they provide clear terms and conditions regulating the access of
knowledge by an outsider. It can be done through presentations, video documentation etc. by
the community. BCPs includes documentation of every intricate detail of the community right
from understanding their governance structure to even details on whom to approach when an
outsider needs to get a prior consent before initiating the benefit sharing process . The
protocol provides a legal empowerment framework through which communities are better
able to engage with different stakeholders such as the government, multinational companies
etc. and at the same time allow the stakeholders to understand the community in its entirety.
Most questions and discussions surrounding the BCPs were aimed to understand the legal
backing of the protocol. Even though Nagoya Protocol recognised BCPs but legislation of
most countries are still to give recognition to the protocol. It was observed that BCPs were not
always tailor made varying based on the community it was not necessary to give out the
information but to merely state that they possessed traditional knowledge. Ms.Jojan stressed
on the need for advocacy to ensure that BCPs are recognised by the governments across the
world.
Final session on ABS experience sharing from Africa
The concluding session of the day was on sharing of ABS experiences from African countries
which was facilitated by ABS Initiative. The participants of the discussion were representatives
from Benin, Namibia, Morocco and Cameroon who discussed the initiatives taken to smoothen
the functioning of ABS in their respective countries.
The representative from Benin revealed that his country began the process of ABS by putting
in place a clear vision. The primary focus was to develop a vision that clearly stated the
objectives of ABS and communication of these objectives to the community. Consultation
processes had been held across the country by inviting various stakeholders including
government officials from multiple ministries to arrive at a common understanding, which
would reduce friction during implementation. The ABS framework in the country adopted a
participative approach in which the owners of the traditional resources and the traditional
resources itself were first identified. They were then called for stakeholder consultation
meetings with government officials and through a constant back and forth process of
negotiations, the country came up with a legal framework. The country at present has a single
authority through which the applications for access of genetic resources need to go through.
The representative however, said that the country was facing a severe threat from bio-piracy
and the only way to crackdown on it is by enacting a law that is sufficiently target-driven,
focused and satisfies the interests of all stakeholders. Hence, the overall focus in Benin has been
on deciding the scope of the ABS initiative in the country with the help of the following
questions:
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Who exactly are the owners of TK and what do they own?
What are the rights that TK holders have and what are the rights that they should have?
What is the role of commercial and non-commercial activities with respect to TK?
How to make the system efficient and cost effective?
The Namibian representative on the other hand, spoke about the success of the Community
Based Natural Resource Management (CBNRM) practice, wherein the country’s local
communities are incentivised to participate in the ABS framework. In the CBNRM model, the
forest areas and biological hotspots are divided into different conservancies owned by the
traditional people, who then take the responsibility of conserving wildlife through regular
assessments and restricting of poaching activities in the conservancies. The panelist pointed out
that the CBNRM model had been very successful and was being extended to indigenous plants.
The speaker claimed that CBNRM had busted the myth that communities cannot manage their
resources. With the right incentives, communities can be made to effectively manage the
biological resources. Hence, the Namibian case illustrated the importance of idenitifying,
organising and incentivising communities to undertake conservation activities.
The third representative presented the unique experience of Morocco where the Nagoya
Protocol(NP) was translated into an indigenous language, Amazighe. The language has been in
existence since 3000 B.C. in the Atlas Mountains region of Morocco. It took a lot of continuous
effort for close to six months to translate the entire document. The difficulty lay in the nonexistence of certain technical terms of the Protocol in Amazighe. Three thousand copies of a
film on the potential of ABS, under the NP, was developed in 3 local dialects in order to further
promote awareness. This had revolutionised capacity development for ABS in the region by
enhancing awareness and participation of local communities. Universities and women based
cooperatives have also been brought on board to help in promoting awareness. The speaker also
suggested other African countries to try similar practices to make ABS more inclusive and
sustainable.
Finally, the representatives of Cameroon shared the ABS experience of one kingdom that was
successful in developing a model for sharing of benefits, accrued from the cultivation and sale
of a local traditional spice, among all stakeholders to promote equity. The kingdom of
Bamumbu in Cameroon, from where the representatives hailed, has rich biodiversity due to the
presence of high quality soil. It was only recently that the community became aware about ABS
issues due to the efforts of Erudite, an NGO. After thorough consultations, the kingdom decided
a breakup for the benefits as follows:
● Resource collector, who is a local villager- 59%
● Cooperative, which works on processing the product- 11%
● Community development projects- 19%
● Municipal council- 11%
The main focus of the community currently was to protect the traditional knowledge with
regards to the Echinops spice. Although not a signatory of the Nagoya Protocol, the
Cameroonian government has begun to take note of ABS issues owing to the efforts of several
communities like Bamumbu. These communities have been working hard on promoting
awareness among local people. The representatives of Cameroon hoped that in the future, there
would be greater cooperation, not just within communities but also between communities in
order to promote ABS. The focus of the ABS initiatives in Cameroon has been on promoting
sharing with the belief that sharing resources can come only from sharing consent.