Seventeenth Meeting of the SBSTTA Begins in Montreal, Canada

On October 14, 2013, country delegates, representatives of Indigenous peoples and local communities, and other participants came together in Montreal, Canada for the seventeenth meeting of the Subsidiary Body on Scientific, Technical and Technological Advice (SBSTTA). This meeting, chaired by Mr. Gemedo Dalle Tussie (Ethiopia), is particularly noteworthy because it involves an entirely new meeting format. In the past, the Secretariat of the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) prepared draft recommendations that the Parties attending the SBSTTA meeting then considered throughout the meeting's course. This year, however, the CBD Secretariat did not prepare any draft recommendations. Instead, the first three days of the 17th meeting will consist of expert panels addressing issues on the SBSTTA agenda. Summaries of the discussions held during those panels will then be created in order to draft "conclusions, and if appropriate, recommendations." (UNEP/CBD/SBSTTA/17/1/Add.2, para. 6(c)). The effectiveness and ramifications of this new format remain to be seen, and some countries have called into question whether the decision to change the format conforms with the decisions regarding SBSTTA adopted during prior Conferences of the Parties.

On the agenda for this meeting are 2 main items: Item 3 -- Facilitating the implementation of the Strategic Plan for Biodiversity 2011-2020 and the Aichi Biodiversity Targets through scientific and technical means; and Item 4 -- Assessing the effects of the types of measures taken in accordance with the provisions of the Convention. With regard to Item 3, only the first four Strategic Goals of the Strategic Plan for Biodiversity (Goals A-D) will be discussed. Thus, Strategic Goal E, and its crucial Target 18 regarding traditional knowledge of and customary use of biological resources by indigenous peoples and local communities will dot be addressed.

Natural Justice will be participating in this meeting in a number of ways, including speaking at a side event on the European Union's draft legislation on ABS, co-hosting a side event on how territories and areas conserved by Indigenous peoples and local communities (ICCAs) can help to achieve the Aichi Targets, as well as be working with other NGOs and CBOs throughout the meeting to address issues as they arrive. Additionally, Natural Justice has co-authored a Working Paper on Legal Aspects of Aichi Biodiversity Target 11that will be presented at a side event hosted by the IDLO. 

For more information on the SBSTTA meeting, see here for a list of meeting documents and the side event calendar.

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Natural Justice partner works to alleviate poverty and protect biodiversity

Natural Justice attended the Annual General Meeting of Phyto-Trade Africa from the 29th to the 31st of July. During the 3-day meeting, Gino Cocchiaro (Natural Justice) met with Phyto-Trade members to discuss their strategies on collaborations with communities in the bio-trade industry.

Natural Justice has previously presented on its work with communities, particularly on biocultural community protocols and biocultural dialogues, which has assisted communities set out terms for engagement with biotrade companies. Natural Justice will also be collaborating with Phyto-Trade Africa and the Access and Benefit Sharing (ABS) Initiative on a programme of work that will identify best practice examples of ABS in southern Africa.

Phyto-Trade Africa is a trade association of the natural product industry in Southern Africa with an aim to alleviate poverty and protect biodiversity in the region by developing an industry that is not only economically successful but also ethical and sustainable.

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Natural Justice and Indigenous Information Network send letter to ENVI Regarding Concerns over Nagoya Protocol Implementation

Photo Credit: World Intellectual Property Review

On 2 July 2013, Natural Justice, jointly with the Indigenous Information Network, sent a letter to the Committee on the Environment, Public Health and Food Safety (ENVI) of the European Commission expressing their concern about the way the Nagoya Protocol on Access to Genetic Resources and the Fair and Equitable Sharing of Benefits Arising from their Utilization (Nagoya Protocol) might be implemented in the European Union through the current draft Access and Benefit Sharing Regulation of the European Commission (Draft ABS Regulation). 

In the letter, which has been signed by over 50 individuals or organisations representing or supporting indigenous people and local communities, Natural Justice and the Indigenous Information Network highlight in particular that the Draft ABS Regulation: potentially excludes traditional knowledge (TK) covered by the Nagoya Protocol; only covers genetic resources (GRs) and associated TK that are physically accessed rather than utilized after the Protocol comes into force for the EU and provider country, thereby excluding millions of compounds and associated TK that are available as they have already been accessed from provider countries and communities; and essentially fails to fight biopiracy effectively. 

On 4 July 2013, the ENVI convened to agree on compromises on the current version of the draft European Commission ABS Regulation regarding access to genetic resources and the fair and equitable sharing of benefits arising from their utilization in the EU. The vote was of key importance as the Committee debated and decided on the amendments to the Draft ABS Regulation tabled by a number of European Parliamentarians, including those suggested by the ENVI Rapporteur Sandrine Bélier. The Draft ABS Regulation is scheduled to be debated in plenary at the European Parliament later this year.

For More information:

Letter to EU 

Draft ABS Regulation

ENVI Website

Natural Justice and the Berne Declaration, ‘Access or Utilisation – What Triggers User Obligations? A Comment on the Draft Proposal of the European Commission on the Implementation of the Nagoya Protocol on Access and Benefit Sharing’ 

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ABS and BCP Workshop in East London, South Africa

On 3 and 4 July 2013, the Department of Science and Technology, in collaboration with the Indigenous Knowledge Systems (IKS) unit of the Medical Research Council of South Africa held the third and final pilot workshop on the international legislative framework and the South African domestic laws relating to Access and Benefit-Sharing.  The workshop was held in East London with twenty-eight participants and six resource persons.  Laureen Manuel and Gino Cocchiaro of Natural Justice conducted the workshop, which included presentations, group discussions and role plays on biocultural community protocols (BCPs).  

Members of seven different communities from villages in Uitenhage, Grahamstown and Willowbridge, as well as two representatives from the Mokgola community in Zeerust, participated in the workshop. Some of the participants are traditional healers and others are engaged in the farming of various types of tea leaves.  

International and domestic law on Access and Benefit Sharing, specifically the Convention on Biological Diversity and the Nagoya Protocol, and the Bioprospecting, Access and Benefit Sharing Regulations of South Africa were among the topics covered under the session on laws. 

The workshop concluded with participants readily taking part in the group discussions and role plays on BCPs, where they were required to engage with challenging questions about their own communities' visions for the future and their decision-making processes. 

The short report for the African BCP Initiative 2011-2012 can be found here.

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Will the European Union Legalise Biopiracy?

A new opinion piece, published on 18 June by Natural Justice and the Berne Declaration, sharply criticises the European Commission’s draft EC Regulation 2012/0278 (COD) to implement the Nagoya Protocol on Access and Benefit-Sharing in the European Union (EU). By excluding a significant category of genetic resources (GRs) from the scope of the regulation, the Draft fails to implement the main objective of the Convention on Biological Diversity and the Nagoya Protocol: the fair and equitable sharing of benefits arising from the utilisation of GRs and associated traditional knowledge (TK). In addition it will lead to greater legal uncertainty for users, allow for unfair competitive practices and, in the long run, lead provider countries to implement more burdensome access procedures to GRs.

The ENVI Committee of the European Parliament will vote on the Draft Regulation on the 4th of July, with a final draft expected to be tabled in the European Parliament in October 2013. In the Draft Regulation, user obligations would only apply to GRs and associated TK that have been physically accessed in the country of origin after the entry into force of the Nagoya Protocol. This implementation would be in sharp contrast to the large majority of existing ABS laws in provider countries where the utilisation of GRs and associated TK also triggers the obligation to share benefits, based on prior informed consent and mutually agreed terms. The European Commission’s narrow and biased interpretation of the Nagoya Protocol and subsequent national implementation is likely to have a number of very serious consequences:

• First, a significant share of GRs and associated TK used in the EU will not be covered by the Draft Regulation. This will undermine the objective of the Nagoya Protocol to share benefits equitably and fairly, as well as legalise biopiracy.
• Second, individual users of GRs and TK will not be provided with legal certainty, something they have long sought. Indeed, scenarios are likely to emerge where the utilisation of GRs and TK may be legal under EU law, but illegal under the law of the provider country. This could result in a user being in compliance with EU obligations under the new Access and Benefit Sharing regulations, but nevertheless subject to prosecution in a provider country upon entering its territory. Nobody has an interest in such a scenario.
• Third, a functioning global ABS system can only be based on mutual trust between providers and users. The current wording of the Draft Regulation will undermine this trust and is likely to lead to stricter access conditions in provider countries, thereby making research and development (R&D) increasingly bureaucratic and burdensome for European users. One of the underlying objectives of the Nagoya Protocol, namely to facilitate access for R&D, would subsequently not be reached and a valuable opportunity to incentivise the conservation and sustainable use of biodiversity would be missed.

We therefore urge the European Parliament, the Council and the Commission to enact a regulation that is line with the objective of the Nagoya Protocol and ensures that all related utilisation that takes place after the Nagoya Protocol comes into force complies with the access and benefit sharing rules of provider countries. The ENVI Committee Rapporteur made several proposals for amendments in this regard. Only by doing so can trust be built between user and provider countries, legal certainty established, and the conservation and sustainable use of biodiversity advanced.

Access or Utilisation  –  What Triggers User Obligations? A Comment on the Draft Proposal of the European Commission on the Implementation of the Nagoya Protocol on Access and Benefit Sharing, can be downloaded on the websites of the Berne Declaration and Natural Justice.

For more information, please contact: François Meienberg (the Berne Declaration) at food (at) evb.ch, or Johanna von Braun (Natural Justice) at Johanna (at) naturaljustice.org.

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Regional Workshop on awareness raiding and capacity-building to support the ABS mechanism under the Nagoya Protocol, Chengdu, China

Arpitha Kodiveri of Natural Justice attended the Regional Workshop on awareness raiding and capacity-building to support the ABS mechanism under the Nagoya Protocol held in Chengdu, China between the 15th- 17th of May,2013 which was organized by ICIMOD. The workshop sought to bring together regions concerned with issues of biodiversity conservation and traditional knowledge across the Hindu Kush Himalayan landscape. Key representatives from Pakistan, Bhutan, India, China, Nepal and Myanmar presented efforts in their countries to set up domestic legal frameworks to facilitate the process of access and equitable sharing of benefits as proposed by the Nagoya Protocol. 

 Arpitha presented on the use of Biocultural Community Protocols in the context of ABS especially in relation to a transboundary landscape. The presentation highlighted the use of BCPs as tools in facilitating negotiations around ABS which can be in tune with priorities of the communities and their protocols that govern traditional knowledge. The presentation also spoke to the importance of using BCPs in this context as they have been given official legal recognition within the Nagoya Protocol. 

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ABS and BCP Workshop in Zeerust, South Africa

A workshop on the international legislative framework and the South African domestic laws relating to access and benefit sharing was held in Zeerust, South Africa on 9 and 10 April 2013. This workshop was the second of three workshops in a pilot project funded by the Department of Science and Technology and the National Research Institute, and organised by the Indigenous Knowledge Systems unit of the Medical Research Council of South Africa. Laureen Manuel and Stephanie Booker of Natural Justice conducted the workshop, which included presentations and training on biocultural community protocols (BCPs).

The participants of the workshop included committee members and youth from the Mokgola community in Zeerust. The topics covered the international and domestic law on Access and Benefit Sharing, specifically the Convention on Biological Diversity and the Nagoya Protocol, and the National Environmental Management: Biodiversity Act and Bioprospecting, Access and Benefit Sharing Regulations of South Africa.

The presentation and group discussions on BCPs revealed some community tensions which ended in concurrence that there needs to be more discussion within the community to reach agreement on certain issues.

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Tokyo Meeting on Articles 19 and 20 of the Nagoya Protocol

Buddha of Kamakura

Kabir Bavikatte (Natural Justice) participated in an informal meeting from 25-26 March 2013 in Tokyo, Japan. The meeting was organized by the Japanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs in collaboration with the Secretariat of the Convention on Biological Diversity and the United Nations University Institute of Advanced Studies. It included discussions on Articles 19 and 20 of the Nagoya Protocol on Access and Benefit Sharing, namely, model contractual clauses, and codes of conduct, guidelines and best practices and/or standards, respectively.

With Articles 19 and 20 being one of the focal topics to be addressed at the upcoming third meeting of the Intergovernmental Committee for the Nagoya Protocol (ICNP3), this informal meeting aimed to facilitate a dedicated discussion on these items among experts from around the world. The outcomes of this meeting would provide valuable inputs to the discussion at the ICNP3.

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EU Working Towards Implementation of the Nagoya Protocol

The Nagoya Protocol is an international agreement which aims at sharing the benefits arising from the utilization of genetic resources in a fair and equitable way. It was adopted on 29 October 2010 in Nagoya, Japan.

The European Parliament is now in the process of passing it into European law and thus giving precedent for the requirements of the European member states for when they pass the Nagoya Protocol into their domestic law.

There are a number of concerns with the EU's draft regulations as they stand. See here for Natural Justice's Letter of Concern to the European Union Parliament. The draft regulations are currently in review and are expected to be tabled in the EU Parliament in October to be ratified by the end of the year.
Click here for the EU's hearing on the ABS Draft Regulations.

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ABS capacity development workshop in Bhutan

Left to right:
 Dr. Tashi Yangzome (Director, National Biodiversity Center),
Morten Tvedt (Fridtjof Nansen Institute),
Dr. Pema Gyamtsho (Minister for Agriculture and Forests),
 Dr. Kabir Bavikatte (Natural Justice),
 Mani Prasad Nirola (Scientist, National Biodiversity Center).
Courtesy of Kabir

Kabir Bavikatte from Natural Justice and Morten Tvedt from the Fridtjof Nansen Institute facilitated an ABS capacity development workshop in Bhutan from the 12th-14th of March 2013. The workshop was hosted by the National Biodiversity Centre and the Ministry of Agriculture and Forests with the aim of developing Bhutan's national ABS capacity.

The workshop was attended by representatives of the various ministries and departments in Bhutan and covered a number of issues ranging from intellectual property to community protocols. Previously Kabir and Morten have assisted Bhutan in developing their national ABS policy and the current workshop sought to provide the context to this policy by focusing on issues of access to genetic resources, benefit sharing and community rights.

Kabir and Morten and their respective organizations were formally thanked by Bhutan's Minister for Agriculture and Forests, Dr. Pema Gyamtsho for their services rendered to Bhutan and its people.

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MRC Workshop in Upington

From 13-14 March 2013 in Upington (Northern Cape, South Africa), Natural Justice, in collaboration with the Indigenous Knowledge Systems unit of the Medical Research Council of South Africa (MRC), facilitated a two-day workshop on the international legislative framework and the South African domestic laws relating to access and benefit-sharing. The workshop, conducted by Laureen Manuel and Lesle Jansen (Natural Justice), included a day-long session on biocultural community protocols (BCPs).

The participants of the workshop consisted mainly of the San and Nama peoples, a significant respresentation of the Rastafarians from the Kalahari, as well as researchers from the MRC, and a representative of the Department of Science and Technology, which funded the workshop. The workshop centred on the international and domestic law on Access and Benefit Sharing, specifically the Convention on Biological Diversity and the Nagoya Protocol, and the National Environmental Management: Biodiversity Act and Bioprospecting, Access and Benefit Sharing Regulations.

The session on BCPs triggered ardent discussions around issues of spiritual connectedness to the ground, the need for knowledge on laws and the rights of Indigenous peoples. The discussions also highlighted the importance of communities organising themselves and the establishment of governance structures.

The workshop concluded with a prayer and with each participant sharing their thoughts on their experiences throughout the two days.

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IPR and ABS Workshop in Bhutan

Via  www.moaf.gov.bt

Kabir Bavikatte (Natural Justice) is involved in a workshop on 'Intellectual Property Related to Genetic Resources and Access and Benefit Sharing (ABS) in relation to the Nagoya Protocol and International Treaties'.

It is being held over four days (12-15 March) in Thimphu, Bhutan.

Keep up to speed on crucial developments here.

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Meeting of the African Group of Parties to CBD

Via abs-initiative.info

On 1 March 2013, the African Group of parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity (the African Group) had a meeting on the sidelines of the 7th Pan-African Access and Benefit Sharing (ABS) workshop in Phalaborwa, South Africa. The meeting was chaired by Prudence Galega of the Ministry of Environment Protection of Nature of Cameroon. 

The African Group discussed their future involvement in discussions around the draft AU guidelines on ABS. They agreed that the African Group should call for inputs or questions emanating from various fora are strategically important and it is important for the group to raise the African position in all fora. 

With regard to draft EU regulations on ABS, they wanted to explore writing a letter of concern to the European Council. Pierre Du Plessis from the Centre for Research Information Action in Africa mentioned that Kabir Bavikate and Johanna Von Braun of Natural Justice have already drafted something along these lines. The African Group decided to write a one-page document to the European Council to endorse the draft letter of concern to the EU Parliament written by Natural Justice.

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ABS Initiative Team Meeting

From 4-5 March 2013, the ABS Capacity Development Initiative held a team meeting in Phalaborwa, South Africa following the 7th Pan-African ABS Workshop attended by Lassana Kone and Gino Cocchiaro of Natural Justice. The objectives of the meeting were to identify new thematic areas and to provide support to specific countries in the development and implementation of ABS regulations. The team agreed to support the establishment of the argan value chain in Morocco. Ratification, overall ABS strategy, regulatory framework, institutional arrangements, value chain development, dealing with Traditional Knowledge (TK), transboundary issues and stakeholder involvement were among the themes discussed. In terms of the existing tools, the team agreed to raise awareness for national researchers, but also to develop new standardised tools. Tools like biocultural community protocols (BCPs) will be use for the Training of Trainers at the local level and provide legal and commercial advice on Mutually Agreed Terms (MAT) and Prior Informed Consent (PIC). 

With regard to BCPs, a thematic group discussed the way forward and stressed the need to target BCPs in the context of ABS and integrate the work on value chains and biotrade with BCPs, with a specific emphasis on dialogue and business potential for genetic resources. The group further discussed the value of BCPs in cases where many communities share a resource, like the Shea in Ghana or Argan in Morocco. In this case it is not possible to involve only one community but a whole range of community. The Multi-Stakeholder Process (MSP) could be a tool to bring every community under the same umbrella. The group agreed that the next generation of BCPs should strengthen the notion of co-users of resources and use MSPs to secure the use of resources, facilitate and introduce community involvement in regulation, outline how can focal points support BCPs or similar procedures, and support legislation/regulation development. 

Regarding the draft AU guidelines on ABS, Natural Justice agreed to produce an annex to the Guidelines on good principles for community involvement.

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Thematic Session on BCPs

During the 7th Pan-African Access and Benefit Sharing (ABS) workshop in Phalaborwa, South Africa, six thematic sessions were offered in French and English on 28 February 2013. Participants had the choice to participate in four sessions: interface protected areas and ABS; business models, benefit sharing, and the interface between biotrade and ABS; simplified access for basic research; compliance in Africa; biocultural community protocols (BCPs); and Interface ITPGRFA and the Nagoya Protocol. 

Gino Cocchiaro and Lassana Koné of Natural Justice and Barbara Lassen of the ABS Initiative facilitated the session on BCPs. A presentation was made on BCPs highlighting some practical examples followed by a showing of the BCP film and an engaging discussion. 

Participants attending the BCP sessions agreed that the process of developing a BCP is critical for the self determination of Indigenous and Local Communities (ILCs) and also for the self-management of their genetic resources. Participants also mentioned that similar experiences of instruments have been developed by local communities for many years with different terminology. 

One of the questions which come out of the reflection was the recognition of BCPs as a binding instrument in the international regime. Although it would be ideal for African states to ratify the Nagoya Protocol or adopt ABS regulation at the local level, Natural Justice emphasised the role of BCPs in recalling the commitments of state parties expressed through the ratification of many others substantive international treaties pertaining to the preservation of nature and natural resources and the promotion of socioeconomic and cultural rights. 

Participants were of the view that users and providers of genetic resources are not always fundamentally opposed but their visions need to be harmonised. BCPs offer an avenue for this. Participants were also concerned about the sustainability of BCPs. Natural Justice described BCPs an evolving processes that adapt to the need expressed by a specific community at a particular time depending on the circumstances. Participants also urged Natural Justice to strengthen its work in Francophone Africa. 

In reporting back to the plenary on 1 March 2013, Natural Justice recommended that BCPs be expressly mentioned in the draft AU Guidelines on ABS.

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Panel on TK Documentation, Valorisation and Compliance

On 27 February 2013, Gino Cocchiaro (Natural Justice) and Rodney Sibuyi (Kukula Traditional Health Practitioners Association) participated in a panel discussion together with Tom Suchanandan (South African Department of Science and Technology - DST) and Lazarus Kairabeb (Nama Traditional Leaders Association, Namibia). The panel was moderated by Barbara Lassen (ABS Initiative) and dialogue and questions followed brief presentations by panelists. The panel was held as part of the seventh Pan-African Access and Benefit Sharing (ABS) Workshop hosted by South Africa’s Department of Environmental Affairs from 25 February to 1 March 2013 in Phalaborwa, South Africa.

Gino presented on “A Traditional Knowledge Commons.” He began by identifying challenges, how knowledge sharing happened before ‘modernisation’, and suggested potential new models for sharing traditional knowledge. He discussed how knowledge can be seen as a relationship between the ancestors, the group of traditional healers, and individual experiences. He further explained how the use of a biocultural community protocol (BCP) by Kukula helped to create and preserve a pool of knowledge. Mr Sibuyi also emphasised the challenges faced by traditional healers and the positive experience with the BCP.

Mr Suchanandan described the South African National Recordal System, an initiative of the DST which will document, record and store Indigenous Knowledge (IK) for the benefit of the communities of South Africa. It takes into consideration the recording of IK in various multimedia formats and aims to promote and conserve community IK. It proposes both positive and defensive protection of IK. The system also aims to collect grassroots community experiences in local languages. 

Mr Kairabeb shared on his experiences during the recent capacity building workshop on the Nagoya Protocol on ABS, Traditional Knowledge and Nagoya – Kuala Lumpur Supplementary Protocol on Liability and Redress of Bio-safety in India.

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Seventh Pan-African ABS Workshop

Natural Justice’s Lassana Kone and Gino Cocchiaro are attending the seventh Pan-African Access and Benefit Sharing (ABS) Workshop hosted by South Africa’s Department of Environmental Affairs from 25 February to 1 March 2013 in Phalaborwa, South Africa. 

The main objectives of the workshop are to collect reflections and comments on the draft AU Guidelines regarding its use and usefulness, consider the “Traditional Knowledge and Plant Genetic Resources Guidelines” developed by SANBio/NEPAD, reflect on the outcomes of the workshop on traditional knowledge in Bangalore, India, and discuss questions regarding the documentation, valorization and compliance of traditional knowledge. 

The workshop was officially opened on 25 February by the Minister of Water and Environmental Affairs Edna Molewa. She also made a symbolic handover of the second royalty payment to the National Traditional Healer’s Committee. The donors to the ABS Capacity Development Initiative, including the German Embassy, the Danish Ministry of the Environment, the Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Institut de la Francophonie pour le Developpement Durable and the African Union Commission also addressed the assembly. 

In the opening address, Dr Andreas Drews of the ABS Capacity Development Initiative stressed that the expected outcomes of the workshop are to share experiences, reflect and comment on the draft AU Guidelines, and identify the challenges and recommendations for the future work under the ABS Initiative on the linkages between ABS, traditional knowledge and intellectual property rights for effective national implementation of the Nagoya Protocol. There will also be an opportunity to discuss the draft EU regulation for implementing the Nagoya Protocol.

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Presentation at National University of Juridical Sciences

On 24 February, 2013, Kabir Bavikatte (Natural Justice) was invited by the Nature Committee of the National University of Juridical Sciences, Kolkata to speak to students on Biocultural Rights and Access and Benefit Sharing. Thereafter Kabir co-chaired a mock session on negotiating the Nagoya Protocol with law students from law schools across India.

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Second Meeting of the ARI-BCP

Natural Justice and the Law, Environment and Design (LED) Lab organised the second meeting of the Asia Regional Initiative on Biocultural Community Protocols (ARI-BCP) at the Srishti School of Art, Design and Technology in Bangalore from 18-20 February, 2013. The meeting was attended by ARI-BCP participants from India, Sri Lanka and Nepal working to support tribal rights, fishing community rights, the rights of communities affected by extractive industries, traditional healers’ rights and farmers’ rights. The meeting was supported by The Christensen Fund and the Ford Foundation. 

Participants primarily discussed how BCPs can be used in securing the rights of indigenous communities. They also discussed how domestic legislation can be used in preparing BCPs and how the experiences of BCPs can be shared across larger networks.

Lokhit Pashu-Palak Sansthan (LPPS) from Rajastan shared how the Raika community’s BCP process helped the community in forming their identity and how the BCP has been used in negotiations with government agencies. They also shared about their ongoing struggle for the recognition of communities’ forest rights and grazing rights under Forest Rights Act, 2006. Finally, they expressed deep concern about the declaration of Kumbalgarh National Park without consultation with affected communities. 

Ramesh Bhatti of Sahjeevan, a local organization working with Maldhari communities in Kachha District, Gujurat, presented on how the Maldhari BCP process and how it has enabled the community in asserting their rights and establishing their identity. 

Design students from the Law, Environment and Design Lab presented to the audience on the application of design tools in the claiming of forest rights by the Gujjar Community in Sariska and Camel Maldharis in Kutch under the Forest Rights Act, 2006. The teams presented innovatively using forum theater and film to highlight the issues being faced by these communities. The students presented some of their outcomes like the initial sketches of a board game on the Forest Rights Act, 2006.

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BIOPAMA Regional Workshop - Eastern & Southern Africa

Via www.iucn.org

From 4-6 December, 2012, Gino Cocchiaro of Natural Justice attended the regional workshop for southern and eastern Africa on the Biodiversity and Protected Areas Management (BIOPAMA) programme in Johannesburg, South Africa. The workshop provided a forum for participants and stakeholders from protected areas, governments and civil society to support the planning of BIOPAMA, which is funded by the European Union and implemented by the International Union for Conservation of Nature, the European Commission Joint Research Centre, and the Access and Benefit Sharing Capacity Development Initiative (ABS Initiative). 

Gino and Suhel al-Janabi (ABS Initiative) presented on ABS case studies, including a discussion on how the Traditional Health Practitioners of Bushbuckridge are using their biocultural community protocol to work towards a potential ABS agreement with a cosmetics company. Other sessions included presentations and discussion on regional reference information systems, refining and addressing capacity development needs, and the drafting of an action plan for the regional implementation of BIOPAMA including the identification of priority activities, identification of key national and regional stakeholders, and agreed processes for collecting data and information. 

Learn more about BIOPAMA at its website here and through its introductory brochure in English, Spanish and French.

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