International Workshop on Common Pools

On the 15th and 16th of September, Gino Cocchiaro (Natural Justice) attended the "International Workshop on Common Pools of Genetic Resources: improving effectiveness, justice and public research in access and benefit sharing (ABS)" in Bremen, Germany, organized by the University of Bremen. The workshop was attended by various experts in the areas of genetic resources, traditional knowledge, and benefit sharing. Over the 2 days, participants presented on a range of subjects on common pools, including exploring legal spaces for common pools in the Nagoya Protocol; case studies on existing common pools at the local level in South Africa, Brazil, Peru and China; the World Health Organization (WHO) frameworks for sharing vaccines; the multilateral system of the International Treaty on Plant and Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture (ITPGRFA); and data banks for genetic information and marine organisms. The presentations and discussions provided participants relevant feedback and information about how existing common pools systems are functioning and could be improved to ensure greater equity and fairness.

Natural Justice was asked to present on the traditional knowledge common pool of the traditional health practitioners of Bushbuckridge, South Africa, and the development of a common pool of traditional knowledge. The healers are utilizing their common pool to provide information to a local cosmetics company, with any benefits from research and possible development to flow back into the collective pool. The presenters at the workshop will also be contributing chapters to a book on common pools to be published by the University of Bremen.

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Special Rapporteur Report: Effects of Extractive Industries

UN Special Rapporteur on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, James Anaya, recently presented his annual report to the UN General Assembly. The report provides a summary of activities carried out during his third year in the mandate, particularly communications with governments concerning 25 cases of specific human rights violations in 15 countries. Some of the case studies include:

• Costa Rica: Situation of the Térraba people and the hydroelectric project El Diquís
• Ethiopia: Situation of the Gilgel Gibe III hydroelectric project on the Omo River
• Guatemala: Situation of social and environmental problems generated by the Marlin mine 
• Malaysia: Situation of the Long Teran Kanan village and native customary rights in Sarawak

In the second half of the report, Anaya provides a preliminary analysis of the impact of extractive industries operating within or near Indigenous territories, based on a questionnaire on the issue distributed to governments, Indigenous peoples, corporations, and civil society. The full report can be downloaded here.

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New Issue of Global Environmental Politics

The latest issue of the journal Global Environmental Politics focuses on "Climate Bandwagoning: The Impacts of Strategic Linkages for Regime Design, Maintenance and Death". The special issue is co-edited by Sikina Jinnah (American University) and Miquel Muñoz (Boston University's Pardee Centre) and explores issues of climate change and NGOs, biodiversity, desertification, fisheries, forests, security, and human rights. Select articles include, among others:

• Issue-linkages to Climate Change Measured through NGO Participation in the UNFCCC;
• Marketing Linkages: Secretariat Governance of the Climate-Biodiversity Interface;
• Combating Ineffectiveness: Climate Change Bandwagoning and the UN Convention to Combat Desertification; and
• Jumping on the Human Rights Bandwagon: How Rights-based Linkages Can Refocus Climate Politics

The special issue is available online, but does not have open access. If you would like to access the articles, please contact Miquel at miquel(at)bu.edu.

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Expert Meeting on ABS and IPRs

Johanna von Braun and Sabine Zajderman (Natural Justice) attended the Expert Meeting on Access and Benefit Sharing (ABS) and Intellectual Property Rights (IPRs) from 5-9 September in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. The meeting was organized by the ABS Capacity Development Initiative for Africa (ABS Initiative) in cooperation with the Ethiopian Institute of Biodiversity Conservation.

This was the first meeting discussing ABS implementation in light of the Nagoya Protocol and its links to IPRs in the African context. The workshop aimed to provide a dialogue platform for representatives from African countries and international IPR experts to explore the challenges of linking ABS and IPRs in a coherent manner when implementing ABS at the national and sub-regional levels. Concrete practical experiences on ABS cases linked to IPRs were presented and formed the basis of intensive discussions.

During the course of the week, participants were briefed on: (i) the Nagoya Protocol on ABS, with a special focus on the interlinkages between ABS and IPRs and their significance for the implementation of the Nagoya Protocol in domestic and sub-regional policies and regulations; and (ii) the process and status of negotiations under the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) and the World Trade Organization (WTO) regarding IPR aspects related to ABS. They then reflected on intellectual property aspects and considerations that will have to be taken into account in the development and implementation of ABS policies and regulations at national and sub-regional levels while discussing the development of effective institutional coordination mechanisms between the relevant competent national and international authorities. Also thoroughly examined were the practicality of different intellectual property instruments used along the value chain, research, and/or product development process of genetic resources and associated traditional knowledge, particularly Prior Informed Consent (PIC), Mutually Agreed Terms (MAT) and the granting of access permits.

On the last day on the meeting, a calendar of ABS- and IP-related events and meetings was set up with the view to prepare the African Group for the 11th Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD COP 11) in October 2012. The meeting ended with a visit to the Ethiopian Institute of Biodiversity Conservation, formerly known the Plant Genetic Resources Centre, which safeguards Africa’s oldest and largest gene bank and, since its inception in 1976, has accomplished remarkable work in exploration, collection, and conservation of plant genetic resources.

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Peru Approves New Law on Prior Consultation

On August 23, the Peruvian Congress approved a new law that guarantees Indigenous peoples' right to prior consultation around legislative and administrative measures as well as plans, programs, and projects that impact them and their rights ("Ley de derecho a la consulta previa a los pueblos indígenas u originarios reconocido en el Convenio No. 169 de la Organización Internacional del Trabajo"). President Ollanta Humala signed the new law, which is the first to be approved by the current Parliament and was passed with no votes against and no abstentions, on 6 September in the province of Bagua. The Law on Prior Consultation is intended to comply with certain commitments set out in the 1989 International Labour Organization (ILO) Convention 169 and the 2007 United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP).

Amazon Watch reports that AIDESEP, a Peruvian Indigenous Amazonian federation, expressed support for the new law, but also concern about implementation, stating that "until [the government agency] INDEPA, the National Organization for the Development of Andean, Amazonian and Afro Peruvian Peoples truly implements this new law, we will not be caught in false triumphs." James Anaya, the United Nations special rapporteur on the rights of Indigenous peoples, congratulated the Congress and also called for adequate implementation. According to a press release, Anaya said, “I hope that this is indicative of a strong commitment by the Peruvian State to respond to the demands of indigenous peoples to be consulted about measures that directly affect them, and in particular about extractive industry projects in and around their territories.” This UK Guardian article explores the broader context within which the law was passed, particularly conflict arising over large-scale development and extraction projects in Indigenous territories.

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New Article on Effectiveness of Community Managed Forests

A new article published in the forthcoming issue of Forestry Ecology & Management assesses the role and conservation effectiveness of protected and community managed forests in the long-term maintenance of forest cover in the tropics. With authors from Mexico, Indonesia, and Spain, the meta-analysis compares land use and land cover change data from peer-reviewed case studies on 40 protected areas and 33 community managed forests. The study found that community managed forests presented lower and less variable annual deforestation rates than protected forests, which backs up other recent challenges to the long-held belief that the best way to conserve forests is to set them aside in strictly protected areas. The authors propose that "a more resilient and robust forest conservation strategy should encompass a regional vision with different land use types in which social and economic needs of local inhabitants, as well as tenure rights and local capacities, are recognized."

Overall, the paper suggests that community-managed forests could be a cost-efficient and effective solution to reducing deforestation and ensuring the sustainable use of forests while benefiting local livelihoods. It also underscores earlier findings by other scientists that show that greater rule-making autonomy at the local level are associated with better forest management and livelihood benefits. The full text of the article can be downloaded here.

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UCT Seminar on Traditional Knowledge and Intellectual Property Rights

Pelargonium. Copyright: African Centre

for Biosafety

On the 26th of August, the Law, Race and Gender Research Unit of the University of Cape Town (UCT) held a seminar on “Traditional knowledge, intellectual property rights power and benefit sharing: case studies/evidence from pelargonium, rooibos and hoodia.” Natural Justice and the African Centre for Biosafety were invited to attend the series and present on their work with African Indigenous peoples and local communities.

Gino Cocchiaro (Natural Justice) presented on the South African Rooibos–Nestle and San-Hoodia case studies. During his presentation, Gino also highlighted how biocultural community protocols have been used by some communities in Africa, Asia and South America to convey their ways of life, values, and customary laws to third parties and challenge the fragmentary nature of state law and incorporate community integrated perspectives.

Mariam Mayet, Director of the African Centre for Biosafety, presented on her work with communities in South Africa to oppose and eventually defeat an attempt by German pharmaceutical giant Schwabe to file patents over the use of pelargonium for the treatment of coughs and Tuberculosis without obtaining the consent of the communities who are the holders of the traditional medicinal knowledge of pelargonium.

Following the presentation and discussion with members of the University of Cape Town, Natural Justice met with the Legal Resource Centre, the African Centre for Biosafety, and the Law, Race and Gender Research Unit to discuss how South African communities could protect their traditional knowledge in relation to the use of pelargonium.

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