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TITLE- COMPARATIVE ANAYSIS OF BIODIVERSITY AND TRADITIONAL KNOWLDEGE
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TITLE- COMPARATIVE ANAYSIS OF
BIODIVERSITY AND TRADITIONAL KNOWLDEGE
Authored by -Ayush upmanyu[1]
INTRODUCTION
What is Biodiversity?
Biodiversity is a
collective lineage that subsists as a result of years of evolutionary
processes. It is generally defined as “the variability among living organisms
from all sources including, among other things, terrestrial, marine and other
aquatic ecosystems, and the ecological complexes of which they are a part; this
includes diversity within species, between species and of ecosystems.” [2]This
includes intraspecific, interspecific, and ecosystem diversity. Therefore, it
can be classified into genetic diversity (diversity within species), species
diversity (diversity at the species level), and ecosystem diversity. Includes
both managed and unmanaged ecosystems. The sustainability and protection of
biodiversity has become increasingly important in recent years, as diversity is
essential for sustaining life for both humans and other life forms on Earth.
What is traditional knowledge and how can it
help conserve biodiversity?
Simply put,
traditional knowledge refers to the know-how, practices and innovative tools
used by indigenous peoples and communities around the world to advance various
goals. It is also often called ethnoscience. H. As a "knowledge
store" containing "concept systems, beliefs, and learning
methods." This form of knowledge is an accumulation of collective
experience accumulated over centuries, gradually adapted to topographical and
cultural needs. , songs, folklore, proverbs, cultural values, beliefs, rituals,
community laws, local languages, and agricultural practices, including the evolution
of plant and animal species. Its importance lies in the fact that it is
practical in nature, especially in the fields of agriculture, fisheries,
health, horticulture, forestry, and environmental management in general. As
these knowledge systems are built through gradual accumulation and
transmission, they often lead to the generation of spatio-temporal insights
that are of critical importance to the governance and implementation of
biodiversity measures. Traditional knowledge can therefore help and contribute
in the following ways:
Identify indicators to calculate the current
state of biodiversity, ecosystem services and
cultural well-being;
Set different thresholds to measure different levels of intervention management Stimulate
decline in biodiversity; and
Set targets and meet the objective as per the rate of
recovery.
Such knowledge systems have contributed to various
fields such
as Biodiversity. Conservation of biodiversity and preservation of ecosystem services, restoration
of tropical ecology and biocultural, sustainable water
management, conservation of genetic resources and management of other natural resources.
Additionally, indigenous
knowledge has also proven useful for ecosystem restoration and
often includes elements of adaptive management.
Civilization is attempting to return to
its old ways. Therefore, today it plays an important role not only
for indigenous communities but also for other modern industries
and farmers as many products are herbal medicines
and health products, and cosmetics, including other products like agriculture,
non-wood products, and handicrafts.
In addition, traditional
knowledge can make a significant contribution to sustainable development,
as most indigenous and
local communities are located in areas where the vast majority of the world's genetic resources are found.
Some of their practices have been shown to improve and promote biodiversity at a local level and help
maintain a healthy
ecosystem. Their skills and techniques provide valuable
information to the global community and help recommend useful models for
biodiversity policies. Furthermore, as on-site communities with extensive
knowledge of local environments, indigenous and local communities are most
directly involved with conservation and sustainable use.
Regulatory Framework at National,
Regional and International Level
Biodiversity
includes all types of plants, animals and microorganisms and the differences
between them and the ecosystems to which they belong. It occurs at three
levels, namely:(i) species level: refers to the number and types of living
organisms; (ii) gene level - refers to genetic variation within a species
population;
(iii) ecosystem
level – refers to the diversity of habitats, communities and ecological
processes that take place in such habitats;
Many Governments are
now in the process of implementing Article 8 (j) of the
Convention through their national biodiversity action plans, strategies and
programmes. A number of Governments have adopted specific laws, policies and
administrative arrangements for protecting traditional knowledge, emphasizing
that the prior, informed consent of knowledge-holders must be attained before
their knowledge can be used by others.[3]
Traditional
knowledge (TK) associated with biological resources is an invisible part of the
resource itself that can be transformed into commercial advantage by guiding
the development of beneficial products and processes[4].
TK's valuable leads save time, money and investment in research and product
development for the modern biotechnology industry. Therefore, some benefit must
accrue to the creators and owners of TK. Only new knowledge can be patented.
Patents apply only to inventions, not to existing knowledge. However, if the
knowledge is verbal only, many IPR rules do not consider oral knowledge
evidence of previous documents, and there is a risk that this knowledge will be
patented. Biopiracy is the acquisition of intellectual property rights without
the consent of the original owner of the biological resource/knowledge on which
the innovation is based and/or the acquisition of biological
resources/knowledge without the consent of the original owner of the profit.
commercial exploitation (without obtaining intellectual property rights).
Biopiracy is a form of theft. Examples of biopiracy include patents granted to
neem, turmeric and naphull wheat varieties.
The impact of
biopiracy is both economic and ethical.
1. Original owner does not receive profit
share/credit for resource/knowledge advancement
2. Once the
intellectual property rights are acquired, the original owner cannot
commercially exploit the resources protected by the intellectual property
rights.
3. Infringement of the rights of the original
resource/knowledge owner.
An important issue for gaining consent or
benefit is identifying the "original owner" of a biological resource
or related knowledge.
India is one of her 12 mega-biodiversity
countries in the world. With only 2.4% of its land area, India already accounts
for 7-8% of the world's recorded species. This figure is based on examining
65-70% of the country's total geographic area. The Indian Plant Survey and the Indian
Fauna Survey record over 47,000 species of plants and over 81,000 species of
animals, respectively. Some of the remaining regions (such as the Himalayan
region, A islands and N islands) are expected to be much richer in biodiversity
than most of the regions already surveyed.
The Convention
on Biological Diversity (CBD) is a landmark in the fields of environment and
development, as it was the first to adopt a holistic rather than sectoral
approach to the conservation of the planet's biodiversity and the sustainable
use of biological resources. It is a periodic event. This is a framework of
agreement on two counts. In the first sense, it leaves the individual
Contracting Parties to shape most of the provisions. be implemented. This is
because its provisions are mostly expressed as overall goals and policies,
rather than as hard and precise obligations as in, for example, the Convention
on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild
Fauna and Flora (CITES).
On May
22, 1992, the nations of the world adopted the CBD in Nairobi and on
June 5, 1992, the CBD was presented at the United
Nations Conference on Environment and Development in Rio
de Janeiro, where a record 150 countries signed the convention.
The main
purposes of the Convention are to:
1. Conservation of biodiversity;
2. Sustainable
use of biodiversity components.
3. Fair and
equitable sharing of benefits arising from utilization of genetic resources.
The CBD provides that Parties have sovereignty
over their biological resources, but facilitate access to genetic resources by
other Parties, subject to domestic law and mutually agreed terms. This
necessitated the passage of legislation to provide a framework for granting
access, set the conditions for that access, and ensure fair benefit sharing.
There are many laws and bills related to
forestry, wildlife, etc.
1. Indian Forest
Act, 1927
2. Wildlife
(Conservation) Act 1972
3. Forest
(Conservation) Act, 1980
4th Patents Act
of 2002 (2nd Amendment)
5. Plant Variety
Protection Act 2001 and Farmers Rights Act
6. Biodiversity
Bill, 2000 # Kerala Tribal Peoples Intellectual Property Rights Bill, 1996
7. Karnataka
Community Intellectual Property Bill, 1994.
These Acts cover protection of flora and fauna
in notified sanctuaries and national parks, six specified plant species and
regulates hunting of animals specified in Schedules appended to the Acts.
Therefore, the protocol omits the following from its scope: # The wild flora outside of the reported
protected areas and national parks (many of which are outside forest areas,
including deserts, coastal and marine systems, grasslands, river systems and
wetlands) allows a large number of invertebrates (of the 81,000 animal species
described so far) in the country, around
68,000 are invertebrates ) and microorganisms
The
Acts also do not deal with the following:
# Issue of access to biological resources and
benefit sharing # Protection of traditional knowledge and equitable sharing of
benefits arising out of the use of such knowledge.
The purpose of the Biodiversity Bill is to
realize equitable sharing of benefits arising out of the use of biological
resources and associated knowledge. The proposed legislation primarily
addresses the issue of access to biological resources by foreign individuals,
institutions or companies.
Traditional knowledge to protect
biodiversity To be effective, efforts to protect biodiversity may depend
on context-specific local knowledge and
institutional mechanisms such as cooperation and learning collective action;
intergenerational transmission of
knowledge, skills and strategies; concern for the welfare of future
generations; dependence on local resources; limitation of exploitation of
resources; an attitude of gratitude and respect for nature; management,
conservation and sustainable use of biodiversity outside formal protected
areas; and transmission of beneficial species between households, villages, and
wider landscapes. Traditional knowledge of biodiversity conservation in India is as diverse as the 2753 communities and
their geographical distribution, agricultural strategies, dietary habits,
livelihood strategies and cultural traditions.
Over thousands
of years, local people have developed a variety of vegetation management
practices that still exist in tropical Asia, South America, Africa, and other
parts of the world. We follow ethical principles that help us coordinate our
actions. Such systems, often integrated with traditional rainwater harvesting,
promote landscape heterogeneity by encouraging the growth of trees and other
vegetation, which support diverse fauna. I'm here.
In India, these systems can be categorized in
different ways.
1. Religious Traditions:
temple forest,
monastery forest, sacred tree
2. Traditional
tribal traditions:
sacred grove,
sacred grove, sacred tree
3. Royal
Tradition:
Royal hunting
grounds, elephant forests, royal gardens, etc. # Livelihood Traditions:
Forests and
orchards that serve as cultural and social spaces and as sources of subsistence
products and services.
Tradition is also reflected in various
practices related to trees, forests and water use and management. These
include:
1. Collection
Tradition is
also reflected in various practices related to trees, forests and water use and
management. These include:
Collection and management of timber and
non-timber forest products.
2. Traditional
ethics, norms and practices for the careful use of forests, water and other
resources.
3. Traditional
Forest conservation, production and restoration practices.
4. Cultivation
of useful trees in cultivated landscapes and agroforestry systems
5. Creation and
maintenance of traditional water harvesting systems such as tanks and planting
of nearby groves. These systems support lower biodiversity than natural
ecosystems, but can help alleviate harvest pressures. There are 15 types of
resource management practices that contribute to landscape heterogeneity. The
Bishnoi community's environmental ethics suggest compassion for wildlife and
prohibit the logging of the Prosopis achenaria trees found in the area.
Bishnoi’s teachings declare:
"If you
have to cut off a head (life) to save a tree, know that bargains are
cheap."
National regulatory framework
At the national
level, India has enacted the Biological Diversity Act (2002). It stipulates
that prior approval from the National Biodiversity Authority is required before
applying for any kind of Intellectual Property Rights (IPR) based on research
or information on protected biological resources. increase. India.
Additionally, the Patent Act (2nd Amendment) provides for disclosure of the
source and geographic origin of biological material/related knowledge used in
an invention. It also provides for challenging the grant or revocation of a
patent if biological material and related sources of knowledge are undisclosed
or unlawfully disclosed.
The Biodiversity Act - 2002 deals primarily
with access to genetic resources and related knowledge by foreign individuals,
institutions or enterprises and equitable sharing of benefits to countries and
peoples arising from the use of these resources and knowledge. to ensure
A three-tier structure will be established at
federal, state and local levels.
1. National Biodiversity Agency (NBA):
All matters
relating to requests for access by foreigners, institutions or companies and
all matters relating to the dissemination of research results to foreigners are
handled by the National Biodiversity Agency.
2. State Biodiversity Board (SBB):
All matters
related to India's access for commercial purposes are the responsibility of the
State Biodiversity Board (SBB). Indian industry should announce this in advance
Concerns of SBB
regarding the use of biological resources. State commissions have the power to
restrict activities that violate the goals of conservation, sustainable use and
equitable distribution of benefits derived from biological resources.
3. Biodiversity
Management Committee (BMC):
Local government bodies are encouraged to
establish biodiversity management committees in their respective fields for the
protection, sustainable use, documentation and recording of knowledge on
biodiversity and traditional knowledge. It has been.
The NBA and SBB
are obligated to consult with affected BMCs on matters relating to the use of
biological resources and related knowledge within their jurisdiction.
The CBD provides
that access to genetic resources and realization of benefits are subject to
national law by formulating prior informed consent (PIC) and mutually agreed
terms (MAT); India emphasizes that such national measures alone are not
sufficient to ensure delivery of services. to country of origin or provider.
This is especially true when genetic material from one country is used in
another country to develop a product or process for which patent protection is
sought. The burden of benefit-sharing is also shared by user countries to
create an enabling environment and trust through compliance with PIC provisions
and legislative measures to ensure equitable benefit-sharing as outlined in the
Convention. I have to.
Regulatory framework at the
regional level
India's
Biodiversity Information System 'IBIS' should be established. It builds on the
wealth of existing information on biodiversity and the information gained from
the preparation of PBRs. IBIS promotes the conservation and sustainable use of
biological resources, the enhancement of the value of biodiversity and
associated knowledge, and the equitable sharing of benefits arising from their
use. NBA may start preparing for IBIS during Plan 11. However, there are many
issues related to IBIS that need to be addressed, including:
IRP issues
related to sharing value and benefit while maintaining confidentiality while
promoting value. These may be carried out through the National Innovation
Foundation. The intellectual property legal framework should be strengthened by
expanding the legal/economic/commercial departments of certain universities,
where the Intellectual Property Centre is already functioning, and the
facilities of the National Law School.
The documentation of traditional knowledge
available in archival documents is carried out by NISCAIR (CSIR Lab) in the
form of a computerized database, the Traditional Knowledge Digital Library
(TKDL). The creation of PBRs is expected to document the unencrypted oral
traditional knowledge of the local population. Considering that this is a
difficult and time-consuming task, the All-India Coordination Project on
Traditional Knowledge to document unencrypted oral traditional knowledge of
local peoples, especially of known biological resources. is proposed to start
with the 11th Plan. worth. Conservation of biodiversity at the genetic,
population, species, community and ecosystem level is achieved by two main
approaches: (i) in situ conservation and (ii) ex situ conservation. Protected
areas (PAs), which include forest, wetland, coastal, marine and mangrove
ecosystems, represent on-site biodiversity conservation. These PAs form important
repositories of cultural heritage and gene pools.
There is an urgent need to strengthen
conservation research and monitoring in all protected areas. This can be
achieved by establishing conservation research and monitoring units in each
protected area. Each unit should have at least 1 botanical taxonomist, 1
taxonomist/wildlife biologist, 1 ecologist, and 1 resource economist/social
scientist.
Domesticated biodiversity includes a wide
range of landraces of plant and animal varieties that represent valuable gene
pools useful in improving modern breeds/cultivars.
Methods of in
situ conservation
As part of the
ex-situ conservation approach, seed banks, sperm and egg banks of threatened
biota (excluding domesticated biodiversity) should be established at forest
research institutes, BSI, ZSI, selected universities, national institutes and
even leading botanical gardens and zoological parks. India has a network of 96 national parks and
509 wildlife sanctuaries in the different states that a harbour important flora
and fauna that is endemic and insignia. However, the Protected Areas (PAs) can
still be termed as discreet isolated patches of forests managed exclusively for
wildlife/ biodiversity preservation and many important habitats still exist in
the rest of the forests, which require special attention for conservation for
ensuring sustainability of the populations. Habitat in these areas is being
depleted for a variety of reasons, as will be discussed later. The problem is
exacerbated by the fact that although special protection mechanisms are in
place within protected areas and wildlife within protected areas is adequately
protected, wildlife outside protected
areas remains at risk. Here the guards are poorly organized and managed and
poorly equipped. In fact, it's easy to say it doesn't exist for the most part.
Regulatory framework at the
international level
Global pressure
to privatize biodiversity continues to encourage ownership of these genetic
resources. Many countries and the large companies they support want to manage
these resources and associated knowledge for commercial gain. Such control
measures are the use of intellectual property rights, especially patents. TRIPS
obligations may adversely affect the use of biological and genetic resources and
the distribution of the resulting benefits. Intellectual property protection in
the current TRIPS regime can deprive countries that provide biological and
genetic resources and providers of traditional knowledge about the use of these
resources from a fair share of profits.
Fair and equitable benefit sharing is one of
the objectives of the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) and the
implementation of intellectual property rights (IPR) obligations should be
consistent with the objectives of the CBD. This is contained in Article 16(5)
of the CBD.
In recent years,
there has been growing concern about "biopiracy" by institutions and
companies in developed countries regarding traditional knowledge related to
biological resources (agriculture and medicine). Under the WTO – World Trade
Organization TRIPs Agreement, countries must ensure intellectual property
protection for plant varieties at the national level through patents and/or an
effective proprietary system. By calling for a full review of the TRIPS
Agreement, as well as a review of Article 27.3(b), Asian countries have taken a
prominent position in the WTO. India, for other Asian countries, requested
harmonization of TRIPs with the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) in a
submission to the TRIPs Board. At the 4th WTO Ministerial Conference in Doha,
China, she issued a statement that the G77 and the TRIPs Agreement should
support and not contradict her CBD objectives and principles. The statement
also offered practical advice, stating that Member States should agree not to
initiate dispute settlement procedures against developing countries during the
course of this review. China, India, Pakistan, Thailand, and other African and
Latin American countries have also submitted bills to the TRIPS Council to
amend the TRIPS Agreement, requiring patent applicants for biological materials
or traditional knowledge to do so.
Conclusion
With increasing
government support, it is clear that industry is rapidly gaining control over
plant genetic resources and associated knowledge through the use of intellectual
property rights. However, opposition to this encroachment on community rights
has been varied and experimental. Overall, local governments are increasingly
losing control of their facilities and their knowledge is being increasingly
misused. The tide is beginning to turn as groups, communities and even
governments become more aware and those affected become more organized.
However, there are many strategic initiatives to be taken between NGOs and
popular movements to build stronger social forces against the growing influence
of trade and intellectual property rights on genetic resources and traditional
knowledge.
REFRENCES-
Article Information
TITLE- COMPARATIVE ANAYSIS OF BIODIVERSITY AND TRADITIONAL KNOWLDEGE
Authors: Ayush upmanyu
- Journal IJLRA
- ISSN 2582-6433
- Published 2022/12/01
- Volume 2
- Issue 7
About Journal
International Journal for Legal Research and Analysis
- Abbreviation IJLRA
- ISSN 2582-6433
- Access Open Access
- License CC 4.0
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