Source:
Third World Network
This 2003 article argues that while recent years have seen an increasing appreciation of the importance of indigenous knowledge (IK), developing countries are paid only a minute fraction of the value for the raw materials and knowledge they contribute to international industries. (pdf)
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BACKGROUND
According to the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), 'local and indigenous knowledge' refers to the cumulative and complex bodies of knowledge, know-how, practices and representations that are maintained and developed by peoples with extended histories of interactions with the natural environment. These cognitive systems are part of a complex that also includes language, attachment to place, spirituality and worldview (UNESCO). These knowledge systems have recently gained recognition, especially for their contribution to environmentally sustainable resource use and the conservation of biodiversity.
However, indigenous knowledge is also being appropriated by external entities seeking to gain profits that in general are not channeled back into the indigenous communities. The culturally western-based system of patent rights as laid out in the WTO's TRIPS agreement, for example, to a large part ignores the customary laws practiced by indigenous communities, making it extremely difficult for them to claim any rights over their accumulated knowledge. It limits their possibilities of using local resources in ways they see fit and allows for outside use of these resources in manners which the indigenous communities may deem offensive.
The future of indigenous knowledge is further endangered by the marginalization of indigenous people in terms of education. For reasons such as discrimination and remoteness, many indigenous children lack access to formal education which in turn leads to further marginalization. Moreover, the education provided in formal education systems tends to fail in providing for indigenous childrens' specific needs and ignore the importance of maintaining and disseminating indigenous knowledge.
Until recently, little or no credence was given by scientists and scholars grounded in the western scientific tradition to the validity of non-western indigenous knowledge. This paper develops a conceptual framework surrounding the nature of knowledge, knowledge systems, paradigms, and cognitive processes in order to explore the relationship between scientific knowledge systems and indigenous knowledge systems. 1998. (doc)
The goal of this website is to raise awareness among the development community of the role that community-based practices can play in enriching the development process; and to help development practitioners mainstream indigenous/traditional knowledge into the activities of development partners and to optimize the benefits of development assistance.
This database contains examples of successful projects illustrating the use of local and indigenous knowledge in the development of cost-effective and sustainable survival strategies, covering Africa, Asia-Pacific, Europe, North America and Latin America and Caribbean. It also includes a geographical and thematic index and an index of institutions acting as indigenous knowledge resource centres.
The purpose of this site is to promote better understanding of indigenous perspectives on water and development among non-indigenous water professionals, and to enhance dialogue between indigenous political and spiritual leaders on one hand, and the agents of water resources development on the other.
The Science and Development Network is a not-for-profit organisation that aims to provide reliable and authoritative information about science and technology for the developing world. This section of their website is dedicated to indigenous knowledge within the scope of agriculture and environment.
Information about indigenous agricultural and environmental knowledge systems from the Center for International Earth Science Information Network (CIESIN) at Columbia University.
The goal of the Center for Indigenous Knowledge for Agriculture and Rural Development (CIKARD) at Iowa State University is to collect indigenous knowledge and make it available to development professionals and scientists. CIKARD concentrates on indigenous knowledge systems, decision-making systems, organizational structures, and innovations.
The LINKS project builds dialogue amongst traditional knowledge holders, natural and social scientists, resource managers and decision-makers to enhance biodiversity conservation and secure an active and equitable role for local communities in resource governance.
On 20 October 2005 the UNESCO General Conference adopted the Convention on the Protection and Promotion of the Diversity of Cultural Expressions (CCD). The approval of this important international treaty is considered to be a moral victory in the long-running fight to preserve the world's cultural richness.
The General Assembly backed protections for the human rights of indigenous peoples, adopting a landmark declaration that brought to an end nearly 25 years of contentious negotiations over the rights of native people to protect their lands and resources, and to maintain their unique cultures and traditions. 2007.
A policy statement first presented in 1999 by the organizers of the World Indigenous Peoples Conference on Education (WIPCE), outlining principles considered vital to achieving reform and transformation of education for indigenous peoples.
The author of this article argues that the western-imposed systems of education imposed on indigenous people around the world both marginalizes them and fails to meet their specific needs. According to him, indigenous peoples today want to revitalize the basic elements of their learning systems, while they learn new ideas and skills to survive in their rapidly changing environment. 1999. (pdf)
IWGIA relates the Millenium Development Goals of universal primary education and gender equality to the situation of indigenous people. Also contains a list of links to articles and reports that examine the subject of indigenous people and education.
This UNICEF digest examines the impact on indigenous children of situations in which their human rights are compromised or denied, and identifies programmes and practices designed to protect and promote these rights, including the highest attainable standard of health, education, protection and participation in decision-making processes. 2003. (pdf)
In most countries, educational figures indicate low enrolment rates, poor school performance and high dropout rates among indigenous children, thus identifying them as a particular risk group to be targeted in preventive efforts. This risk is exacerbated by socio-economic marginalization, discrimination and lack of respect for their fundamental rights, leading to the further vulnerability of these children, who face the double marginalization of being both indigenous and children. 2003.
The objective of the project Education for Work, Employment and Rights of the Indigenous Peoples (ETEDPI) was to contribute to the reduction of both poverty and social exclusion of the indigenous peoples, through strategies and programmes designed to improve literacy and basic education. 2006. (pdf)
With a focus on promoting universally shared values and a culturally sensitive diversification of educational contents and methods, UNESCO is working to promote quality education as a fundamental right for all by addressing a broad range of themes, which include respect for cultural and linguistic diversity.
A project of Tebtebba, the Indigenous Peoples' Global Research and Education Network aims to enhance the capacity of indigenous activists in the field of research, education and development. It aspires to initiate and participate in frame-setting, developing research and education modules, documenting best practices, conducting policy analysis and recommendations and enhancing the capacities of indigenous peoples.
Information related to Article 8(j) of the 1992 Convention on Biological Diversity, which specifically concerns traditional knowledge, innovations and practice.
The traditional knowledge information portal, developed by the Secretariat of the Convention on Biological Diversity, aims to promote awareness and enhance access by indigenous and local communities and other interested parties to information on traditional knowledge, innovations and practices relevant for the conservation and sustainable use of biological diversity.
The International Indigenous Forum on Biodiversity (IIFB) is a collection of representatives from indigenous governments, indigenous non-governmental organizations and indigenous scholars and activists that organize around the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) and other important international environmental meetings.
A briefing paper written in preparation for the World Summit for Sustainable Development in 2002, offering an initial compilation of statements and position papers of indigenous peoples on issues concerning the environment: biological diversity, climate change, and mining. 2001. (pdf)
Seventeen countries rich in biological diversity and associated traditional knowledge have formed a group known as the Like Minded Megadiverse Countries (LMMC). The LMMC group, which holds more than 70% of all biodiversity, and 45% of the world's population, was formed to enable these countries to more effectively fight to obtain the benefits from biological resources and in combating biopiracy.
The Center for Biodiversity and Indigenous Knowledge aims to explore alternative development approaches for working directly with indigenous people and communities to enhance their livelihoods and maintain cultural and biological diversity through the application of indigenous cosmovision, knowledge, and innovative technology in southwestern China.
Indigenous people and intellectual property rights
In an increasingly technology-driven world, the standard of protection provided by intellectual property (IP) rules is affecting development policies, human rights and other public-interest goals more than ever. Strict IP rules have had an adverse impact on the ability of many governments to fulfil their human rights obligations, which include obligations to ensure access to affordable medicines, educational goods and adequate food.
Information on intellectual property in the WTO, news and official records of the activities of the TRIPS Council, and details of the WTO's work with other international organizations in the field.
Article 27 of the TRIPS Agreement defines which inventions governments are obliged to make eligible for patenting, and what they can exclude from patenting. Part (b) of paragraph 3 allows governments to exclude some kinds of inventions from patenting, i.e. plants, animals and 'essentially' biological processes (but micro-organisms, and non-biological and microbiological processes have to be eligible for patents). However, plant varieties have to be eligible for protection either through patent protection or a system created specifically for the purpose ('sui generis'), or a combination of the two.
WIPO provides a forum for international policy debate and development of legal mechanisms and practical tools concerning the protection of traditional knowledge (TK) and traditional cultural expressions (folklore) against misappropriation and misuse, and the intellectual property (IP) aspects of access to and benefit-sharing in genetic resources.
In 2005 the WIPO General Assembly established the Voluntary Fund for Accredited Indigenous and Local Communities. The fund was designed exclusively to promote the participation of representatives of accredited indigenous and local communities at the sessions of the WIPO Intergovernmental Committee on Intellectual Property and Genetic Resources, Traditional Knowledge and Folklore (IGC). This booklet outlines the process of applying to the fund. (pdf)
According to the author, western legal regimes either totally negate indigenous customary laws or accommodate only those aspects which reinforce
them. She argues that the intellectual property rights regime, particularly the Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS) of the World Trade Organization Agreements, is the latest example of this kind of imposition. 1999. (pdf)
Call of the Earth (Llamado de la Tierra) seeks to provide indigenous peoples with a forum for dialogue on intellectual property policy that will result in a more substantive and meaningful participation of indigenous peoples in the international policy arena and enhance their ability to strategically influence conceptual approaches, policies and practices in intellectual property policy development.
In October 2002, the AAAS launched a new project exploring the intersection between traditional knowledge (TK), intellectual property, and human rights. The goals of the project include: exploring the role of the public domain as it applies to TK, examining issues affecting TK relating to the current intellectual property regime, and identifying and applying intellectual property options available to traditional knowledge holders.
For centuries, shamans of indigenous tribes throughout the Amazon Basin have processed the bark of Banisteriopsis caapi, along with other rainforest plants, to produce a ceremonial drink known as 'ayahuasca' or 'yage' The shamans use ayahuasca in religious and healing ceremonies to diagnose and treat illnesses, meet with spirits, and divine the future. On November 3, 1999, the United States Patent and Trademark Office (PTO) rejected a patent that Loren Miller, an American citizen, had obtained on a purported variety of B. caapi. 1999.
This 2003 article argues that while recent years have seen an increasing appreciation of the importance of indigenous knowledge (IK), developing countries are paid only a minute fraction of the value for the raw materials and knowledge they contribute to international industries. (pdf)
The Global Forum of Indigenous Peoples and the Information Society, held in 2003, was one of the largest official parallel events of the World Summit on the Information Society. Participants examined both potentials and obstacles to the full and effective participation of indigenous peoples in the information society.
