[Pirateninfo] Women Against Biopiracy, in Africa

[pcl at jpberlin.de]

July 25, 2005
Women Against Biopiracy, in Africa
Triggers for Innovation - New Models for Change and Social 
Entrepreneurship 
Despite recent court rulings, "biopiracy" -- non-locals patenting 
treatments based on plants used by indigenous communities -- 
continues to be a problem. Construction of databases and knowledge 
archives about native group uses of local plants is an increasingly 
popular way of combatting biopiracy (by establishing "prior art," and 
blocking patents), but such projects are not easily accomplished. 
Indigenous knowledge is often an oral tradition, and remote 
communities in the developing world may not be willing to share that 
knowledge with outsiders.
The Management of Indigenous Knowledge Systems Project is a South 
African effort to identify and protect the unique local biosystems 
used by local communities as medicines, based the authority -- and 
knowledge -- of female traditional leaders. The result has been 
something even greater than a knowledge archive:
The female traditional leaders from the Eastern Cape said that the 
initiative to manage indigenous knowledge systems was community-
driven. Before embarking on the Management of Indigenous Knowledge 
Systems Project, female traditional leaders from Rharhabe Kingdom 
focused on how commercial exploitation of traditional foods could 
help develop their communities. However, they later realized the need 
to link the management of indigenous knowledge systems on traditional 
foods with that of traditional medicines in order to make their 
promotion of rural livelihoods or development effective. The sources 
of traditional foods and medicines are largely indigenous plants and 
grains. Some medicines are also acquired from animals and reptiles. 
The female traditional leaders said that they intended to uplift the 
socio-economic well-being of their communities through the 
establishment of community business enterprises that produced, 
marketed, and sold traditional foods and medicines. Already, a 
traditional food production center and restaurant have been set up in 
the Eastern Cape-based Rharhabe Kingdom.
Local women are already being trained to manage this new community 
business enterprise, which will culminate in the establishment of a 
traditional restaurant in the Rharhabe Kingdom. About 20 female 
traditional leaders from Rharhabe Kingdom said that they also 
intended to set up a traditional medicine pharmacy in their Kingdom.
One notable aspect of the project is that it aims to stop not just 
institutional biopiracy (from pharmaceutical concerns, for example) 
but also casual biopiracy from local city dwellers. Apparently, a 
number of useful plants are being over-harvested by South African 
urbanites looking for medicinal or nutritional supplements.
(Via SciDev.net)
Posted by Jamais Cascio at July 25, 2005 02:51 PM