Biopiracy

La bioprospection peut être définie comme l’inventaire et l’évaluation des éléments constitutifs de la diversité biologique ou biodiversité d’un écosystème particulier. Cette démarche présente un intérêt scientifique certain pour la connaissance de la biodiversité, son utilisation durable et le cas échéant sa valorisation (produits pharmaceutiques, cosmétiques, nouvelles variétés végétales, etc.). Effectuée en collaboration avec les populations autochtones et locales détentrices de connaissances associées aux ressources, la bioprospection a permis des avancées considérables. Il s’agit néanmoins d’activités qui ont parfois été très critiquées en raison des conditions d’accès et d’utilisation des ressources et des conditions de collaborations avec les populations détentrices de savoirs. Ainsi, entre bioprospection et biopiraterie la frontière est parfois difficile à définir et très souvent difficile à appréhender pour les chercheuses et les chercheurs.


Durant cet atelier, j’aborderai des cas récents de bioprospection, en particulier le cas du brevet « Utilisation de l’acide rosmarinique et de ses dérivés pour traiter la ciguatéra » et le brevet « Simalikalactone e et son utilisation comme médicament ». Il s’agira de décortiquer les différentes phases de ces projets, de la collecte jusqu’à la valorisation des résultats afin de mettre en évidence les enjeux scientifiques, éthiques et juridiques associés à ces cas.


Une analyse du cadre juridique au sein duquel évoluent les bioprospecteurs sera présentée. Cela sera l’occasion de mettre en évidence le caractère complexe de ce cadre ainsi que la position inconfortable dans laquelle il place les chercheuses et les chercheuses.

1 Biopiracy threat to traditional crops, New Agriculturalist, www.new-agri.co.uk. quality, reputation, or other characteristic of the good is essentially attributable to its geographic indication". 2 Generally speaking, geographical indications are useful for a number of reasons: 3 1. They could protect and reward traditions while allowing innovation. 2. They will emphasize the relationships between human cultures and their local land and environment. 3. They are not freely transferable from one owner to another. 4. They can be maintained as long as the collection tradition is maintained.

The European Community regulations on genetically modified organisms
and novel foods come from a very wide range of origins, however it is
possible to identify four primary sources of law: the European Community Treaty, international law, secondary legislation, and decisions of the European Court of Justice. Regardless of their legal character, one common feature of those regulations is that the European Community pays particular attention to high level of food security, human health, animal welfare and environmental protection. All foodstuffs produced or imported to Member States have to meet strict requirements that guarantee access to safe and healthy food.
At the same time, principles of food law shouldn’t act as barriers to establishment or functioning of the Internal Market. Moreover, the European legislators should consider that new regulations cannot present constraint for technology development which constitutes one of the fundamental elements of the Lisbon Strategy (2000). It is necessary to merge social expectations of safe and healthy food with economic and political expectations of the European Community which is supposed to be a competitive participant of global economy based on knowledge.

Table of Contents, Preface and Introduction to Shela Sheikh and Uriel Orlow, eds., Uriel Orlow: Theatrum Botanicum (Berlin: Sternberg Press, 2018)

Book description:
Uriel Orlow: Theatrum Botanicum
Edited by Shela Sheikh and Uriel Orlow

Contributions by Sita Balani, Melanie Boehi, Clelia Coussonet, Karen Flint, Jason T. W. Irving, Nomusa Makhubu, Bettina Malcomess, Karin van Marle, Khadija von Zinnenburg Carroll

This publication emerges from Uriel Orlow’s Theatrum Botanicum (2015–18), a multi-faceted project encompassing film, sound, photography, and installation that looks to the botanical world as a stage for politics. Working from the dual vantage points of South Africa and Europe, the project considers plants as both witnesses to, and dynamic agents in, history. It links nature and humans, rural and cosmopolitan medicine, tradition and modernity across different geographies, histories, and systems of knowledge—exploring the variety of curative, spiritual, and economic powers of plants. The project addresses “botanical nationalism” and “flower diplomacy” during apartheid; plant migration; the role and legacies of the imperial classification and naming of plants; bioprospecting and biopiracy; and the garden planted by Nelson Mandela and his fellow inmates at Robben Island prison.

This publication is made up of two intertwining books: one documents the works of Theatrum Botanicum, including the scripts for two films; the second is a compendium of brief, commissioned essays that aims to offer an accessible snapshot of the complex and multifaceted issues that inform and are raised by the artworks. The independent but interrelated essays, which either speak directly to the artworks or follow lines of inquiry alongside them, cover perspectives from postcolonial cultural studies; art criticism and art history; natural history, botany (including ethnobotany and economic botany), and conservation; jurisprudence and critical legal studies; and critical race studies.

Design by In the shade of a tree (Samuel Bonnet, Sophie Demay, and Maël Fournier-Comte)

June 2018, English
21.5 x 29 cm, 368 pages, color ill., softcover
ISBN 978-3-95679-415-5

https://www.sternberg-press.com/index.php?pageId=1835&l=en&bookId=729&sort=year%20DESC,month%20DESC

Within the frame of the so called “digital era”, the boundary between the biological and digital domains is less clear, raising fundamental challenges and questions for society and public policy. In this chapter we discuss on how fast biotechnological development challenges the scope the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) in terms of conservation & utilization of biodiversity and Access to genetic resources and Benefit Sharing (abs). For this purpose, we distinguish and reflect on two generations disruptive biotechnology: on associated with genetic engineering and the other with synthetic biology. Some of the main challenges identified are related to digital biopiracy, the conceptualization of synthetic biology, the evaluation and monitoring of impacts, and the fair participation on the benefits derived from the use of genetic resources. The chapter offers some final remarks regarding policy implications and future lines of research.

As a biologically mega-diverse country with rich associated TK, Nigeria has had its own fair share of biopiracy. However, a unique feature of the reported instances of biopiracy in Nigeria is the fact that most of the misappropriations of TK and patenting of the resulting inventions are done by Nigerian citizens. Such poaching of TK for the purpose of this article can be termed 'insider biopiracy'. Insider biopiracy is as pernicious to the cultural and economic interests of indigenous communities in their TK as other acts of biopiracy carried out by multinational companies. Tackling such biopiracy patents particularly in foreign patent offices where they are mostly issued, usually involves a post patent challenge to prove lack of inventiveness. However, such challenge may prove daunting to Nigerian indigenous communities as not only they may not be able to muster the financial resources required for such undertaking, but also, oral TK is not regarded as prior art in some of these countries. This necessitates the need for a local legal measure that would be used to deter insider biopirates or at least ensure that the affected communities receive some measure of compensation for the unjust appropriation of their knowledge The article explores the role of the law of unjust enrichment in combating the scourge of insider biopirating of traditional knowledge on the medicinal uses of plants in Nigeria.

Este libro, como una parábola, cuenta una historia única y repetida, particular y universal. La reconstrucción acerca de cómo la Stevia pasó del uso indígena al comercio global ofrece una perspectiva extraordinaria para analizar cómo se produce la acumulación de capital. El relato es fascinante e incluye desde guaraníes Pa'i Tavy Terã a científicos anarquistas, desde empresarios desarrollistas a periodistas inescrupulosos, desde técnicos visionarios a misioneros evangélicos, desde grises diplomáticos a espías de la CIA.

Pero esa narración sirve a una finalidad más profunda. Se trata de entender cómo se generan las ganancias en el capitalismo actual y qué papel tienen los derechos de propiedad intelectual. Para lo cual se postula una nueva teoría del valor y la explotación basadas en el conocimiento. Desde ese marco se examinan de modo original cuestiones como la biopiratería, la complicidad entre concentración de capital y normativas técnicas presuntamente neutrales y las relaciones entre ciencia, tecnología e imperialismo.

This chapter deals with the international protection and promotion of indigenous traditional knowledge (TK) associated with agriculture, with a special focus on biodiversity-related knowledge. Interest in this knowledge has intensified greatly over the past two decades, along with a growing awareness of the contribution it can make, in a time of climate and environmental change, towards developing more sustainable models of agriculture and contrasting the erosion of both
biodiversity and cultural diversity. The chapter analyzes the international legal framework for TK protection, as well as current international efforts to develop sui generis protection systems that are culturally more appropriate and capable of valorizing the collective and intergenerational nature of TK. In this context, the protection of indigenous TK is put against the backdrop of the protection of TK hold by rural communities of peasants, shepherds, and fishermen. The chapter finally investigates the role of intellectual property in preserving indigenous peoples’ TK and promoting their economic empowerment. More precisely, attention is paid to the question as to whether TK falls within the boundaries of
protected property under international human rights law.

Biopiracy is a politicized term for the appropriation of biological resources and knowledge of those resources for purposes that do not meet the approval or have the consent of groups or individuals who have some prior claim to the resources or knowledge. In some cases, this appropriation refers to extraction and use only, but the term is also applied to patenting without equitable sharing of benefits. This entry discusses the origins of the term biopiracy, the roles of researchers, examples of biopiracy cases, and the relationship of biopiracy to international policy.

Since 2019, media outlets including the New York Times, Business Insider, and Fortune began identifying a "gold rush" in psychedelic medicine as venture capital flocked to invest in psychedelic start-ups. Although most psychedelics remain Schedule 1 prohibited substances, venture capital firms were encouraged by the recent decriminalization of psilocybin in Denver, CO and Oakland, CA, and investors have been eager to establish an early foothold in the nascent psychedelic marketplace in light of the recent explosion of the adjacent cannabis industry. Meanwhile, the FDA granted "breakthrough therapy" designations to two psychedelic compounds across three clinical trials: MDMA for post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) in 2017, psilocybin for treatment-resistant depression in 2018, and psilocybin for major depressive disorder (MDD) in 2019. The Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies (MAPS) projects that MDMA will gain FDA approval by 2023, and psychedelicassisted therapies are expected to extend widely to other clinical indications, including obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), substance use disorder (SUB), social anxiety in autistic adults, and end-of-life anxiety. In the global context of rising mental health burdens, the psychedelic drugs market has been projected to reach $6.85 billion by 2027. This course will examine the bioethical implications of this mainstreaming of psychedelic medicine, beginning with an introduction to some of the major methodologies and principles of bioethics as an interdisciplinary field. We will then develop a bioethical comprehension of key working concepts from psychedelic medicine, including "set and setting," suggestibility, and informed consent. Moving from the clinic to larger societal and structural dynamics, we will end by considering how market-based approaches to medicalization contrast with alternative models for new legal frameworks including decriminalization. On the basis of this groundwork, the course ends with conceptions for how the future of psychedelic medicine could be built to incorporate the bioethical themes of justice and equity towards the betterment of society.

The passage from a plant that was outside capitalism to a highly technical global commodity is far from simple or transparent. However, commercialization analyzes have been reduced mostly at the time of manufacturing. This centrality has meant concentrating attention exclusively on the traditional three factors of production (labor, capital, raw material) as well as in a single physical place (the productive unit). Our focus was, instead, on unveiling the socio-cognitive mechanisms that preceded the strictly economic phase and that were decisive in the subsequent distribution of benefits. The relations between producers, intermediaries, mediators and exploiters of traditional, scientific and technological knowledge, and the role of regulations on knowledge are highlighted. We hold that the final merchandise crystallized the power relations expressed in that history prior to commercialization. With a balance at the end of enlargement of the global asymmetries. In an effort to complement the classic Marxist vision (focused on the accumulation of capital through the exploitation of labor power), we were interested in bringing up these other mechanisms of accumulation that have become increasingly important in the current stage of capitalism: the Intellectual Property Rights. In a way, the history of the commodification of Stevia became an angle from which to look at the behavior of the capitalist whole and, above all, the forms of concentration and accumulation of capital linked to the exploitation of knowledge. /// El pasaje de una planta que se encontraba fuera del capitalismo a una mercancía global altamente tecnificada está lejos de ser sencillo o transparente. Sin embargo, los análisis sobre mercantilización se han reducido la mayoría de las veces al momento de la manufacturación. Esta centralidad ha implicado concentrar la atención exclusivamente en los tradicionales tres factores de producción (trabajo, capital, materia prima) así como en un único lugar físico (la unidad productiva). Nuestro foco estuvo puesto, en cambio, en develar los mecanismos socio-cognitivos que antecedieron a la fase estrictamente económica y que fueron determinantes en la distribución de beneficios posterior. Se destacan las relaciones entre productores, intermediarios, mediadores y explotadores de conocimientos tradicionales, científicos y tecnológicos, y el papel de las regulaciones sobre los conocimientos. Sostenemos que la mercancía final cristalizó las relaciones de fuerza expresadas en esa historia previa a la comercialización. Con un saldo al final del proceso de ampliación de las asimetrías globales. En un esfuerzo por complementar la clásica visión marxista (centrada en la acumulación de capital mediante la explotación de la fuerza de trabajo), nos interesaba traer a colación esos otros mecanismos de acumulación que han cobrado un creciente protagonismo en la actual etapa del capitalismo: los derechos de propiedad intelectual. En cierto modo, la historia de la mercantilización de la Stevia se volvió un ángulo más desde donde mirar el comportamiento de la totalidad capitalista y, sobre todo, de las formas de concentración y acumulación de capital vinculadas a la explotación de conocimientos. /// A passagem de uma planta que estava fora do capitalismo para uma mercadoria global altamente técnica está longe de ser simples ou transparente. No entanto, os estudos de sua mercantilização foram reduzidos, na maioria das vezes, ao momento da fabricação. Essa centralidade fez com que a atenção dos estudos se concentrasse exclusivamente nos três fatores tradicionais de produção (trabalho, capital, matéria-prima) e em um único lugar físico (a unidade produtiva). Nosso foco foi, ao contrário, o de desvelar os mecanismos socio-cognitivos que antecederam a fase estritamente econômica e que foram decisivos na posterior distribuição de ganhos econômicos. As relações entre produtores, intermediários, mediadores e exploradores do conhecimento tradicional, científico e tecnológico, bem como o papel das regulações sobre o conhecimento são destacadas. Consideramos que a mercadoria final cristalizou as relações de poder expressas nessa história anterior à comercialização.Com um saldo no final do processo de ampliação das assimetrias globais. Em um esforço para complementar a visão marxista clássica (com foco na acumulação de capital através da exploração da força de trabalho), interessávamo-nos em trazer os outros mecanismos de acumulação que tiveram um papel crescente na fase atual do capitalismo: os direitos de propriedade intelectual. De certa forma, a história da mercantilização da Stevia tornou-se um ponto de fuga a partir do qual se olha o comportamento do todo capitalista e, acima de tudo, as formas de concentração e acumulação de capital, ligadas à exploração do conhecimento.

Żywność genetycznie zmodyfi kowana oraz technologia stosowana przy jej produkcji niewątpliwie stanowią przedmiot kontrowersji oraz wywołanej nimi debaty społecznej. Proces społecznej akceptacji nowych rozwiązań technologicznych wykorzystywanych do produkcji żywności
wykazuje wiele cech zbieżnych z podobnymi procesami odnoszącymi się do innych kategorii technologii. Jednak specyfi ka tych pierwszych polega przede wszystkim na tym, że produkty wytworzone z ich zastosowaniem stanowią jedno z najważniejszych i niezbędnych do przetrwania dóbr dla każdego człowieka – żywność. Dlatego też obawy konsumentów oraz proces szacowania ryzyka zasługują na wyjątkową uwagę ze strony nie tylko przedstawicieli nauk przyrodniczych, ale również humanistów.  Biorąc pod uwagę zainteresowanie oraz kontrowersje, jakie budzi wykorzystanie organizmów genetycznie
zmodyfi kowanych w produkcji żywności, należy dokonać analizy czynników warunkujących percepcję nowych rozwiązań technologicznych, a także proces ich akceptacji przez konsumentów.
Analizie poddano takie czynniki jak percepcja ryzyka, społeczny odbiór nowych technologii, wpływ stosowanej terminologii w procesie komunikowania o ryzyku, znaczenie posiadanej wiedzy oraz dostęp
do informacji, uwarunkowania społeczno-demografi czne oraz zaufanie do podmiotów informujących o technologii. Następnie podjęto próbę sprawdzenia, które z wymienionych czynników mają wpływ na proces akceptacji żywności genetycznie zmodyfi kowanej w państwach członkowskich Unii Europejskiej, Stanach Zjednoczonych, Republice Południowej Afryki oraz Chińskiej Republice Ludowej.

The present study proposes an analysis of the accumulation of capital based on a novel theory of exploitation with axis in the value-knowledge. From the theoretical approach of cognitive materialism, we reconstruct the flows of knowledge that go from the indigenous use of Stevia (Ka'aHe'e) to the world trade of plant compounds. Our thesis is that a part of capitalist profits are explained by the unpaid reproduction of that knowledge. That is, for the lucrative use of knowledge flows that are incorporated into the capitalist productive process and enclosed by access to knowledge regulations (especially, intellectual property rights). This reconstruction emphasizes the analysis of certain knowledge translations between material supports that were constituted in points of irreversibility in the flow of knowledge. In this sense, we highlight the scientific mediation that produces the passage from the local to the "universal" and from the periphery to the centers, and the technological development that generates new material supports of knowledge that can be protected by intellectual property. Finally, the determining role of health regulations as an indirect regulation of access to knowledge is highlighted. Thus, the history of the com modification of this plant and associated knowledge became an angle from which to look at the behavior of the capitalist totality and, above all, the forms of concentration and accumulation of capital linked to the unpaid exploitation of knowledge and other complementary mechanisms. /// El presente estudio propone un análisis de la acumulación de capital basado en una novedosa teoría de la explotación con eje en el valor-conocimiento. Desde el enfoque teórico del materialismo cognitivo, reconstruimos los flujos de conocimientos que van desde el uso indígena de la Stevia (Ka’aHe’e) hasta el comercio mundial de los compuestos de la planta. Nuestra tesis es que una parte de las ganancias capitalistas se explican por la reproducción impaga de esos conocimientos. Es decir, por el aprovechamiento lucrativo de flujos de conocimientos que son incorporados al proceso productivo capitalista y cercados mediante regulaciones de acceso a los conocimientos (en especial, derechos de propiedad intelectual). Esta reconstrucción enfatiza el análisis de ciertas traducciones de conocimientos entre soportes materiales que se constituyeron en puntos de irreversibilidad en el flujo de conocimientos. En ese sentido, destacamos la mediación científica que produce el pasaje de lo local a lo “universal” y de la periferia hacia los centros, y el desarrollo tecnológico que genera nuevos soportes materiales de conocimientos que pueden ser de ese modo amparados por la propiedad intelectual. Por último, se destaca el papel determinante de las normativas sanitarias como regulación indirecta de acceso a los conocimientos. Así pues, la historia de la mercantilización de esta planta y los conocimientos asociados se volvió un ángulo más desde donde mirar el comportamiento de la totalidad capitalista y, sobre todo, de las formas de concentración y acumulación de capital vinculadas a la explotación impaga de conocimientos y otros mecanismos complementarios. /// O presente estudo propõe uma análise da acumulação de capital, baseada em uma nova teoria da exploração comeixo no valor-conhecimento. A partir da abordagem teórica do materialismo cognitivo, reconstruímos os fluxos de conhecimento que vão do uso indígena de Stevia (Ka'aHe'e) até o comércio mundial de compostos derivados da planta. Nossa tese é a de que uma parte dos lucros capitalistas é explicada pela reproduçãonão remunerada desses conhecimentos. Ou seja, pelo uso lucrativo de fluxos de conhecimento que são incorporados ao proceso produtivo capitalista e cerceados por regulações de acesso aos conhecimentos (especialmente através de direitos de propriedade intelectual). Essa reconstrução enfatiza a análise de certas traduções do conhecimento entre suportes materiais que se constituíramem pontos de irreversibilidade no fluxo de conhecimento. Neste sentido, enfatizamos que a mediação científica produz a passagem do local para o "universal" e da periferia aos centros, e o desenvolvimento tecnológico geranovos suportes materiais para o conhecimento que pode ser, assim, protegido por propriedade intelectual. Por fim, destaca-se o papel determinante das regulamentações de saúde como regulação indireta do acesso ao conhecimento. Desse modo, a história de mercantilização da planta e do conhecimento que lhe foi associado voltou-se a uma perspectiva nova, a fim de observar o comportamento da totalidade capitalista e, acima de tudo, as formas de concentração e acumulação de capital, vinculados à exploraçãonão paga do conhecimento e a outros mecanismos complementares.

La présente opposition à pour objet le brevet EP2443126 « Simalikalactone E et son utilisation comme médicament » délivrée par l’Office Européen des Brevets (OEB).

L’opposition est formée contre le brevet dans son ensemble.

L’opposition est fondée sur les motifs suivants :

- L'objet du brevet EP2443126 « Simalikalactone E et son utilisation comme médicament » n'est pas brevetable en vertu des articles 52 à 57 de la Convention sur le Brevet Européen (CBE), en particulier :

o L’exploitation commerciale de l’invention protégée est contraire à l’ordre public et aux bonnes mœurs (art. 53(a) CBE) étant donné les conditions de développement de l’invention et les conditions de sa protection ; conditions caractéristiques d’actes de biopiraterie. 

o L’invention revendiquée n’est pas nouvelle (art. 54 CBE) en raison de l’existence de nombreux savoirs traditionnels antérieurs à la demande, notamment documentés par les déposants.

o L’invention n’implique pas une activité inventive et découle d’une manière évidente de l’état de technique, en raison notamment de l’existence de savoirs traditionnels connus et antérieurs à la demande, et en raison d’antériorités publiées par les déposants.

- Le brevet EP2443126 « Simalikalactone E et son utilisation comme médicament » n'expose pas l'invention de façon suffisamment claire et complète pour qu'un homme du métier puisse l'exécuter

Sommario: 1. Premessa. 2. La centralità delle (vecchie e nuove) forme di ruralità nei processi di "glocalizzazione "; 3. La nozione di "contadino" e la titolarità dei diritti sanciti dalla Dichiarazione delle Nazioni Unite del 17 dicembre 2018; 4. La "mappa" dei diritti previsti dalla Dichiarazione; 5. Il diritto alla terra e alle risorse naturali; 6. Il diritto alle sementi. 7. La Dichiarazione sui diritti dei contadini nel quadro del diritto internazionale dei diritti umani; 8. Diritti "biculturali" e diritti dei popoli indigeni; 9. Il paradigma della sovranità alimentare e le principali "aree di frizione"; 10. La Dichiarazione fra codificazione e sviluppo progressivo del diritto internazionale. federalismi.it -ISSN 1826-3534 |Focus Human Rights n. 1/2019 diritti fondamentali dell'Unione europea e alcune delle più recenti convenzioni internazionali in tema di diritti umani 4 . L'adozione di detto strumento di soft law è il frutto di sei anni di negoziato condotto nel quadro del Consiglio per i diritti umani delle Nazioni Unite (UNHRC). Il Consiglio, nel 2012, aveva conferito mandato a un gruppo di lavoro intergovernativo (OEIWG) 5 di negoziare una bozza di dichiarazione sui diritti dei contadini e di coloro che lavorano nelle aree rurali 6 , nella convinzione che fosse necessario introdurre specifici strumenti giuridici internazionali a protezione di persone che costituiscono circa la metà della popolazione mondiale e vivono per lo più in condizioni di indigenza e spesso di denutrizione 7 . È stato, infatti, calcolato che su 821 milioni di persone che soffrono la fame sul nostro pianeta, l'80% vive nelle aree rurali e, al contempo, i piccoli produttori contribuiscono, in media, a produrre il 70% del cibo nel mondo; percentuale che aumenta ad oltre l'80% nei Paesi in via di sviluppo 8 , consentendo, così, sia la sovranità alimentare delle comunità rurali che la resilienza dei sistemi alimentari difronte al fenomeno del cambiamento climatico. Un altro dato significativo che emerge dall'analisi di questo interessante e, per alcuni versi, originale processo decisionale internazionale appena conclusosi, è che l'impulso per l'adozione della Dichiarazione ONU è stato fornito da La Via Campesina, come è noto l'organismo più rappresentativo del movimento dei contadini attualmente esistente a livello mondiale. Riunendo 182 fra sindacati e organizzazioni contadine presenti in oltre 81 Paesi, questo movimento rappresenta almeno 200 milioni di persone ed è impegnato attivamente nella promozione di modelli agricoli solidali deputati a favorire l'emancipazione 4 S. VEZZANI, Il progetto di Dichiarazione sui diritti degli agricoltori

In this wide-ranging history of the African diaspora and slavery in Arabia in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, Matthew S. Hopper examines the interconnected themes of enslavement, globalization, and empire and challenges previously held conventions regarding Middle Eastern slavery and British imperialism. Whereas conventional historiography regards the Indian Ocean slave trade as fundamentally different from its Atlantic counterpart, Hopper’s study argues that both systems were influenced by global economic forces. The author goes on to dispute the triumphalist antislavery narrative that attributes the end of the slave trade between East Africa and the Persian Gulf to the efforts of the British Royal Navy, arguing instead that Great Britain allowed the inhuman practice to continue because it was vital to the Gulf economy and therefore vital to British interests in the region.

Hopper’s book links the personal stories of enslaved Africans to the impersonal global commodity chains their labor enabled, demonstrating how the growing demand for workers created by a global demand for Persian Gulf products compelled the enslavement of these people and their transportation to eastern Arabia. His provocative and deeply researched history fills a salient gap in the literature on the African diaspora.

Traditional healing methods of the indigenous groups have always been looked upon with skepticism by the society in general, due to the obvious scientific logic of medicinal cure that is defied through these methods, purely based on holistic, intuitive & natural ways of recovery. The indigenous ways of treatment focus on integrated healing of all three physical, emotional & spiritual well being of their member and since it is an community driven practice the whole group becomes a part of the healing ritual. The attempts by western pharmaceutical companies to introduce their ways of modern medicine amongst the tribe does not only cause forced extinction of health related sociocultural customs passed on through generations but also in a subtle way creates a divide & rule policy through traditional medicine vs. modern medicine.

With changes in our genetic structures, environmental factors & social settings, many new diseases are coming up, especially in the urban atmosphere, encouraging people to look for alternatives with permanent or prolonged healing. As a result even the institutionalized western medical practitioners & pharmaceutical industries are making attempts to acquire the indigenous healing knowledge. Their aim is not always to create a cross-cultural interface but to capitalize on it through application of unfair patents to the genetic resources & traditional knowledge, also known as Bio-Piracy. Intellectual Property Rights protecting this aspect of Indigenous Knowledge System is not very effective due to India still being a dominion state. The elements that are used to make various medicines in the laboratory are easily available in the natural habitat of the indigenous, making their knowledge more vulnerable to misappropriation.  This results in gradual Acculturation through exploitation of indigenous healing methods by the way of Modern Colonialism that accumulates raw material from these groups at a low price, sometimes by force, for their own globalized benefits and gives neither fair compensation nor recognition to the indigenous groups.

This paper elaborates on the points mentioned above using theoretical references from the in depth study conducted by various researchers in all related fields and by the means of fieldwork done via Participant Observation amongst the Gonds of Bastar and interviews of its traditional healers & other members.

Die in Brasilien im Rahmen der Umsetzung des internationalen Übereinkommens über die biologische Vielfalt stattfindenden Verhandlungen und Diskussionen zu dem Thema Access and Benefit Sharing werden in dieser Arbeit einer diskurs-theoretischen Untersuchung unterzogen. Die Konvention sieht in ihren Zielen die ausgewogene und gerechte Aufteilung der aus der Nutzung der genetischen Ressourcen gewonnenen Vorteile vor. Die Hypothese wird aufgestellt, dass die genannten Verhandlungen und Diskussionen – die brasilianischen ABS-Wissensproduktionen – aus der Verschränkung zweier hegemonialer Diskurse resultieren und dementsprechend – im Gegensatz zu den von ihr in Anspruch genommenen Werten von Ausgewogenheit und Gerechtigkeit - hegemonial sind. Die Hypothese wird anhand einer genealogischen Untersuchung der zwei Ausgangsdiskurse und ihrer Verflechtungen argumentativ überprüft, wobei sowohl foucaultsche, als auch neo-gramscianische, post-koloniale und mythen-analytische methodische Ansätze herangezogen werden. Im Laufe der Untersuchung werden diskursive Aussagen - von der Entstehung brasilianischer Gründungsmythen bis zur diskursiven Produktion der Begriffe Biodiversität und Biopiraterie – identifiziert. Ebenso werden sozio-ökonomische und politische Machtbeziehungen aufgezeigt sowie die involvierten Interessensgruppen und die Terrains auf denen sie sich auseinandersetzen. Die untersuchte ABS-Wissensproduktion erweist sich – die Ausgangshypothese bestätigend – als Produkt der Verschränkung eines hegemonialen brasilianischen National-Diskurses mit einem ebenso hegemonialen Diskurs globalozentrischer nachhaltiger Entwicklung. Wirtschaftliche Inwertsetzung der biologischen Vielfalt, sowie geistige Eigentumsrechte darauf erweisen sich als auf allen Terrains dominante Interessen. Einhergehend mit den national-international verflochtenen hegemonialen Strukturen zeichnen sich auch zwangsherrschaftliche Mechanismen ab, sowie ansatzweise die Formulierung von Gegenstrategien. Die Gewalt eines technokratisch-kapitalistischen und zugleich auf Mythen basierenden Machtsystems zeigt sich an der Zerstörung des Amazonas als Lebensraum indigener Völker und lokaler Gemeinschaften. Möglichkeiten, diese lokal verankerten Akteure in ihrem physischen und kulturellen Überlebenskampf zu stärken werden aufgezeigt.

Abstract in English
In this work, the negotiations and discussions that take place in Brazil in the context of implementation of the international Convention on Biological Diversity, on the topic of access and benefit sharing are subject to a discourse-analytical investigation. The convention foresees in its objectives the fair and equitable sharing of benefits arising out of the utilization of genetic resources. The hypothesis is set up that these negotiations and discussions - the Brazilian ABS knowledge productions - are a result of the entanglement of two hegemonic discourses and accordingly – in contrast to the claimed values of equity and fairness – hegemonic. The hypothesis is being examinated argumentatively within a genealogical survey of the two discourses and their entanglement, using both Foucauldian, as well as neo-Gramscian, post-colonial and myth-analytical methodological approaches. In the course of the investigation discursive statements are – from the emergence of Brazilian foundation myths on until the discursive production of the terms biodiversity and biopiracy - identified. In addition, socio-economic and political power relations are detected, as well as the involved stakeholders and the terrains on which they are competing. The investigated ABS knowledge production turns out - confirming the initial hypothesis - as a product of the entanglement of a hegemonic Brazilian national discourse with a likewise hegemonic discourse of globalocentric sustainable development. Economic valorization of biological diversity, and intellectual property rights upon it are proving to be dominant interests in all terrains. In line with the hegemonic national-internationally interconnected structures also coercive mechanisms become visible, as well as attempts of counter-strategies. The violence of a technocratic-capitalist and at the same time myth-based power system becomes visible in the destruction of the Amazon as living space of indigenous peoples and local communities. Possibilities of strengthening these locally established actors in their physical and cultural survival are indicated.

Edited by Shela Sheikh and Uriel Orlow

Contributions by Sita Balani, Melanie Boehi, Clelia Coussonet, Karen Flint, Jason T. W. Irving, Nomusa Makhubu, Bettina Malcomess, Karin van Marle, Khadija von Zinnenburg Carroll

This publication emerges from Uriel Orlow’s Theatrum Botanicum (2015–18), a multi-faceted project encompassing film, sound, photography, and installation that looks to the botanical world as a stage for politics. Working from the dual vantage points of South Africa and Europe, the project considers plants as both witnesses to, and dynamic agents in, history. It links nature and humans, rural and cosmopolitan medicine, tradition and modernity across different geographies, histories, and systems of knowledge—exploring the variety of curative, spiritual, and economic powers of plants. The project addresses “botanical nationalism” and “flower diplomacy” during apartheid; plant migration; the role and legacies of the imperial classification and naming of plants; bioprospecting and biopiracy; and the garden planted by Nelson Mandela and his fellow inmates at Robben Island prison.

This publication is made up of two intertwining books: one documents the works of Theatrum Botanicum, including the scripts for two films; the second is a compendium of brief, commissioned essays that aims to offer an accessible snapshot of the complex and multifaceted issues that inform and are raised by the artworks. The independent but interrelated essays, which either speak directly to the artworks or follow lines of inquiry alongside them, cover perspectives from postcolonial cultural studies; art criticism and art history; natural history, botany (including ethnobotany and economic botany), and conservation; jurisprudence and critical legal studies; and critical race studies.

Design by In the shade of a tree (Samuel Bonnet, Sophie Demay, and Maël Fournier-Comte)

June 2018, English
21.5 x 29 cm, 368 pages, color ill., softcover
ISBN 978-3-95679-415-5

https://www.sternberg-press.com/index.php?pageId=1835&l=en&bookId=729&sort=year DESC,month DESC

This text discusses the patenting and propertization of biological resources and traditional knowledge. This comes in many guises: some talk of ‘biopiracy’ while others prefer the term ‘bioprospecting’ or ‘biodiscovery’. The choice of words between ‘biopiracy’ and ‘bioprospecting’ reflects different ways to conduct and regulate patenting of biological resources: while the former is an act of exploitation the latter attempts to establish procedures that ensure an equal sharing of the benefits created. But these different discourses also reflect fundamentally different approaches to the phenomenon: if much of the opposition against biopiracy objects to the propertizing of biological resources and traditional knowledge as such, then the bioprospecting discourse accepts this moment of propertization as long as it is undertaken in a fair and equitable manner. By looking at the discourses over biopiracy and bioprospecting this chapter will discuss how different approaches to biopatents also reflect different understandings of property and how the negotiations over biopiracy and bioprospecting reflect contestation over the limits of propertization.

India is home to great traditions. Traditions which have been mocked over the years and looked down upon by its own natives with the advent of westernization. It is often misconstrued that the source of any tradition is superstition. With advancing time, realization dawned that our ancestors had a valid reason for each and every custom. Through the worship of nature as God, our ancestors had analyzed the powers each plant possessed in detail. India was thus blessed with exotic bio diversity and people who understood the value of their fauna. However with the advent of British rule in India, native ideas were frowned upon and English medicines were highly favoured. This idea prevails even now. But the Western Worlds understood the importance of our spices and the knowledge of Indian locals. Large number of spices and medicinal plants were taken away from India.

Sabemos que la bioprospección y la biopiratería son prácticas antiguas que afectan fuertemente a los países de América Latina al poner su biodiversidad a disposición de grandes corporaciones situadas en países industrializados. Y también sabemos que -a través de la biopiratería- dichas corporaciones se apropian de recursos genéticos y conocimientos tradicionales de los países en crecimiento para patentarlos como propios en terceros países.

At the World Sustainable Development Summit in Rio de Janeiro in 1992, the reduction of biodiversity was highlighted as an important problem, and in this context, the Convention on Biodiversity (BCS) was signed. One of the most important features of the convention is the equal and fair sharing of the benefits arising from the sustainable use of genetic resources and biodiversity. Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rigths (TRIPS) is one of the most radical and stringent international legal instruments that provide minimum patent standards in the world. Along with TRIPS, there is a process that accelerates the transfer of biological resources and life forms to private ownership. In this context, the traditional knowledge of indigenous peoples in developed countries by multinational companies in developing countries, genetic resources, seeds and plants for centuries about savings, without compensation and the permission of the patent ownership through transformations “biopiracy” is defined as. Developed countries encourage patents in order to contribute to innovation and invention processes, while developing countries offer solutions within the framework of the benefit approach to patents of biological resources and genetic resources. Therefore, biopiracy, has been one of the areas of political struggle between developed and developing countries. In this study, it will be attempted to explain the factors that cause the problem of biopiracy, through its conceptual discussion and popular patent cases. The method of the study is based on literature review. As a result, this study suggests that a compromise cannot be reached in international conventions and negotiations on biopiracy, and that the solution to this problem can be based on cooperation between Northern and southern countries, beyond the regulation of legislation in national laws.

Traditional Knowledge is not something new or innovative but the distillation of practices or knowledge in the society. India has experienced various initiatives regarding the protection of traditional knowledge under intellectual property rights, including the Traditional Knowledge Digital Library, which is a major step to curb biopiracy and in many of these cases the country had to fight for revocation of the granted patents which involved huge costs and time. India has taken misappropriations of its traditional knowledge by developed countries through patenting system. This paper discusses various aspects of Traditional Knowledge Digital Library of India including its role in the preservation of Traditional Knowledge, protection and dissemination of traditional knowledge, Traditional Knowledge Database and present Status, benefits of TKDL, Examples of Bio-piracy of Indian Traditional Knowledge and major achievements of TKDL in preserving traditional knowledge.

The drastic change in intellectual property system and laws has raised an alarm, particularly in developing countries that have not traditionally practiced plant or animal patenting. Unabated biopiracy stimulated hot debates between technologically advanced countries and countries that are rich in biodiversity. With the advancement of science especially biotechnology and genetic engineering, it has become very difficult for countries to identify the possible instances of biopiracy. By promoting the use of genetic resources and associated traditional knowledge, and by strengthening the opportunities for fair and equitable sharing of benefits from their use, it is believed that the Nagoya Protocol binds the Parties to evolve their respective ABS legislation or administrative measures to regulate access to genetic resources and benefit sharing arising out of its commercial utilization. In accordance of Nagoya Protocol on ABS, India developed legislation and established statutory mechanisms. Present research paper is aimed at understanding primarily the recognition and space of indigenous people and local communities in domestic ABS regimes of India, and their participation/involvement in processes of international negotiations and domestic law making.

In der westlichen Welt herrschen Vorstellungen über die Beziehung von Wissen und Eigentum, die häufig als universal angenommen werden. Doch ein Blick in andere Länder und Kulturen zeigt schnell, dass es nicht nur ganz andere Vorstellungen über den Zusammenhang von Wissen und Eigentum gibt, sondern auch, dass diese unterschiedlichen Ansichten zu handfesten Konflikten führen können. Dieser Artikel stellt einen solchen Konfliktfall vor, indem Firmen aus dem Westen an traditionellem Wissen zum Zwecke der Vermarktung interessiert sind. Dabei werden westlich geprägte Vorstellungen von Wissen und Eigentum auf Gesellschaften angewandt, die sich in einem anderen kulturellen und politischen Kontext befinden. So hält die eine Seite ihre Interessen an der Inwertsetzung von Wissen für legitim, während die andere Seite diese Praxis als " Biopiraterie " anprangert. Es zeigt sich, dass im Kontext von traditionellen und indigenen Lebensweisen die Frage nach Wissen und Eigentum neu gestellt werden muss. Diese Problematik der Kommerzialisierung und Inwertsetzung von traditionellem Wissen soll in diesem Artikel beleuchtet werden.

Background: Just as developing states are blessed with natural resources capable of transforming their economies into a positive direction, the imposed World Trade Organisation's (WTO) mores continue to relegate them to the status of underdevelopment. The consequences of this on investment, trade and finance in Third World States (TWSs), especially Africa, are disarticulation of the economy, exploitation, disinvestment, unemployment, political instability and unavailability of relevant technology to move TWSs forward, among others. This gives rise to the politics behind Rooibos (Aspalathus linearis) patenting (a medicinal plant found only in South Africa) by various multinational corporations (MNCs).

Bioprospecting is a popular venture in Latin America due to the region's high concentration of the world's biodiversity. This activity has an impact on the native peoples living in areas with potentially profitable plants. They can lose access to traditional plants and extraction processes when companies patent indigenous cultivars and knowledge. In many cases, they cannot patent their cultivars and knowledge before others due to cultural and monetary restrictions. In this paper, I examine the legal and cultural context surrounding the battle over Lepidium meyenii (maca) in Peru. PureWorld, Inc., a United States pharmaceutical company, patented the extracts derived from the plant. It sells these extracts to treat sexual dysfunction in humans and other animals. The pharmaceutical company also patented the extraction technique. The indigenous peoples of Peru had already known about the extracts, the uses for the plant, and the extraction technique for thousands of years. They are suing to overturn the patents on maca, not to claim patents on the plants for themselves but to return the plant to their cultural domain. They have found a way to solve their problem with biopiracy without sacrificing their cultural values.

Within the frame of the so called “digital era”, the boundary between the biological and digital domains is less clear, raising fundamental challenges and questions for society and public policy. In this chapter we discuss on how fast biotechnological development challenges the scope the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) in terms of conservation & utilization of biodiversity and Access to genetic resources and Benefit Sharing (abs). For this purpose, we distinguish and reflect on two generations disruptive biotechnology: on associated with genetic engineering and the other with synthetic biology. Some of the main challenges identified are related to digital biopiracy, the conceptualization of synthetic biology, the evaluation and monitoring of impacts, and the fair participation on the benefits derived from the use of genetic resources. The chapter offers some final remarks regarding policy implications and future lines of research.

This article tries to demonstrate that the traditional peoples and Brazil have been targets of biopiracy of natural environmental resources and their associated traditional knowledge, without being benefited with the resources obtained with the exploitation of such resources by foreign companies. Biopiracy is one of the forms of biocolonialism, called “extractive biocolonialism”. It discusses the deficits and virtues of international legislation that seeks to combat biopiracy, as well as the Brazilian legal system that aims to prevent it and combat it. The theoretical-documentary methodology of the deductive type was used, based on doctrinal and legal analyzes.

Keywords: biopiracy; biocolonialism; patent; natural resources; traditional knowledge.

RESUMO: O presente trabalho procura demonstrar que os povos tradicionais e o Brasil têm sido alvos de biopirataria de recursos ambientais naturais e de seus conhecimentos tradicionais associados, sem serem beneficiados com os recursos obtidos com a exploração de tais recursos por empresas estrangeiras. A biopirataria é uma das formas do biocolonialismo, chamado de extrativo. Discutem-se os déficits e virtudes da legislação internacional que procura combater a biopirataria, bem como o sistema jurídico brasileiro que visa preveni-la e combatê-la. Utilizou-se a metodologia teórica-documental do tipo dedutiva, com o emprego de análises doutrinárias e legais.

Palavras-chave: biopirataria; biocolonialismo; patente; recursos naturais; conhecimentos tradicionais.

REFERÊNCIA COMPLETA:
GOMES, Magno Federici; SAMPAIO, José Adércio Leite. Biopirataria e conhecimentos tradicionais: as faces do biocolonialismo e sua regulação. Revista Veredas do Direito, Belo Horizonte, n. 34, v. 16, p. 91-121, jan./abr. 2019. Disponível em: <https://www.domhelder.edu.br/revista/index.php/veredas/article/view/1274>. DOI: https://dx.doi.org/10.18623/rvd.v16i34.1274.
(Direito A1). ISSN 1806-3845 (Impresso) ISSN 2179-8699 (Eletrônico)

The drastic change in intellectual property system and laws has raised an alarm, particularly in developing countries that have not traditionally practiced plant or animal patenting. Unabated biopiracy stimulated hot debates between technologically advanced countries and countries that are rich in biodiversity. With the advancement of science especially biotechnology and genetic engineering, it has become very difficult for countries to identify the possible instances of biopiracy. By promoting the use of genetic resources and associated traditional knowledge, and by strengthening the opportunities for fair and equitable sharing of benefits from their use, it is believed that the Nagoya Protocol binds the Parties to evolve their respective ABS legislation or administrative measures to regulate access to genetic resources and benefit sharing arising out of its commercial utilization. In accordance of Nagoya Protocol on ABS, India developed legislation and established statutory mechanisms. Present research paper is aimed at understanding primarily the recognition and space of indigenous people and local communities in domestic ABS regimes of India, and their participation/involvement in processes of international negotiations and domestic law making.