Transcript Document
Indigenous
people and
IPR Issues –
A Case
Study
Delivered at
By
Dr. P. Pushpangadan
Director,
National Botanical Research Institute
Email:
[email protected]
Website: http://www.nbri-lko.org
Tel./ Fax: 91-522-2205839
National
Workshop
on
“Intellectual
Property
Rights Issues: Education,
Awareness and Execution
Jiwaji University, Gwalior
1st March 2004
Traditional Knowledge System (TKS) OR
Indigenous Knowledge System (IKS)
Community-based functional knowledge
developed,
preserved
and
maintained
over many generations by the local and
indigenous communities through their
continuous interaction, observations and
experimentation with their surrounding
environment.
TKS/ IKS is:
Unique to a given culture or society.
Result
of
co-evolution
and
co-
existence of indigenous cultures and
their traditional resource use.
UN Convention on the Biological
Diversity (CBD)
1. Recognizes sovereign rights of nations
over biological diversity.
2. Binds the parties to respect, preserve
and maintain Traditional Knowledge (TK)
3. Stipulates just and equitable sharing of
benefits arising from sustainable use of
TK and traditional resources.
World Intellectual Property Organization
(WIPO) / World Trade Organization (WTO)
1. Do
not
recognize
any
informal
knowledge/ innovations of traditional
communities for intellectual property
rights.
2. Do not insulate TK from intellectual
piracy.
The
fundamental
conflicts
between CBD and TRIPS
1. CBD recognizes the sovereign rights of
nations over their biological resources.
2. TRIPS tries to introduce private
individual rights over the same within the
country, the state’s sovereignty take
precedence, and the CBD framework
may prevail. But between a foreign IPR
holder and sovereign state, the state’s
jurisdiction is limited and cannot
countervail the IPR holder.
TKS & IPR
1. IPR: The prime driving force behind
industrial growth and development in
the 19th & 20th centuries.
2. Do not recognize the informal system
of innovation of indigenous people.
3. Do not provide mechanism for
compensation or benefit sharing with
indigenous people.
TKS & IPR
IPR laws in general ignore the interest
of traditional/local communities– because
their
concept
of
intellectual property and resource
rights are different from those of
the
advanced
societies
of
developing countries and the
developed North countries.
Tribal Settings in India
India has over 70 million tribals belonging
to over 550 communities inhabiting in
5000 villages located in and around
forests region of the country.
About
116
different
dialects are spoken by
tribal communities in
India.
Tribal Settings in India
Population of the individual tribe is as
large as about 5 million in Madhya
Pradesh and as small as 21 like Onges
of Andaman Islands.
The tribals in the country
occupy about 18.74% of
the total area of the
country, mainly in the hilly
and forest areas of 19
states
and
union
territories.
INDIAN TRIBALS
1. Primitive Hunter gather type
2. Primitive Agriculturists
3. Plain Agriculturists
4. Simple Artisans
5. Pastoral and Cattle Breeders
6. Industrial –Urban type
1. Primitive Hunter gather type
Most primitive,
nomadic,
2. Primitive Agriculturists
Socially better organized and
have some interaction with
outsiders.
Practice a very
primitive type of
shifting
cultivation.
3. Plain Agriculturists
Maintain a large number of land
races of rice, sorghum, yams, lentils,
pulses, cucurbits, citrus, etc.
4. Simple Artisans
Not well organized.
5% to 7% of tribal population in India
5. Pastoral and Cattle Breeders
Cattle farming hill tribes living in high
altitudes of Himalayas and Western
Ghats (Nilgiris) in South India.
6. Industrial – Urban type
Work as bonded laborers.
5% to 10% of tribal population in India
10000 plant species are used by tribes of India
8000
Medicinal
Total
10000
species
Pesticides
Gums, Resins &
Dyes
are used by
s
t
Tr
an
l
ib
P
l
700 sp.
600 sp.
a
250 sp.
Me
d
i
c
in
THE INDIAN FLORA (ca 17500 species)
900 sp.
8000 species
30 sp.
Ayurveda
Unani
Siddha
Amchi
Modern
INDIAN SYSTEMS OF MEDICINE
munities (oral
m
)
Co
l
a
Benefit Sharing Experiment
with an Indigenous
community (Kani)
The Kani experiment
During the course of an ethnobotanical
exploration,
workers
Pushpangadan
(1987)
came
and
co-
across
an
interesting use (anti-fatigue) of a lesser
known wild plant while conducting the
study on the forest dwelling Kani Tribe
of South Western Ghat mountains.
First
observation
Pushpangadan
by
Dr.
P.
In December 1987, a team of scientists led
by Dr. Pushpangadan was conducting an
ethno-botanical survey and exploration in
the Agasthya hills, of the Western Ghats
in South India with the help of two young
Kani men as guides.
During this visit, the author and his
colleagues noticed that the Kani men
were not taking any food and were eating
only some small dry fruits. But they were
quite energetic and agile.
First
observation
Pushpangadan
by
Dr.
P.
After a strenuous mountain trek, the
author (Pushpangadan) and colleagues
got exhausted and were taking rest. Then
the Kani men accompanying them offered
those dry fruits saying that when
consumed they would reduce fatigue and
provide energy.
First
observation
Pushpangadan
by
Dr.
The author and his colleague Dr.
Rajasekharan accepted the dry fruits
and ate them. On consuming 30 to 50
of them, to their surprise the scientists
felt a sudden flush of energy, within 1015 minutes.
P.
First
observation
Pushpangadan
by
They tried it again during
the next two days and
experienced
the
same
magical effect. When asked
about the source of the
fruits, the Kani men were
very reluctant to reveal,
saying that it was a sacred
information, not to be
revealed to outsiders.
Dr.
P.
Assurance of credit to the informants
The scientists assured
them that they would not
misuse this information,
but would carry out
scientific
investigation
and if any positive results
were obtained the Kanis
would
be
rewarded
appropriately. It was after
a great deal of persuasion
that they showed the
plant from which they
collected the fruits.
Assurance of credit to the informants
The plant was growing in
that very forest where the
scientists were trekking. The
author assured the Kani men
that
if
the
scientific
investigation of this plant led
to the development of any
marketable
product,
the
benefits derived from the
same would be shared
equally with them. The Kani
men, however, did not have
any
idea
of
product
development
and
its
The plant – ‘Arogyapacha’
The Kanis named this plant ‘Arogyapacha’
(meaning the plant that can provide ever
green health), which was later identified as
Trichopus zeylanicus spp. travancoricus.
(Trichopodaceae). Although this species
was documented and described earlier, its
traditional use and special properties were
not known to the scientific world.
Scientific Investigations
The author collected adequate samples of
this plant for detailed investigations at
Regional
Research
Laboratory,
(RRL),
Jammu. Soon after reaching back at RRL,
Jammu, Pushpangadan conducted the first
scientific test to validate the Kani’s claim on
the anti-fatigue property of Arogyapacha.
Scientific Investigations
He conducted the standard ‘swimming
performance’ on Swiss mice under three
different conditions. The mice were given
swimming test in tubs of water under (1)
Control mice fed with normal diet. (2)
Experiment 1 (mice fed with synthetic
steroidal drug – Amphetamine – to boost
stamina), and (3) Experiment 2 (mice
ingested with macerated Kernels of the
fruits of Arogyapacha).
Reassurance
informants
of
credit
to
the
The ‘Kani’ people were kept informed of
the progress of this interesting results
and re-assured that if any marketable
products were developed out of this
plant, benefits derived from the products
would be shared equally with them.
Dr. P. Pushpangadan assumed the
charge of Director of TBGRI
The author very soon realized that the
classical pharmacological approach to study
the traditional remedies of medicinal plants
by isolating single compounds may not be
satisfactory and an ethno-pharmacological
approach was adopted to evaluate this plant.
By this time the author got the offer of the
Directorship of Tropical Botanic Garden &
Research Institute (TBGRI), Trivandrum and
he accepted the same and joined there in
November 1999.
Strengthened
investigations
the
scientific
At TBGRI, the author soon established
a
full-fledged
Ethno-pharmacology
Division and recruited scientists from
disciplines of Botany, Pharmacology,
Phytochemistry, Biochemistry, Pharmacy
and Ayurveda.
Drug “Jeevani” was ready
Within
a
scientifically
herbal
period
of
two
validated,
formulation
years
a
standardized
‘Jeevani’
was
formulated with ‘Trichopus zeylanicus’
and three other medicinal plants as its
ingredients. Evaluations related to toxicity
efficacy, shelf life and clinical properties
were carried out by TBGRI, and the drug
was ready by the end of 1994.
Thus IPR can help in many
ways:
Indian
experiment
of
Benefit
Sharing with tribal communities
demonstrated the fact that IPR
system
can
help
communities in many ways:
tribal
Thus IPR can help in many
ways:
Traditional Communities (TC) (rather
than individuals) can protect their
rights
by legally registering
innovations/
Traditional
their
Knowledge
(TK) on the specific use of local
resources
certain
or
process
products
by
of
filing
making
petty
patents or idea patents/ utility patents.
Thus IPR can help in many
ways:
Appropriate applications of S&T to the
traditional knowledge can lead to the
development
of
value
added
marketable and patentable products,
from which the TC can get immense
benefits (license fee and royalty).
The
knowledge
of
the
tribal
communities can thus be converted
into economic wealth and bring
prosperity to these communities.
Safeguarding IPRs of indigenous/ local
communities and Benefit-sharing
Survey, inventory & documentation of the indigenous
knowledge system and preparation of community registers
Preparation of Electronic Database
(Access to Patent Office)
Access to Database with prior informed consent
Negotiation and signing of agreement(s)
Development of marketable product/s
(with S&T intervention)
Commercialization of the products
Benefit sharing with the indigenous/ local communities
Medicinal Preparation
Medicinal Preparation
Medicinal Preparation