Traditional knowledge, biological resources and intellectual property rights in Asia : the example of the Philippines

The relationship between traditional knowledge and intellectual property rights has become a topic for intensive debates at the national level, in various international settings and within and among different UN agencies, including the World Intellectual Property Organisation (WIPO), the UN Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO), UNESCO, UNCTAD and the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP). However, a consensus on a definition of traditional knowledge has yet to emerge due to persistent differences in perception. On the one hand, indigenous communities hold locally specific and holistic views of traditional knowledge, which are difficult to place within the framework of current intellectual property rights. Governments of developing countries, on the other hand, mostly focus on clearly defined aspects of traditional knowledge and their interpretation in the national interest and as expressions of national culture. Asian governments, in particular, have advocated the latter view. The Philippines provide an exception due to a tradition of recognising indigenous people as separate "cultural communities". However, the practical implementation of so-called "community intellectual rights" thus far is largely confined to access and benefit sharing rules, compensation requirements for traditional farmers and defensive protection measures such as digital libraries documenting traditional knowledge.

Sui Generis protection for plant varieties and traditional knowledge in biodiversity and agriculture : the international framework and national approaches in the Philippines and India

The so-called ‘biotechnology clause’ of Article 27.3(b) of the WTO-TRIPS Agreement requires from member states protection for plant varieties either via the patent system or via an ‘effective sui generis system’ or by a combination of the two. Many developing countries prefer forms of sui generis protection, which allow them to include exceptions and protection measures for traditional agricultural practices and the traditional knowledge of farmers and local communities. However, ‘traditional knowledge’ remains a vaguely defined term. Its extension to biodiversity has brought a diffusion of the previously clearer link between protected subject matter, intellectual property and potential beneficiaries. The Philippine legislation attempts a ‘bottom-up’ approach focusing on the holistic perceptions of indigenous communities, whereas national economic interests thus far receive priority in India’s more centralist approach. Administrative decentralisation, recognition of customary rights, disclosure requirements, registers of landraces and geographical indications are discussed as additional measures, but their implementation is equally challenging. The article concludes that many of the concepts remain contested and that governments have to balance the new commercial incentives with the biodiversity considerations that led to their introduction, so that the system can be made sufficiently attractive for both knowledge holders and potential users of the knowledge.

The role of traditional knowledge and access to genetic resources in biodiversity conservation in Southeast Asia

The article examines international treaties linking trade and environment, their governance models and implementation in the context of Southeast Asia. Particular attention is being paid to the role of intellectual property concepts, customary law and traditional knowledge as incentives for biodiversity conservation and to difficulties in defining the subject matter and communities of knowledge holders. Indonesia’s regulation of traditional knowledge and access to biodiversity is discussed as example. The article concludes that national development goals and interests in royalty collection frequently dominate the discussion and that key concepts are still insufficiently defined to avoid overlaps and conflicts. Genuine local support for the conservationist aims of the models will depend on whether a benefit flow to communities can be ensured and their original role to act as incentives can be realised. International collaboration is important to avoid disputes concerning biodiversity related knowledge held across borders.

Alternative pathways to traditional destinations : higher education for disadvantaged Australians

In 1985, the Higher Education Equity Program was introduced by the Australian Government to improve the participation of those persons from social groups traditionally under-represented within higher education. In 1990, the program was incorporated within A Fair Chance For All which provided more specific details of the government's desire for a system-wide approach to equity issues. One result has been the proliferation of access and equity programs conducted by universities around the country and aimed at redressing the disadvantage of potential students. The alleged success of these programs is based on greater participation in and graduation from Australian universities by individuals from targeted disadvantaged groups. The research reported here, however, would suggest that such programs are prone to co-opt the language of equity and social justice, dependent as they are on satisfying statistically-orientated program performance indicators in order to receive recurrent government funding. Further, the paper argues that success in achieving equity within Australian higher education will remain limited unless the structural arrangements that work to construct social inequalities in mainstream higher education are addressed.

Preserving the environment and traditional communities : a land use change modeling approach

Human populations can cause serious damage to the natural environment. This, however, depends on the type of society and its size. Many traditional communities have a balanced relation with the environment, using practices for managing the soil, water and natural resources in order to satisfy their needs that are compatible to the general goals of environmental preservation.

The most usual approach to environmental conservation in the world sees human beings as intruders, potentially destroyers of the nature and, as a consequence, generally requires local population to be expelled from the protected regions. This situation has generated social conflicts because many protected areas, particularly in developing countries, are inhabited by indigenous or other traditional communities.

The disagreement about expelling or maintaining traditional communities in environmental conservation areas is strengthened by the lack of diagnostics on which changes are produced or suffered by communities in the region where they live. This paper presents a methodology developed to analyse land use dynamics in region with environmental conservation and traditional communities. We seek a better understanding of the way traditional communities use their space, the spatial pattern of land uses, which factors drive land use change, which impacts can be seen in those regions and identify the effects of conservation policies on land use dynamics.

The application of the method to the National Park of Superagui, Brazil, has successfully performed characterisation, analysis and simulation of land use dynamics in a region of environmental importance. Testing different scenarios has suggested that the adoption of a less restrictive policy for environmental conservation would have resulted in less social conflict with the same environmental efficiency than the established current policy.

Traditional environmental knowledge and community perceptions in sustaining the forest environment : case study of Minahasa ethnic community in the surrounding of Lake Tondano, North Sulawesi - Indonesia

The idea of sustainable development is distinct from the idea of restoring or conserving nature. This concept is embedded in the Rio Declaration on Environment and Development (1992) which Indonesia and several countries around the world have signed. Sustainable development seeks to interlace humans and nature, while restoration (especially at the large scale) often allows nature to be addressed separately, sometimes out of remorse for the damage caused by humans. In terms of attaining sustainable natural resource development, the opportunities offered by traditional ecological knowledge documentation are considered essential in enabling the achievement of sustainability because most of these Indigenous and/or local communities are situated in areas where many species have been historically cultivated and used in a sustainable way for thousands of years. The skill and techniques of these local communities can provide valuable information for the global community to evaluate current environmental policies. Such research and evaluation is often robustly and best undertaken through ethnoecological methodological paradigms. This paper examines the traditional environment knowledge of the Minahasan ethnic community, who live in the surrounds of Lake Tondano in the North Sulawesi, together with the Minahasan conscious and unconscious actions in conserving their forest ecology in addition to their knowledge of culture about forest protection in the region. In particular, contemporary use of traditional environmental knowledge is examined in terms of its relevance to in traditional resource management and land use planning, as avenues to better curate and manage natural resources through informed regional planning strategies and mechanisms.

Study on the visual performance of a traditional residential neighborhood in old Cairo

Traditional dwellings located in the hot arid zones of the Arabian regions are well known for their sensitive architectural response to the region’s climatic conditions and socio-cultural norms. The majority of these dwellings are well recognized for their courtyard arrangement and perforated fenestration system that evolved to control the harsh solar, climatic conditions without compromising the aesthetic quality of space and occupants’ wellbeing. However, the unique visual characteristics of these structures cannot be fully appreciated by assessing the visual performance of buildings in isolation from their urban context. Given the fact that much of the character of the traditional settlements of this region came from the collective visual perception of their architectural components as well as urban patterns. This paper presents a methodology that can be used to assess daylight behaviour at an architectural level as well as at an urban scale. The work examines the daylight behaviour of a well-known historic alleyway and of a courtyard house in the old city of Cairo. The variability in the visual perception and comfort for a typical pedestrian street and the occupants of the house was predicted using Radiance IES simulation modelling tool and a scaled model under an artificial sky dome. A comparative analysis between simulated results and measured values at target points was conducted and the results reveal a reasonable agreement with the simulation results. Preliminary results from the first phase of modelling were presented that give an insight into the overall visual experience in the traditional settlements in the Old City of Cairo where daylight has contributed to the place unique sense of identity.

The traditional decision-making process of Berkaul in Tanjung Emas, West Sumatra : its nature and significance

Berkaul is a traditional practice associated with the rice cultivation cycle in West Sumatra, Indonesia, intended to seek consensus within the local community about agricultural practices and management of water for irrigation. Berkaul is deeply rooted in the adat and worldview of the region but is much less commonly practiced today than in the past and has disappeared in many parts of the region. This article describes the process of berkaul in Tanjung Emas, West Sumatra, places it within the context of Minangkabau adat and tradition, and considers its value in fostering participation, empowerment, and social inclusion in the context of rural development.