Threats to traditional knowledge outlined

Consultations conducted within the Caribbean region have revealed that there are numerous threats to traditional knowledge (TK).

Regional Consultant with the World Intellectual Property Organisation (WIPO), Mary Ann Richards, says that there is a lack of knowledge about the contribution that TK has made in the past and can make in the future to development. She made the point while addressing those attending the opening of a two-day seminar hosted by the Corporate Affairs and Intellectual Property Office on Monday.

“We don’t seem to realise that our hunters and farmers etc know a lot, if they are observant, know a lot about plants and animals and their migratory process and their reproductive cycle – all those kinds of things are very important and we don’t understand that,” she said.

Moreover, she said that the pursuit of a modern lifestyle has resulted in a decline in traditional knowledge and practices within countries. Using the example of medicine, she noted that with advances in that field, persons have been relying less on natural traditional remedies to cure their ailments.

Additionally, Richards said that among the threats is the inadequate documentation and preservation of the knowledge of the elders and communities, before they pass away.

She charged that because of the modern lifestyle, the knowledge is dying out and she warned that persons could seriously harm themselves utilising these remedies without appropriate knowledge about them.

The WIPO consultant added that countries also face the unauthorised, commercial exploitation of traditional knowledge by persons other than the rightful holders.

“We thought we would get lots and lots of examples of misappropriation and as I said before, what we found was that nobody was holding a gun to anybody’s head, people were voluntarily giving away the information,” she lamented.

Richards noted that TK is not protected, although there are some rules and regulations, but they are related mostly to culture and cultural heritage, but not to TK and she added that while genetic resources cannot be patented, persons can protect TK associated with genetic resources.

She said that there is acknowledgement that the conventional intellectual property system can be used to protect TK, but it is under-utilised and as such she said that it was agreed that the region should have a public relations and awareness building campaign on intellectual property, which would include traditional knowledge.  (JRT)