Traditional Knowledge Bulletin |
- This week in review … WIPO IGC continues work on IP and genetic resources
- This week in review … OHCHR opens consultation on indigenous peoples' participation in the UN
- Resource: Nature supplement on traditional Asian medicine
- This week in review … SciDev.Net articles on TK
- This week in review … Digital tools to save languages
- Meeting prep: IFIP 2012
- Resource: Traditional use of medicinal plants in the boreal forest of Canada
- This week in review … Interview on indigenous perspectives of climate change
This week in review … WIPO IGC continues work on IP and genetic resources Posted: 21 Feb 2012 11:08 PM PST WIPO Members Work Through Differences in Genetic Resources Document GENEVA, SWITZERLAND: The WIPO Intergovernmental Committee on Intellectual Property and Genetic Resources, Traditional Knowledge and Folklore (IGC) is meeting from 14-22 February 2012, focusing on genetic resources and with a mandate to find agreement on a single negotiating text. According to IP Watch, the process is constructive but a sharp divide remains on several topics, including: referring to intellectual property rights in general or only to patents; inclusion or not of derivatives of genetic resources, mirroring the difficulties in the negotiation of the CBD Nagoya Protocol on access and benefit-sharing; and mandatory disclosure of origin in patent applications. Read the article … Visit the meeting's website … |
This week in review … OHCHR opens consultation on indigenous peoples' participation in the UN Posted: 21 Feb 2012 11:06 PM PST Consultation on indigenous peoples' participation in the United Nations GENEVA, SWITZERLAND: The Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) has invited indigenous peoples' organizations, academics and civil society to provide their views on the ideal ways and means to promote participation at the UN of recognized indigenous peoples' representatives on issues affecting them and on how such participation might be structured. In particular, OHCHR would welcome views on: existing accreditation procedures for NGOs which might be appropriately applied to the accreditation of indigenous peoples' representatives to UN meetings; current practices to accredit indigenous peoples' organizations to the Expert Mechanism on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples and the UNPFII and how such practices could be applied to other UN meetings; whether it is desirable for the General Assembly to adopt a decision setting out general procedures that would apply to indigenous peoples' representatives' participation at UN meetings, or whether separate decisions should be adopted by the Economic and Social Council and the Human Rights Council; and what would be the appropriate next steps in terms of considering this issue further within the UN. The consultation is organized in response to a request by the Human Rights Council for a detailed document on the ways and means of promoting participation at the UN of recognized indigenous peoples' representatives on issues affecting them, and to facilitate the preparation of this document. Responses can be submitted electronically to the OHCHR at ccharters@ohchr.org by 9 April 2012. Read the announcement … |
Resource: Nature supplement on traditional Asian medicine Posted: 21 Feb 2012 11:01 PM PST Nature Outlook: Traditional Asian Medicine Using scientific techniques to investigate the claims of traditional medicine as practised in countries such as China and Japan can help sort effective treatments from unfounded superstitions. According to the editorial by Michelle Grayson, traditional Asian medicine is a complex field, featuring well-known success stories such as artemisinin for malaria, and arsenic trioxide for leukaemia, but also remedies not scientifically proven; big efforts to modernize traditional medicine in China and Japan; and adoption of some aspects of the Eastern point of view by Western medicine, in particular that certain illnesses cannot be reduced to one isolatable, treatable cause. There are unique aspects to traditional Asian medicine that could hold great promise if they are artfully investigated, and the goal of science should be to rigorously test each claim and sort the medical wheat from the pseudoscientific chaff. Access the outlook [free for the next month] … |
This week in review … SciDev.Net articles on TK Posted: 21 Feb 2012 10:59 PM PST Old and new knowledge combine to protect Fiji's fish LONDON, UK: Ten villages in Fiji's Kubulau District have worked with the Wildlife Conservation Society's (WCS) Fiji Program, along with the World Wildlife Fund and Wetlands International, to create the country's first science-based network of marine protected areas. The project combined traditional methods frequently used in the region's locally managed marine areas with the science of ecosystem-based management, which considers ecosystems holistically, recognizing the interactions between humans and their environment. Finding a balance between the local and the scientific has proved tricky. Without science, communities risk pursuing practices that have little long-term impact. But too much science can trample on a community's way of doing things — destroying the morale that lies at the heart of local conservation. Read the article … Tribal knowledge of millets proves superior NEW DELHI, INDIA: Scientists studying the indigenous knowledge of millet varieties within a tribal community in the Kolli Hills of Tamil Nadu state came away richer for 19 new classifications, some with medicinal properties and drought resistance. The study published in the latest issue of the Journal of Ethnobiology sought to integrate tribal knowledge with scientific understanding of millets in southernIndia. The indigenous method of classification led the scientists to conclude that "biodiversity projects should consider the perspective of both traditional and scientific knowledge when assessing, managing and conserving biodiversity." Appearance, agricultural use and food quality were found important for tribal classification. Examples are 'thirikulasama', a drought-tolerant millet, and 'kottapattisama', which has a desirable and distinctive taste and is made into a drink. In scientific classification, however, both fall under the Panicum sumatrense species. The scientists interviewed 118 tribal people on 174 millet samples. They also grew the millets in greenhouse environment and extracted DNA for barcoding. The tribal people consistently identified 19 millet ethnotaxa (landraces or local varieties). "The classification based on traditional knowledge would help us to overcome existing constraints related to the production, distribution, and consumption of small millets," Subramanyam Raghupati, one of the lead authors of the study, told SciDev.Net. Read the article … Read the abstract of the article "The Fine Scale Ethnotaxa Classification of Millets in Southern India" by J.R. Maloles et al … |
This week in review … Digital tools to save languages Posted: 21 Feb 2012 10:57 PM PST Digital tools 'to save languages' VANCOUVER, CANADA: Of the 7,000 or so languages spoken on Earth today, about half are expected to be extinct by the century's end. Globalization is usually blamed, but some elements of the "modern world", especially digital technology, are pushing back against the tide. North American tribes use social media to re-engage their young, for example. Tuvan, an indigenous tongue spoken by nomadic peoples in Siberia and Mongolia, even has an iPhone app to teach the pronunciation of words to new students. "Small languages are using social media, YouTube, text messaging and various technologies to expand their voice and expand their presence," said K David Harrison, an associate professor of linguistics at Swarthmore College and a National Geographic Fellow. Read the article … |
Posted: 21 Feb 2012 10:55 PM PST IFIP's Eleventh Annual Conference: Toward a Better World: Strengthening Indigenous Sustainability This year's conference will include tracks on: investing in indigenous models of sustainable development; strengthening partnerships and alliances; and protecting ancestral territories and safeguarding human rights. Session proposals may be submitted by individual donors who have given $10,000 or more in grants to Indigenous causes; individuals who work in IFIP member institutions; and international and regional grantmaking organizations. The deadline for submission of proposals is 27 February 2012. Applications to attend should be submitted by 1 March 2012. Download the call for session proposals [doc] … Download application to attend [doc] … Download the draft conference agenda [doc] … |
Resource: Traditional use of medicinal plants in the boreal forest of Canada Posted: 21 Feb 2012 10:53 PM PST Traditional use of medicinal plants in the boreal forest of Canada: Review and perspectives According to the authors, this review is the most comprehensive to date to reveal the rich traditional medicinal knowledge of Aboriginal peoples of the Canadian boreal forest. Future ethnobotanical research endeavours should focus on documenting the knowledge held by Aboriginal groups that have so far received less attention, particularly those of the western boreal forest. In addition, several critical issues need to be addressed regarding the legal, ethical and cultural aspects of the conservation of medicinal plant species and the protection of the associated traditional knowledge. Read the abstract … Download the full article [provisional pdf] … |
This week in review … Interview on indigenous perspectives of climate change Posted: 21 Feb 2012 10:51 PM PST Q&A: What Can Indigenous Peoples Tell Us About Climate Change? VANCOUVER, CANADA: Igor Krupnik, an anthropologist with the Smithsonian Institution, has studied the indigenous communities of Alaska and northern Russia for 40 years. In this interview conducted by Erin Loury, he describes indigenous perspectives of climate change and what scientists could learn from them. Read the interview … |
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