The Invention of Traditional Knowledge

Sunder argues that the failure of intellectual property to recognize the contributions of traditional and natural sources cannot be rectified by mere payment and she posits a non-monetizable, non-utilitarian benefit in terms of worth or dignity in having one\u27s contribution as the subject labelled of an intellectual property right. Foregrounding the important role of raw materials in the process of innovation, cultural environmentalism helped provide a theoretical and political basis for recognition and recompense for the purveyors of those raw materials-often indigenous peoples who have cultivated the earth\u27s biodiversity and who hold traditional knowledge about that biodiversity. Moreover, focus on the effects on the poor of the cultural environmentalism metaphor through its reification of the division between raw and cooked knowledge, a conceptual separation long fundamental to intellecual property law

Plant Products as Biopesticides: Building On Traditional Knowledge of Vrkshayurveda: Traditional Indian Plant Science

Today there is a global search for alternatives to chemical pesticides and as part of this process there are various efforts to test the use and efficacy of natural products for pest control and crop protection. Our Centre has been involved in exploring the traditional knowledge regarding the use of natural products for pest control and crop protection. As part of this effort, we have looked at the traditional folk practices prevalent among farmers as well as information from classical literature on the subject drawn from Vrkshayurveda (traditional Indian plant science). Following this, we have carried out experiments for standardizing and field testing promising natural products by determining the precise range and kind of pests controlled by them, determining the optimum concentration where they can be effective against pests without being harmful to useful organisms and predators as well as studying their mode of action. Subsequently, we have also developed storage forms of various of these products by using methods based on Ayurveda. Studies on the stability and shelf life of these products are also being carried out through an insect rearing laboratory. Finally, we have also set up village based biopesticides units where a range of these products are being prepared thus providing valuable inputs to sustainable agriculture and a means of livelihood to rural women and farmers

Protecting Traditional Knowledge and Traditional Cultural Expressions

Conference report. Workshop jointly organized by the Centre for International Governance Innovation (CIGI) and Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada (ISED), in collaboration with the Assembly of First Nations (AFN), Native Canadian Centre of Toronto, March 1, 2019

Traditional Knowledge and Biodiversity in South Africa : CSIR case

The focus of this paper is traditional knowledge (TK) and indigenous biological resources protection in South Africa, through the analysis of the existing policies and legislations, in order to provide a useful insight for a developed country such as Japan which has recently adopted the guidelines for the protection of TK and biological resources and promotion of access and benefit sharing (ABS). South Africa is the 3rd most diverse country in terms of natural resources, culture and traditions, languages and geology and its comprehensive legislative framework system shows the country\u27s seriousness to safeguard TK and conserve biological resources for future generations. The paper uses the South Africa\u27s government owned research and technology development institution, Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR), as an example to demonstrate the application of the TK protection and biodiversity conservation (including access and benefit sharing) laws, through case studies approach for lessons learned for other African countries, contemplating creation of their own TK protection and environmental conservation. Due to the repositioning of CSIR within the local and global research and develop, the organisation has adopted Industrialisation Strategy, and TK will play a significant role in technology development and new business models in rural agroprocessing and production to enhance inclusive development (through benefit sharing) and support economic growth. The paper concludes that TK and indigenous biological resources protection through the relevant government laws, as well as value addition to TK and biodiversity through research and development supported by government funding, is necessary for socioeconomic attainment, especially for local and indigenous communities and rural agroprocessing businesses as part of benefit sharing

Protecting traditional ethno-botanical knowledge in South Africa through the intellectual property regime

Traditional knowledge has been used, and is increasingly being used, in a wide range of industries for the development of new products. Increasing awareness of the economic value of biological diversity has resulted in industries seeking to exploit traditional knowledge and biodiversity through opportunistic behaviour (biopiracy). This is also happening in South Africa, where numerous industries are developing new products. Recent advances in the field of biotechnology have created the need for greater intellectual property rights protection. The protection of traditional knowledge has however long been ignored as developed nations and large industries have sought to promote self-serving systems of protection. In this paper the example of an indigenous medicinal plant is used to analyse and describe the extent to which patent and trademark protection is able to protect traditional ethno-botanical knowledge in South Africa. The study therefore aims to contribute to an understanding of the value that traditional knowledge holds for the sustainable development and economic growth of communities, and how such knowledge can be protected.Research and Development/Tech Change/Emerging Technologies,

Cooperative Cross-Cultural Instruction: The Value of Multi-cultural Collaboration in the Coteaching of Topics of Worldview, Knowledge Traditions, and Epistemologies

For four years (2011, 2013, 2014, 2015) two faculty members of the University of Alaska Fairbanks’ Center for Cross-cultural Studies have collaborated to co-teach a course entitled Traditional Ecological Knowledge (CCS 612). This course examines the acquisition and utilization of knowledge associated with the long-term habitation of particular ecological systems and the adaptations that arise from the accumulation of such knowledge. Intimate knowledge of place—culturally, spiritually, nutritionally, and economically for viability—is traditional ecological knowledge, and this perspective is combined with the needs of an Indigenous research method to better understand and more effectively explore the proper role of traditional knowledge in academic, cross-cultural research. This presentation and paper explores the strategies tested and lessons learned from teaching students from a wide variety of academic and cultural backgrounds including the social and life sciences, and the humanities, and from Indigenous and non-Indigenous cultural origins. The instructors, too—and most importantly for this endeavor—come from an Indigenous (John) and non-Indigenous (Koskey) background, and though hailing from very different cultures and upbringings work collaboratively and with genuine mutual respect to enable an understanding of variations of traditions of knowledge and their application to academic research

“The thing is, to adapt is traditional”: Environmental Change and its Effects on Traditional Ecological Knowledge in the Eastern United States

In this essay, I examine the transformation of traditional ecological knowledge, particularly that concerning plant knowledge pertaining to medicine. I argue that this transformation is a result of an environmental history influenced by the presence of a colonial population. When the Europeans began to arrive in the Eastern United States in the sixteenth century, they created a domino effect of environmental change. This change occurred because the Europeans had different cultural adaptations when interacting with the environment than the natives did; in other words, they drew from a differently developed form of ecological knowledge. When the colonists utilized this knowledge to interact with their new environment in the Eastern United States, they altered the environment in ways that contradicted how the natives interacted with the same environment. The ecological changes occurring as a result of such alterations fostered changes in native traditional knowledge, because there were now new plants, animals, and people to interact with, as well as transformations of the landscape to contend with

The Protection of Indigenous Traditional Knowledge Through the Intellectual Property System and the 2008 South African Intellectual Property Law Amendment Bill

The discussion of Traditional Knowledge as a subject of intellectual property protection continues to take centre stage at different fora. It is particularly relevant for developing and least developing countries whose Traditional Knowledge mechanisms continue to be exploited without accruing any benefits. The situation in South Africa is not different. The South African Department of Trade and Industry (Dti) is spearheading efforts to create a legal framework that seeks to protect and promote Traditional Knowledge using existing intellectual property law mechanisms. Through this Bill, South Africa is seeking to protect Traditional Knowledge beyond the area of patents. The challenge for the Bill is to cover all aspects of Traditional Knowledge. This has already proven to be difficult as indicated by the outcomes of one of the consultation workshops with various stakeholders (University professionals and indigenous communities). Furthermore the Bill will have to be mindful of the manifestations of intellectual property at regional (SADC, SACU and AU) as well as the International position (WIPO, TRIPS and WTO). This paper seeks to measure the extent to which the Bill will protect Traditional Knowledge and the possibility of its use as a model for the region and the developing world