Darrell Addison Posey

Commodification of the sacred through intellectual property rights

Indigenous and traditional peoples have made major contributions to the enhancement and conservation of the worlds biodiversity. Although this is increasingly recognized in international discourse, rights of these peoples to continue their traditional practices are threatened by the globalized economy. Science implicitly denies their contribution to biodiversity conservation and enhancement by referring to their lands as wild or wilderness. It also effectively undermines their rights by claiming that the biodiversity fostered by their traditional practices is a global resource. In order to counter these threats, we need not only to strengthen the rights of indigenous and traditional peoples, but also to reverse global trends that substitute economic and utilitarian models for the holistic concept of the sacred balance.

Collaborative research and intellectual property rights

Scientists find themselves working more and more with indigenous, traditional and local communities in all aspects of their collections and investigations. Indigenous knowledge has become increasingly important in research, while at the same time local communities have become increasingly politicized in the use, misappropriation, and commercialisation of their knowledge and biogenetic resources. It is becoming more and more difficult for even the most well-intentioned scientists to stride into indigenous areas and collect plants, animals, folk tales, and photos without having first to convince local leaders that the scholarly efforts will somehow benefit the communities — that the benefits of research results will directly and indirectly lead to strengthening the traditional society. In many parts of the world, indigenous peoples only allow Collaborative Research in which the scientific priorities and agendas are controlled by the communities, or Community Controlled Research in which the communities actually contract scientists to carry out the group’s research plan. Control over data has become one of the key ‘battle cries’ for the indigenous movement, that is now demanding Intellectual Property Rights over information obtained through research and just compensation for economic benefits that eventually may accrue. This paper deals with some of the ethical and practical issues that frame this rapidly evolving debate.

The 'Balance Sheet' and the 'Sacred Balance': Valuing the Knowledge of Indigenous and Traditional Peoples1

Indigenous and traditional peoples, who often attribute a sacred quality to nature, have made major contributions to the enhancement and conservation of the worlds biodiversity. Although this is increasingly recognised in international discourse, rights of these peoples to continue their traditional practices are threatened by the globalised economy. Likewise, science implicitly denies their contribution to biodiversity conservation and enhancement by referring to their lands as wild or wilderness. It also effectively undermines their rights by claiming that the biodiversity fostered by their traditional practices is a global resource. In order to counter these threats, we need, not only to strengthen the rights of indigenous and traditional peoples, but also to reverse global trends that substitute economic and utilitarian models for the holistic concept of the sacred balance.