M2L7: Traditional knowledge and Biopiracy

In the last lecture, I tried to explain you how do GM crops promote monoculture and results into loss of biodiversity. In this lecture, we shall dig a little bit further.

First of all, what is Biodiversity?

Biodiversity is a term that can be used to describe biological diversity at a variety of different scales. This can be divided into three layers

[1] Ecosystem

[2] Species

[3] Genetic

Ecosystems involve many members of different species. They interact biologically in many ways, some direct and some indirect. This biological interaction can take any form of these kind viz. mutualism, commensalism, parasitism, neutralism. amensalism, competition etc.

Ecosystem bio-diversity is important in the following way

First of all, the services provided by the ecosystem are the products of biodiversity. Be it cultural, supportive, provisional or regulating. Diverse ecosystems are able to do provide these services more efficiently. These services include:

·         recycling and storage of nutrients

·         maintaining water purity

·         stabilizing climate

·         protection from weather hazards etc.

Thus, when the ecosystem is diverse and resilient, it provides more and better opportunities for economic growth and social well-being, if the capacity of ecosystems to produce goods and services is properly maintained and safeguarded.

Resilient is defined as the capacity to withstand or recover from disturbance. A more diverse ecosystem is usually more resilient. If the same functionality performed by certain species, is also carried out by some other species located within the same ecosystem, the ecosystem may not crumble under its weight due to the loss of that one species. Thus, preservation of this species diversity is important, within an ecosystem as it can act as a backup to carry out the same set of functionalities, even after one set of species is/are completely lost due to some calamity or unforeseen events.

However, this may not be the case every time. Some of the species perform a role that is unique and extremely vital for the stability of the entire ecosystem. When they are lost due to human interference or some other reason, it may lead to a cascading effect on many other species and the entire ecosystem may crumble. Such species are called as keystone species.

Now, how this is important for our topic? Agriculture is also an ecosystem. It also performs a lot of functions, provides a lot of goods and services.

Since agriculture is a land intensive occupation, fertility of land is most important to improve productivity. It contains many biotic and abiotic components. Among these biotic components, seed is one such important thing. When the variety of seeds is preserved, they can act as a backup to be used to meet the crisis during some unforeseen circumstances.

For e.g. Certain varieties of wheat, found in Rajasthan could grow in saline environment and had better abilities to cope up against drought and heat. During green revolution, majority of the farmers shifted to High Yield Variety of Seeds. They never cared for those seeds and eventually they got lost and perished completely. Today, were those seeds available, we can directly use them to maintain food production without caring about rising temperatures due to global warming and climate change.

For e.g. it has been found that, the seeds that were used before green revolution were more nutritious. If we can bring back those seeds, they can reduce the problem of undernutrition in India.

So, I want to ask you now. Isn’t this necessary to preserve the biodiversity of seeds? Isn’t this necessary to protect the traditional knowledge of agricultural practices that were more efficient in controlling pests and providing us food and nutrition security? I believe that the answer would be affirmative.

The Food and Agricultural Organization by United Nations has established the farmer’s rights in the year 1989. It recognizes that farmers & their communities have contributed greatly to the creation, improvement & use of plant genetic resources & that they should be recognized & rewarded for their contributions. On the same lines, they have awarded certain important sites that have preserved the knowledge of traditional farming practices as Globally Important Agricultural Heritage Systems (GIAHS). This was then, made a part of the Convention for Biological Diversity (CBD).

Convention on Biological Diversity, was the first legally binding framework for the conservation & sustainable use of biodiversity. It recognizes the "knowledge, innovations and practices of indigenous & local communities" & specifically "encourage[s] the equitable sharing of benefits arising from the utilization of such knowledge, innovations and practices"

The CBD recognizes the sovereign rights of states over their biological and genetic resources, and aims to enable developing countries to have access to technology to make use of those resources – including technology protected by patents and other IPRs. 

However, certain states are found to violate this. They use the genetic resources of biodiversity rich countries (most of them come in tropical regions) and get it patented. This is known as Bio-piracy.

·         In this case, the innovators gain Intellectual Property (IP) rights by doing mere translations and minor modifications and seek patents, claiming the knowledge as well as the life forms as their private property, without considering the contribution and consent of the original stakeholders.

·         Thus, the rights of indigenous communities, who have exploited indigenous traditionally developed knowledge and biodiversity among natural resources for hundreds of years, to and traditional knowledge is overnight replaced by monopoly rights granted to a select few.

·         These practices will lead to further increase in inequality between the developed countries that are supported by transnational corporations and developing countries which are dependent solely on their indigenous resources.

·         The government of India has formed a Traditional Knowledge Digital Library to deter such practices.

Common Name	Indigenous Use	Patent Number	Patentee
Turmeric [Curcuma Longa]	Heals wounds	US Patent 5401504	University of Mississippi Medical Centre
Anar [PunicaGranatum]	Anti-diarrhoea	US Patent 5411733	Toyoharu Hozumi, Takao Matsumoto
Rice (Basmati)	Unique Aroma and flavour	US Patent 5663484	RiceTec
Karela, Jamun, Brinjal	Control of diabetes	US Patent 5900240	Cromak Research Inc.
Aswagandha	Treatment of Depression, Insomnia. gastric ulcers and convulsions	EP 1906980	Natreon Inc., US MultiNational
Neem (Azadirachta indica)	insect and pest repellent, in human and veterinary medicine, toiletries and cosmetics	EP 436257	W.R. Grace, a US based multinational agribusiness corporation

Integrated soil fertility management in agriculture

Traditional practices in agriculture focus more on protecting the soil fertility and nutrients in an integrated manner. These techniques are now known as Integrated Nutrient Management and Integrated Soil Fertility Management. They are currently implemented in Ethiopia and Sub-Saharan Africa.