lndigenous Peoples Rights in Bioprospecting on the American Continent: An Envisioned Beneficial Approach

Today, we still live in a world of colonisers and colonised. The colonising mentality is still very much present even if most of us are oblivious of it. Some minority groups are vulnerable to this philosophy as they can get assimilated or oppressed by larger groups of people. Indigenous Peoples, which is a broad term used to unify all Peoples native to a land which was colonised by foreigners, continue to be under threat of losing cultural traits from an undesired assimilation. This MA thesis explores the relations between Indigenous Peoples and their traditional knowledge on plants with foreign corporations and states and their medicinal knowledge. It is common for states to fund research on Indigenous lands in order to acquire their knowledge on medicinal plants. This is part of the larger type of research which we call bioprospecting. This process becomes problematic because the approach can infringe Indigenous Peoples rights. Biopiracy, which involves the theft of Indigenous...Show moreToday, we still live in a world of colonisers and colonised. The colonising mentality is still very much present even if most of us are oblivious of it. Some minority groups are vulnerable to this philosophy as they can get assimilated or oppressed by larger groups of people. Indigenous Peoples, which is a broad term used to unify all Peoples native to a land which was colonised by foreigners, continue to be under threat of losing cultural traits from an undesired assimilation. This MA thesis explores the relations between Indigenous Peoples and their traditional knowledge on plants with foreign corporations and states and their medicinal knowledge. It is common for states to fund research on Indigenous lands in order to acquire their knowledge on medicinal plants. This is part of the larger type of research which we call bioprospecting. This process becomes problematic because the approach can infringe Indigenous Peoples rights. Biopiracy, which involves the theft of Indigenous knowledge on biological materials, is common within bioprospecting. The early 1990’s had seen a legal turn which was favorable for Indigenous Peoples in defending their rights against this said biopiracy. By combining many international legal instruments, it is possible to frame unlawful behavior by foreign corporations, but it seems very difficult to do so with one single instrument. So, this young legal framework still needs to be developed. After reviewing a handful of cases, some of which happened before the implementation of law on this topic, a few things were more obvious than others. First, the new legal instruments made a difference as we saw a change towards a respectful approach in more recent years. Second, although benefits are not explicitly displayed by the case studies, which were all ultimately failures, all parties involved should have access to equitable benefits if all laws and ethics are followed. One of the most important steps to follow in order to respectfully carry on with a bioprospecting project is the concept of free, prior, and informed consent (FPIC). The latter is imperative for a peaceful and respectful relationship between the parties involved, whether it is the foreign visitors or the native Peoples. Finally, the most important insight which is understood by the comparison of these cases is the prominent clash between “Western” philosophy and Indigenous philosophies. This brings us back to the colonial mindset most of us still have today. Many take their lifestyle for granted and assume that everyone has the same way of life. Evidently, the cases disprove this claim, as Indigenous knowledge is often assumed to be the same as science, which it is not. It is by acknowledging this that on-site practices must be changed. Indigenous knowledge and science can work together in the same realm only if no party assumes that their ways are better than the other’s.Show less

Leiden University Student Repository

Documents

In Collections

lndigenous Peoples Rights in Bioprospecting on the American Continent: An Envisioned Beneficial Approach