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Third
Meeting of the Ad hoc Open-ended Inter-sessional Working Group on Article
8(j) and Related Provisions of the Convention on Biological Diversity
Montreal,
Canada; 8-12 December 2003
Highlights
for Monday,
8 December 2003
 The
third meeting of the Open-ended Inter-Sessional Working Group on Article
8(j) and Related Provisions of the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD)
began on Monday with an indigenous opening ceremony. Delegates convened in
Plenary and sub-working group sessions. Plenary heard opening statements,
addressed organizational matters, and considered progress reports on the
implementation of the work programme on Article 8(j) and the integration
of relevant tasks of the work programme in the thematic areas of the CBD.
While Sub-Working Group I (SWG-I) considered a composite report on the
status and trends regarding the knowledge, innovations and practices of
indigenous and local communities relevant to the conservation and
sustainable use of biodiversity, Sub-Working Group II (SWG-II) began
discussing sui generis systems for their protection.
Above
photo: A delegation of Mohawks invited delegates to clear their eyes,
ears and minds to be open for the negotiations to take place this week.
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| OPENING
CEREMONY: |
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Above photo: Bird's eye view of the opening ceremony.
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Above photo: Members of the Mohawk Nation.
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Above
photo: Charles
Patton (left) reciting the Mohawk worldview and welcoming
delegates from other territories to Mohawk traditional territory.
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The Thunderhawk Singers
leading the other peoples into the meeting hall with a stump
dance.
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Above
photo: Hamdallah Zedan, CBD Executive Secretary
(center) |
Above photo: A delegation of Mahowaks invited delegates to clear
their eyes, ears and minds to be open for the negotiations to take
place this week.
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| OPENING PLENARY: |
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Hans Hoogeveen, President of the CBD Conference of the
Parties (COP), opened the meeting, expressing appreciation to the
indigenous representatives that performed the ceremonial opening.
He stressed the role of indigenous and local communities for the
Convention's implementation and urged participants to maintain
the political momentum of the World Summit on Sustainable
Development (WSSD).
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CBD Executive Secretary Hamdallah Zedan expressed gratitude
to the Spanish government for its financial support for indigenous
participation. He outlined the meeting's agenda, and invited
delegates to keep the cooperative spirit that prevailed during
previous Working Group meetings.
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Nehemiah Rotich (above), on behalf of UNEP Executive Director
Klaus Töpfer, commended the CBD for being the first multilateral
environmental agreement (MEA) to fully recognize the role played
by indigenous and local communities in biodiversity conservation
and sustainable use, and said other MEAs should start exploring
means for enhancing indigenous participation. |
Viviana Figueroa (above) of the International Indigenous
Forum on Biodiversity noted the inappropriateness of western
intellectual property rights systems for the protection of
traditional knowledge, and presented recommendations from the
indigenous forum. |
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John Herity (Canada) (above) highlighted the UNDP's Equator
Initiative as an example of community empowerment for the
sustainable management of resources, and said this effort would be
showcased at COP-7 through the awarding of the Equator Prize in
parallel to the High-level segment of the meeting.
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On behalf of the Millennium Ecosystem Assessment (MA), Esther
Camac (above) highlighted: MA's finalization in 2005;
recognition of the importance of traditional knowledge for policy
making; analysis of community knowledge; and a forthcoming meeting
on linking local knowledge and global science in multi-scale
assessments (Alexandria, Egypt, 17-20 March 2004).
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Phyllida Cheyne-Middlemiss, The World Intellectual Property
Organization (WIPO), described the work of its Intergovernmental
Committee on Intellectual Property and Genetic Resources,
Traditional Knowledge and Folklore (IGC), which addresses, inter
alia, the scope of traditional knowledge, the distinction
between traditional knowledge and traditional cultural expression,
and mechanisms for protecting traditional knowledge and preventing
its unauthorized use.
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Merle Alexander (The Kitasoo Xai'Xais First Nation)
commended the creation of a Friends of the Bureau group including
members from the indigenous community and regretted the lack of
this practice in other UN processes.
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| SUB-WORKING GROUP I: |
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Above photo: Sub-working Group I dais Chaired by John Herity
(Canada) (center) and Co-Chaired by Earl Stevenson (Peguis
First Nations) (left).
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Jayshree Vencatesan, (above) Care Earth, on behalf of
several Indian NGOs, stressed that registers of traditional
knowledge should prioritize the safeguarding of knowledge and
remain under the communities' control.
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Josien Aloema-Tokoe, (COICA), declared that the establishment
of the WG on Article 8j and the revocation of a patent on
Ayahuasca are major steps in the struggle for the recognition and
protection of indigenous peoples' rights over their knowledge
and resources.
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Ben Donnie (Liberia), noted that gaps in the composite report
are due to the lack of submissions by parties, expressing hope
that they can be addressed soon.
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| SUB-WORKING GROUP
II: |
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Mexico asked to consider the public policies, and social,
economic and environmental situations where the application of
intellectual property rights can contribute to the conservation of
biodiversity. Above photo L-R: Jesus Vega Herrera, Jorge Larson
Guerra, and Jose Carlos Fernandez (Mexico)
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Above photo L-R:Sub-working Group II Chair Diann Black Layne (Antigua and Barbuda) and
Co-Chair Lucy Mulenkei (African Indigenous Women Organization)
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Denmark noted that some
of the requests in the document resembled work already, or soon to
be completed in the context of WIPO's IGC. He suggested
recommending WIPO to continue work underway and submit results of
their work to the CBD. He cautioned against duplicating work being
carried out by others and called for the CBD's limited resources
to be used as efficiently and carefully as possible. Above photo: Christian
Prip (Denmark)
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Namibia, on behalf of the African Group, noted that the
majority of African people live in rural areas and that their
traditional knowledge is necessary to ensure the survival of
resources under their care. He welcomed initatives developing a
sui generis system, codes of conduct and ethics, and especially
impact statements of development on sacred sites. Above
photo: Sem Taukondjo
Shikongo (Namibia)
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Brazil stressed the need to protect traditional knowledge from
unauthorized use, and expressed concerns over the unauthorized
access of computerized compilations of traditional knowledge.
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A CAXA-RAIPON representative presented her research on
popular medicine noting similarities between the practices of
indigenous peoples in Canada and Russia. Above photo: Alexandra
Grigorieva (CAXA-RAIPON) (center) with the Thunderhawk Singers.
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