A new dawn for custodians of TK in Africa

• Pages: 20-22

In early August, the Afri can Regi onal In tellectual

Property Organization (ARI PO) and its 17 me mber

states1took an histor ic st ep in adop ting a lega l

framework , known a s the “Swakopmund Protocol

for the protection of tradition al k nowledge and

expression s of culture.” This landmark event –

which took place at a Diploma tic Confe rence i n

the coast al town of Swa kopmund, Namibi a – was

the resul t of 10 years of intensive c onsultations. I t

was heralded by WIPO D irector General Francis

Gurry as “a si gnificant m ilestone i n the evolution

of in tellectual property.” In this a rticle,

Emmanuel

Sackey

, ARIPO’s Program Man ager for the

Protection of Genetic Resources, Traditional

Knowledg e and Expressions of Folklore, explains

how this new legal framework came into being

and what it means for custod ians of traditional

knowledg e (TK) in Africa.

Grow ing interest in TK

In recent years, the b iotechnology, pharmaceuti-

cal and health care indu stries have become in-

creasingly inte rested in natura l pro ducts as

sources of n ew biochemical co mpounds for drug,

chemical and agro-p roduct d evelopment. This

has fuelled a resurgen ce of interest in TK and its

associated g enetic resources (GRs) as m eans of

advancing the fr ontiers of science and techno lo-

gy and of g aining useful insights into the func-

tioning of ecological systems.

This kno wledge has help ed increase eco nomic

productiv ity and is making a s ignificant cont ribu-

tion to ind ustrial res earch and developm ent

(R&D) pro grams. Traditional knowledge is a factor

in the commercializat ion of natu ral products, but

custodians of this k nowledge are often not wi de-

ly recogni zed or rewarded for its use. Com mercial

interests generall y use t hese resourc es free of

charge, accessing them through database s, aca-

demic publications or fi eld collec tions. Conc erns

over wh o owns thi s knowledge and who has the

right to its use, as well as its growing economic

significan ce, have gene rated a wide range of

public policy debates including in relat ion to in-

tellectua l property (IP) protecti on.

Para llel processes

While the i nternational com munity debates in ter-

national stand ards fo r th e prot ection of GRs, TK

and tr aditional c ultural expr essions/expressi ons

of folklore (TCEs), a numbe r of parallel initiatives

have been unfolding at regi onal and natio nal lev-

els. These efforts s eek to iden tify approach es and

best practices for tackling the many complex

questions a ssociated with main streaming these

issues i nto conventiona l IP policie s and system s.

The Swakopmund

Prot ocol

The Swako pmund Protocol, ado pted in August

2010, is underpinnned by the principle that the

knowledg e, technolog ies, biologi cal resources

and cultur al heritage of tra ditional and loca l com-

munities are the result of t ested practi ces of pas t

generatio ns. These resources are held in tr ust by

today’s cu stodians for future generati ons.

The Swakopmu nd Protocol was signed by nine

ARIPO member sta tes, namely, Botswana, Ghana,

Kenya, Lesotho, Liberia, Mozambique, Namibia,

Zambia an d Zimbabwe. It will enter into force

once six memb er states have deposite d instru-

ments o f ratification (for signato ries) or ac cession

(for non-signatories ).Any state th at is a member

of the African U nion or th e United Na tions

Economic Co mmission for Africa may also sign up

to the Protocol.

It affirms the principle that traditional or local com-

munities are the custodians of their TK, its associat-

ed GRs and TCEs, and empowers them to exercise

rights over their knowledge and resources.

“This histor ic development provides the necess ary

tools to prevent the ongoing misappropr iation of

traditional knowledge and tradi tional cultura l ex-

pressions in Africa. The custo dians of this know-

ledge are now empowered to exe rcise rights over

it” said ARIPO Director General Gift Sibanda. “By cre-

ating a frame work for indigenou s communities to

A NEW DAWN FOR

CUSTODIANS OF TK

IN AFRICA

1 Botswana, Gamb ia,

Ghana, Ke nya, Lesotho,

Liberia, Malawi,

Mozambique, Namibia,

Sierra Leo ne, Somalia,

Sudan, Swa ziland,

Uganda, Un ited

Republic of Tanzania,

Zambia, Zi mbabawe.

DE CE MB ER 2010

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