Webinars
KNOWLEDGE EXCHANGE TOOLS, METHODS, AND LESSONS LEARNED
Webinar Series
Webinar 1 – Food and Cultural Revival Festivals
The Traditional Foodways Program held a webinar on Indigenous Food and Cultural Revival Festivals. These festivals celebrate local cultures and connections to nature, strengthen communities, raise awareness in the public, and inform policy making. In this webinar, People and Plants partners share practical advice, experiences, and lessons learned from festivals in Indonesia, Ecuador, The Philippines and South Africa.
This event is the first in a series of webinars exploring tools and methodologies associated with knowledge exchange, drawing upon People and Plants' decades-long experience. Additional webinars will include: manuals and booklets; recipe exchanges and cookbooks; video production; games; and seasonal calendars.
Exploring the Scope of Access and Benefit Sharing (ABS) Measures in the COMIFAC Region
Access to genetic resources and the fair and equitable sharing of benefits (ABS) has become one of the most studied and reflected upon concepts in the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) process since 1992. But despite all of this attention, it is still not clear what is included under the scope of ABS. In other words: what does ABS actually cover?
The scope of ABS has shifted and changed over the years, making implementation at the national level challenging. Identifying what falls within ABS, and the costs and benefits of narrow vs broad approaches, has significant implications for Nagoya Protocol implementation. Following from the issue of scope grows a question central to ABS implementation: is a new regulatory framework that covers the full range of products and uses the best approach, or might an approach that integrates ABS principles of fairness and equity into existing laws and policies – “mainstreaming” ABS – possible?
Bringing the Voices of Indigenous Peoples and Local Communities into Global Policy Arenas
International policies and laws on biodiversity conservation, access and benefit sharing, and related issues, provide principles and guidance, but the involvement of Indigenous peoples and local communities in their conceptualisation and development is often limited. This means that even well-intentioned global laws might not benefit these groups, and could even work against their interests.
This webinar explores examples from India, Peru (ABS, IK Law, and UNDRIP) and New Zealand/Aotearoa (TK law and UNDRIP) ) and South Africa (World Heritage Convention and the CBD), also examining some of the challenges that emerge from the interface of the global and local elsewhere in the world. It will also stimulate conversations about how the voices of Indigenous peoples and local communities can be more effectively conveyed to global policy arenas, and the relationship between customary and statutory approaches to biodiversity use and conservation.
The Challenge of Attribution and Origin:
Traditional Knowledge and Access and Benefit Sharing (ABS)
International, regional and national policies increasingly recognise the rights of traditional knowledge holders and the importance of measures to address biopiracy concerns. However, after almost 30 years of exploring benefit sharing from traditional knowledge associated with genetic resources, few benefits as conceived under the Convention on Biological Diversity and Nagoya Protocol have resulted for indigenous and local communities.
The complexity and attention that these issues require is not easily dealt with at a policy level. It requires comprehensive social research, savvy policy-makers, and considerable political maneuvering. The answers are not always appetizing and do not have mass political appeal. Nor do they have easily implementable solutions. This webinar provides a platform to discuss these issues and identify alternative approaches for equity and social justice.
What are we regulating?
The Scope of Access and Benefit Sharing (ABS)
Samples for drug development, a bulk plant ingredient used in a cosmetic product, herbal teas, or microorganisms that contribute to biotechnological processes …. do all of these fall under ABS law? A lot of confusion surrounds the activities and products covered by ABS. The Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) addresses “genetic resources” and “biological resources”, but what does that mean in practice to local groups, researchers, indigenous peoples, companies, and even governments? Stakeholders tend to view ABS in many different ways, and partly this is because what ABS applies to – that is, its scope – has become exceedingly broad. A quick look at some existing national and international frameworks shows ABS covering biological materials, genetic resources, derived products, indigenous peoples´ traditional knowledge, biotrade, and more recently “digital sequence information”.
This webinar reviewed the origins of scope within the CBD, how it evolved over the following few decades, and where we find ourselves today. Contributors shared views on the appropriate scope for national laws, some of the lessons learned, and possible approaches to addressing challenges today.