Resource: WIPO briefs on IP and traditional handicrafts, traditional medical knowledge

Intellectual Property and Traditional Handicrafts
WIPO Background Brief no. 5, April 2013

This brief identifies practical, accessible and often community-based means of using the existing intellectual property system for the effective recognition, protection, management, marketing and commercialization of traditional handicrafts as cultural and economic assets. Download the brief [pdf] …

Intellectual Property and Traditional Medical Knowledge
WIPO Background Brief no. 6, April 2013

This brief focuses on IP protection of traditional medical knowledge; it does not deal with the associated genetic resources, which cannot be directly protected by intellectual property but are subject to access and benefit-sharing regulations. The brief presents legislative and practical options for protecting traditional medical knowledge through conventional IP rights, sui generis systems and documentation, as well as other options including customary laws and practices, and contractual agreements.  Download the brief [pdf] …

 

This week in review … Article on Jeju’s traditional medicine

Jeju traditional medicine – the healing biodiversity of the island
Jeju Weekly, 28 March 2013

JEJU, REPUBLIC OF KOREA: The traditional healing system used by Jeju people has three branches: the mainland’s traditional medicine, botanical as well as physical therapies such as acupuncture which were adapted from that of China; shamanism, traditionally a system of healing used to calm the mind and console the spirit; and the island’s indigenous medicinal botany. Read the article …

 

Meeting prep: UNPFII-12

Twelfth session of the UN Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues
20-31 May 2013 (UN Headquarters, New York)

Online pre-registration for UNPFII-12 is now open, until 1 May 2013. The meeting’s agenda includes: follow-up on UNPFII recommendations with regard to health, education and culture; half-day discussion on the African region; discussion on the World Conference on Indigenous Peoples; UNDRIP implementation; dialogue with the Special Rapporteur on the rights of indigenous peoples and the Chair of the Expert Mechanism on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples; a comprehensive dialogue with UN agencies and funds; and future work. Visit the meeting’s webpage …

 

This week in review … Participatory research programme in the Philippines documents traditional medicinal knowledge

Technology in the service of cultural diversity
The Philippine Star, 14 February 2013

MANILA, PHILIPPINES: This article reports on an initiative to document the healing traditions of indigenous and local communities in the Philippines, undertaken the Philippine Council for Health Research and Development, the Philippine Institute of Traditional and Alternative Health Care, and the National Institute of Health of the University of the Philippines Manila. Documentation of the healing traditions has been done or is ongoing among many indigenous groups in the Cordillera, Sierra Madre, Palawan, Mindoro, Zamboanga and southeastern Mindanao. The output of the documentation is stored in a traditional knowledge digital library, developed and maintained by UP Manila, together with the two collaborating institutions. The digital library thus is a repository of the various cultural traditions of Philippine indigenous and local communities, that reflect the practices, knowledge, beliefs, and philosophy of what may be called “Philippine medicine.” In the acknowledgement of the communities’ rights to their knowledge, this national research program aims to carry out a community-based participatory approach, wherein the communities are actively and effectively involved in the documentation and protection of their cultural heritage in health. Their part is integral in defining the cultural appropriateness of the research: from assessing the project objectives, data-gathering methods and instruments, to deciding what information may be inputted in the digital library and what will be kept confidential. Read the article …

 

This week in review … Study assesses use of plants in antimalarial therapies

Study assesses use of plants in antimalarial therapies
SciDev.Net, 29 January 2013

COTONOU, BENIN: Traditional healers in Benin possess sophisticated knowledge regarding the treatment of malaria with medicinal plants, and strategies should be developed to exploit this and promote the plants’ conservation, says a study conducted by researchers in Benin. Researchers at the University of Abomey-Calavi, Cotonou, documented more than 80 plants, which are believed to be antimalarial and used by traditional healers in southern Benin’s Allada plateau, to evaluate traditional knowledge and techniques for treating malaria. The families of Rubiaceae and Caesalpiniaceae were the most represented, with seven species each, although Dichapetalum madagascariense was the species most cited by traditional healers. The team found that the healers mainly use decoction, a method of extracting medicinal chemicals from plants by boiling, to prepare remedies. Read the article …

 

Meeting prep: UNPFII expert meeting on indigenous youth

International Expert Group Meeting on Indigenous Youth: Identity, challenges and hope: Articles 14, 17, 21 and 25 of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples
29-31 January 2013 (UN Headquarters, New York)

This expert group meeting is intended to: analyze enshrined human rights within international standards and policies and how these could be more responsive to advancing the rights of indigenous youth; promote an opportunity to exchange information and analysis on the examples of social and economic conditions of indigenous youth, including in the areas of education, employment, vocational training, housing, sanitation, health and social security, among others; and identify options and further plans to build the necessary conditions for developing strategies to protect economic and social rights of indigenous youth, including empowering, strengthening indigenous youth organizations, and other capacity enhancement programs for indigenous youth. The final report and recommendations of the meeting will be submitted to UNPFII-12. Visit the meeting’s website … Download the meeting’s concept note [pdf] …

 

This week in review … Cornell researchers investigate indigenous remedies for type 1 diabetes

Peer Review: Reed ’14 Investigates Indigenous Remedies for Type 1 Diabetes
The Cornell Daily Sun, 23 January 2013

NEW YORK, USA: Spenser Reed ’14, a double major in food science and nutritional sciences, joined the search for natural pharmaceuticals this summer at the Cornell Biodiversity Laboratory in the Dominican Republic. In his research, Reed focused on evaluating the bioactive properties, or those that affect human cells, of plants used by indigenous groups to treat type 1 diabetes. After conducting a literature search regarding Dominican medicinal plant use and speaking with indigenous healers in Punta Cana, Reed selected five plants to survey for anti-diabetic properties. One of his choices – the avocado leaf – particularly stood out because it was rumored to be helpful in treating diabetes when brewed in a tea. To determine the bioactivity of his plant selections, Reed conducted a variety of in vitro tests after extracting compounds from the leaves. His trials included an antibiotic test; an allelopathy test that measures the ability of extracted compounds to influence growth and metabolism; and a toxicity test. The avocado leaf performed the best of any of the plants on these preliminary procedures. Read the article …

 

Resource: Book on Chazuta ancient knowledge

Chazuta y sus saberes maravillosos
Regional government of San Martin, Peru, Ministry of Culture of Peru, GIZ Programa Desarrollo Rural Sostenible, October 2012

This publication in Spanish presents the ancient knowledge of the community of Chazuta, living in the forests of San Martin, Peru, transmitting testimonies of community members. Chapters address: traditional ceramic art; fishing methods; knowledge of medicinal plants; and cooking, story-telling, dance and cloth-making. Download the book [pdf, in Spanish] …