During the past decade, pharmaceutical and natural products companies have been probing indigenous peoples’ knowledge to develop products from medicines to shampoos, often under the banner of “saving the rainforest.” Yet, more often than not, indigenous peoples do not receive payment in exchange for sharing their “intellectual property”. As a result, The Philippines, Bolivia, Columbia, Ecuador and Costa Rica have passed intellectual property laws; Brazil,India, and Peru are considering similar laws. The Peruvian bill currently under consideration would require companies to pay a one-time licensing fee to the government for using native botanicals, and would require that .5 percent of company profits generated from their use go to a fund administered by and for indigenous groups. “That percentage is very reasonable,” says Steve King of Shaman Pharmaceuticals. “But it’s not clear what will actually go to the indigenous people.”
Graham Dutfield, a researcher at Oxford University’s Working Group on Traditional Resource Rights, on the other hand believes, “Genocide has almost always been perpetrated by people acting for governments, not companies.” And once the laws are in place it can be very difficult for companies to get permits to study native flora and fauna. Since 1995, when the law was passed in The Phillipines, only two of 37 applications have received clearance.
Dutfield prefers that companies negotiate directly with communities and “treat them with respect. A lot of these peoples are getting fed up with researchers coming in and expecting to be told everything they know about local flora and fauna.” The problem is exacerbated by the fact that many companies purchase their ingredients through middlemen and aren’t aware of the impact on indigenous collectors and growers.
The natural products industry depends, to a great extent on traditional herbs and other products. Companies are using a variety of methods to compensate indigenous people:
Wild Things Inc, president Peter Alcorn founded this chicle gum manufacturing company when he realized the chicle tree and forest protection go hand in hand. Its sap is the original natural chewing gum base but it requires an intact tropical forest – with primary forest canopy – to grow. Plan Piloto Chiclero, a chicle producers cooperative he established, assures workers fair payment, and retirement and health benefits. The company has received fair trade, organic, and forest management (FSC) certification.
Shaman Botanicals: earmarks 15-25 percent of each expedition’s budget for tribal use. Tribes have used the money for purchases such as clean water systems, transportation vehicles and land surveys.
Island Treasures sources coconut-based lotions and soaps directly from traditional villages in Fiji, enabling them to use traditional skills while earning a fair wage.
Native American Botanics fosters self-sufficiency by subsidizing growers through their first season. They also encourage tribal governments to invest in the company.
Frontier Natural Products Co-op has helped establish coffee growers co-ops and funded nonprofits in Peru and Mexico to teach organic farming techniques. Sales from organic coffee produced by the Tayrona tribe that lives high in the Sierra Madre are helping them re-purchase and restore traditional lands.
Source: Natural Foods Merchandiser
Loading...