At Reid Hall - from 12:30 to 14:00
Overview
Although they have conserved important biodiversity of the regions where they have lived for generations, many communities are struggling to safeguard their biodiverse resources in the face of development threats from, for example, mining, logging and dam projects. As a paradox, conservation efforts can even also threaten livelihoods by creating strictly protected areas that force groups out of areas that they might have sustainably managed or used to sustain biodiversity (such as hardy livestock breeds). At the same time intellectual property rights, such as patents and plant breeders’ rights, can facilitate the misappropriation of traditional knowledge and genetic resources in violation of well-established international law requirements – e.g. under the UN Convention on Biological Diversity and the Nagoya Protocol.
In response, governments are now required by international conventions to support indigenous and local communities in order to ensure that external actors respect indigenous peoples and local community rules for access to their traditional knowledge and genetic resources and for sharing the benefits that result from their use.
This session will address relationships between biodiversity management, indigenous and local knowledge (ILK) systems, and indigenous and local communities (ILCs). In particular, it will discuss critical conditions under which preservation of indigenous culture and organisations are synergistic with protecting biodiversity, and will uncover available options to foster existing synergies. This will entail a particular focus on practical and local level considerations (e.g. the role of community protocols), as well as on national (state regulations) and global governance dimensions (CBD Nagoya Protocol on ABS, IPBES).
Download the ppt presentation of Krystyna Swiderska
Video
Interview of Kristina Swiderska
