Intelectual property an issue for Biodiversity

Intelectual property an issue for Biodiversity

JAKARTA (JP): Indonesia is to take part in the third
Conference of Parties to the Convention of Biodiversity, in the
hope of obtaining international agreement on better protection of
its natural wealth.

The eleven-day conference opens Monday in Buenos Aires.

Aca Sugandhi, first assistant to the Minister of Environment,
noted the importance of the coming discussion, which will focus
on intellectual property rights, for Indonesia to prevent the
exploitation of its natural resources by other countries.

"It's no use being affluent in biodiversity when we only watch
other countries reap the benefit," Aca said in a discussion held
by the Antara news agency yesterday. The other speakers yesterday
were environmentalists Setijati Sastrapraja from the Kehati
Foundation and Hira Jhamtani from Konphalindo.

Aca pointed out that Indonesians are not yet aware of the
country's wealth of biodiversity and how it can be exploited by
countries with more advanced technology.

One of the most often quoted examples of such exploitation is
how Indonesia, lacking in technology, sells raw materials such as
rain forest plants to countries with the capacity to process them
into medicines. The processed goods are then resold to Indonesia.

"Isn't it remarkable that we, whose land contains great
natural wealth, are still living in poverty when technologically
developed countries manage to exploit our natural wealth." Aca
added.

Vandana Shiva, a noted Indian environmentalist who wrote the
book "Biodiversity: A Third World Perspective," has estimated
that the value of raw materials collected for free from the
developing countries in the South for pharmaceutical industries
in rich countries in the North could reach US$47 billion by 2000.

The convention, issued at the 1992 Earth Summit in Brazil and
already ratified by 154 countries, encourages cooperation in the
transfer of technology to conserve natural resources. The first
conference was held in 1994 in the Bahamas and the second last
year in Jakarta, chaired by Indonesian Minister of Environment
Sarwono Kusumaatmadja.

Last year's conference failed to agree on "safety procedures",
"biosafety protocols" and the use of biotechnology, particularly
genetic engineering.

According to Aca, the government needs to educate both the
general public and government officials about biodiversity.

Aca and the other speakers agreed that the Buenos Aires
conference is likely to see controversies over international
regulations to ensure safety in the use, transfer and handling of
genetic engineering, known as the "biosafety protocol."

Hira Jhamtani charged that wealthier nations often sought to
buy sample species, which they later process, from botanical
gardens instead of settling deals, and therefore face
intellectual property rights restrictions. (14)