According to their traditions, the individuals in the traditional communities do not and cannot own the natural resources and the knowledge associated with the biodiversity. The natural resource and the knowledge are the common property. This is held by the community collectively for the welfare of all. There are certain individuals or families who hold specialized knowledge. This is passed on to their progeny to transmit the knowledge to subsequent generation. This knowledge too is held in trust for the benefit of the community. The knowledge is not to be privatized and commercialized.

The issue of commercialization by making the knowledge and its products tradable as a commodity has been intensely debated. One of the arguments that have emerged is that in the event of such commercialization, it is necessary that this has the prior informed consent of the holders of this knowledge and that a share in the economic benefits or profits should flow back to the community which developed this knowledge. However, these are yet to be firmly incorporated into national laws though international acknowledgment of the principles has been made.

Acquiring the biological material such as plants, microorganisms and animals or the traditional knowledge on these biological materials without the prior informed consent of those whose traditional knowledge or biodiversity are taken is called biopiracy. Hoodia earned the reputation as an appetite suppressant after this knowledge was discovered with the indigenous San people. The Hoodia extract has been the basis for a number of products in the weight loss market. After the media raised the issue of biopiracy, a share in the royalties is now offered to the San people. There are isolated examples of recognition of similar claims as Arogyapacha in India.

Internationally, Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) set the principles for prior informed consent and a fair and equitable sharing of the benefits arising from the commercial use of genetic resources and knowledge. The CBD came into force in 1993. It provides for the right of countries to control and regulate access to genetic resources of those countries. Bioprospectors who are prospecting for these genetic resources are required to obtain informed consent to access these genetic resources. National governments are required to control and regulate these resources. This convention has been ratified by all the countries except for Brunei, Andorra, Iraq, Somalia and United States.

Today’s market offers a lot of remedies for obesity. But among all these, natural remedies, especially the Hoodia Extracts, are safer and more effective to use compared to the chemical treatments.

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Tags: Obesity

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