Published in association with WWF International and UNESCO, this manual demonstrates how to arrive at equitable and successful arrangements over access to, and the commercial development of, genetic resources. It draws on experience from a range of countries around the world to show how the benefits from the commercial use of biodiversity can be maximised and shared equitably while also achieving local conservation and development objectives.
From the publisher's announcement:
Biodiversity research and prospecting are long-standing activities taking place in a new legal and ethical environment. Following entry into force of the Convention on Biological Diversity in 1993, and other recent policy developments, expectations and obligations for research and prospecting partnerships have changed. However, to date there are few guides to integrating these concepts with practice.
This book offers practical guidance on how to arrive at equitable biodiversity research and prospecting partnerships. Drawing on experience and lessons learned from around the world, it provides case studies, analysis and recommendations in a range of areas that together form a new framework for creating equity in these partnerships. They include researcher codes of ethics, institutional policies, community research agreements, the design of more effective commercial partnerships and biodiversity prospecting contracts, the drafting and implementation of national `access and benefit-sharing' laws, and institutional tools for the distribution of financial benefits.
As part of the People and Plants initiative to enhance the role of communities in efforts to conserve biodiversity and use natural resources sustainably, Biodiversity and Traditional Knowledge will be invaluable to students, researchers and local communities, academic institutions, international agencies, government bodies and companies involved in biodiversity research, prospecting and conservation.
What people have said about the book:
'Gives some practical indications on the way to establish partnerships in the field of research and the outlook for biological diversity'
DIMITRA NEWSLETTER, September 2002
`The book [thus] provides a valuable and comprehensive overview of the relationship between the research on biodiversity and the potential legal and economic issues associated with it. Many of the chapters provide excellent insights into this very complex topic and will further stimulate the discussions in this field and the complexity of the topic and the diverse strategies are highlighted in the case studies. They are a particularly useful feature of the book, in which scientists, representatives of NGOs and other people involved in research relating to biodiversity present issues surrounding the convention on biological diversity (CBD)...'
MICHAEL HEINRICH, Journal Of Ethnopharmacology, Vol 81, Issue 3, 2002
`A thorough manual...It is well structured and given life by many case studies from across the world.'
ECOS, A Review of Conservation, Vol 23, No 2, 2002
`The book thus provides a valuable and comprehensive overview of the relationship between research on biodiversity and the potential legal and economic issues associated with it. Many of the chapters provide excellent insights into this very complex topic and will further stimulate the discussions in this field and the complexity of the topic and the diverse strategies are highlighted in the case studies'
JOURNAL OF ETHNOPHARMACOLOGY