Incorporating Traditional Knowledge in an International Regime on Access to Genetic Resources and Benefit Sharing: Problems and Prospects

The Seventh Meeting of the Conference of the Parties (2004) of the Convention on Biological Diversity established a mandate for the negotiation of an international regime on Access to Genetic Resources and Benefit Sharing arising from their utilization. Negotiations have been proceeding and have entered the final phase. Seven working group meetings have been held to date and there is expectation that an instrument will emerge by the final deadline – the Tenth Meeting of the Conference of the Parties in Nagoya, Japan in October 2010. A key component singled out for inclusion in the international regime relates to the recognition and protection of the rights of indigenous and local communities (ILCs) over their traditional knowledge (TK) associated with genetic resources. The Ninth Meeting of the Conference of the Parties (2008) established a Group of Technical and Legal Experts to assist the Working Group to deal with this issue. The Group met in India in June 2009 and has submitted a report. This article reflects on the key outcomes of this Expert Group report. In particular, it identifies the key issues that need to be considered and resolved for TK associated to genetic resources to form an integral and viable component of the proposed international regime. * Professor, Law Faculty, University of Malaya, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Email: [email protected] .my at N ew Y rk U nirsity on Jne 8, 2010 http://ejirdjournals.org D ow nladed fom 458 EJIL 21 (2010), 457–475