Hands off our genes, say Pacific Islanders
| | Tuesday, 20 March 2007 |
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| The Pacific is a potential goldmine for bioprospectors. The taro plant, seen here, is common throughout the region and has been targeted in the past (Image: iStockphoto) |
Pacific Islanders are demanding the power to restrict patenting of their human, plant and animal genes, even if they run foul of international patent laws.
A new book documents 16 'acrimonious' encounters between scientific researchers and indigenous communities and calls for Pacific states to take a united approach to gaining control over such patents in the region.
"Researchers are harvesting and patenting the Pacific region's genetic resources by simply gathering and taking ownership over almost everything in their path," says co-editor of the book, Aroha Mead of the Victoria University of Wellington in New Zealand.
She says lack of regulation and a lack of knowledge about the latest genetic technologies and intellectual patent law has made the region a major target for commercial gene hunters.
The book, Pacific Genes & Life Patents, is published by international indigenous activist group Call of the Earth and the United Nations University in Tokyo.
The book says a major problem is that communities involved in research often don't give informed consent.
It documents an early example in which the US government filed patents on material taken from the Hagahai tribe in Papua New Guinea and the Solomon Islands in the early 1990s.
As a result, says the book, Hagahai immune cells can be bought today from the American Type Culture Collection for U$216, despite subsequent objections from those involved that they had not been informed.
The book documents other cases in which researchers gained consent from people who were not representative of their community. This resulted in conflicts within the community and the community's eventual withdrawal from the research.
Culture clash
Scientific research and patenting can often offend deeply held cultural values, says co-editor Dr Steven Ratuva, of the University of the South Pacific in Fiji.
He says patents on genes in medicinal plants conflict with the traditional view that such plants are common property, available for everyone.
While fair compensation for exploiting indigenous knowledge can be important, there are other issues at stake, says Ratuva.
"It's not only a matter of money," he says. "There are certain aspects of the culture which a lot of communities think cannot be bought or sold.
"Plants and animals are not seen as mere physical or biological entities but also as embodiment of ancestral spirits," says Ratuva.
He says recognition of local people's world view, even if it appears absurd to outsiders, must be part of the process in working out any patent or bioprospecting agreements.
Vetting patents
The book renews calls for a Regional Pacific Intellectual Property Office to vet patent applications and make sure they conform with Pacific Island cultural values.
Leaders at the intergovernmental Pacific Islands Forum say they also want such a regional office.
Mead says Pacific states should also pass laws to either prevent or significantly reduce patents on life.
But Professor Brad Sherman, director of the Australian Centre for Intellectual Property in Agriculture, says such laws would contravene current World Trade Organization (WTO) rules on intellectual property relating to plants and animals.
"It's at odds with the trend on intellectual property across the world over the last decade which has seen any prohibitions on patenting of life being removed from the laws," he says.
Economic sanctions?
Any countries that contravene the WTO rules would run the risk of economic sanctions, says Sherman, based at the University of Queensland.
He says in his experience bioprospectors are often public sector researchers, who are under pressure to generate income from patenting.
And he says tough gene patent laws would not stop such researchers from taking material out of the Pacific region and patenting it elsewhere.
Mead is aware going against the tide won't be easy but is committed.
"Patents are out of control and a growing number of sectors of society are indicating that limits do need to be drawn," she says.
The book Pacific Genes & Life Patents is freely available online.
http://www.abc.net.au/science/news/stories/2007/1872885.htm
A new book documents 16 'acrimonious' encounters between scientific researchers and indigenous communities and calls for Pacific states to take a united approach to gaining control over such patents in the region.
"Researchers are harvesting and patenting the Pacific region's genetic resources by simply gathering and taking ownership over almost everything in their path," says co-editor of the book, Aroha Mead of the Victoria University of Wellington in New Zealand.
She says lack of regulation and a lack of knowledge about the latest genetic technologies and intellectual patent law has made the region a major target for commercial gene hunters.
The book, Pacific Genes & Life Patents, is published by international indigenous activist group Call of the Earth and the United Nations University in Tokyo.
The book says a major problem is that communities involved in research often don't give informed consent.
It documents an early example in which the US government filed patents on material taken from the Hagahai tribe in Papua New Guinea and the Solomon Islands in the early 1990s.
As a result, says the book, Hagahai immune cells can be bought today from the American Type Culture Collection for U$216, despite subsequent objections from those involved that they had not been informed.
The book documents other cases in which researchers gained consent from people who were not representative of their community. This resulted in conflicts within the community and the community's eventual withdrawal from the research.
Culture clash
Scientific research and patenting can often offend deeply held cultural values, says co-editor Dr Steven Ratuva, of the University of the South Pacific in Fiji.
He says patents on genes in medicinal plants conflict with the traditional view that such plants are common property, available for everyone.
While fair compensation for exploiting indigenous knowledge can be important, there are other issues at stake, says Ratuva.
"It's not only a matter of money," he says. "There are certain aspects of the culture which a lot of communities think cannot be bought or sold.
"Plants and animals are not seen as mere physical or biological entities but also as embodiment of ancestral spirits," says Ratuva.
He says recognition of local people's world view, even if it appears absurd to outsiders, must be part of the process in working out any patent or bioprospecting agreements.
Vetting patents
The book renews calls for a Regional Pacific Intellectual Property Office to vet patent applications and make sure they conform with Pacific Island cultural values.
Leaders at the intergovernmental Pacific Islands Forum say they also want such a regional office.
Mead says Pacific states should also pass laws to either prevent or significantly reduce patents on life.
But Professor Brad Sherman, director of the Australian Centre for Intellectual Property in Agriculture, says such laws would contravene current World Trade Organization (WTO) rules on intellectual property relating to plants and animals.
"It's at odds with the trend on intellectual property across the world over the last decade which has seen any prohibitions on patenting of life being removed from the laws," he says.
Economic sanctions?
Any countries that contravene the WTO rules would run the risk of economic sanctions, says Sherman, based at the University of Queensland.
He says in his experience bioprospectors are often public sector researchers, who are under pressure to generate income from patenting.
And he says tough gene patent laws would not stop such researchers from taking material out of the Pacific region and patenting it elsewhere.
Mead is aware going against the tide won't be easy but is committed.
"Patents are out of control and a growing number of sectors of society are indicating that limits do need to be drawn," she says.
The book Pacific Genes & Life Patents is freely available online.
http://www.abc.net.au/science/news/stories/2007/1872885.htm
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