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AFRICA HAS NO FUTURE UNLESS IT PROTECTS ITS HERITAGE - KAVINDELE
May 09, 2002 (The Post/All Africa Global Media via COMTEX) -- AFRICA has no future unless it protects its heritage of biological and genetic resources, Vice-President Enoch Kavindele has said. Officially opening a World Intellectual Property Organisation (WIPO) regional meeting on the protection of expressions of folklore and traditional knowledge at Lusaka's Mulungushi International Conference Centre yesterday, Vice-President Kavindele said it was important to reserve the heritage for future generations.
He said it was an open secret that traditional knowledge and indigenous innovations had contributed significantly to the present body of knowledge possessed by different categories of scientists.
Vice-President Kavindele noted, however, that there had been little acknowledgement of the innovations by indigenous Africans. He said the lack of legal recognition and protection had led to a situation where custodians of knowledge and innovations derived from traditional knowledge systems were not rewarded for contributions. Vice-President Kavindele said traditional innovations were manifested through indigenous farming practices and provision of traditional medicines.
"I dare say that without the heritage, Africa has no future," he said. "Let it not be said of this generation that they had the knowledge and the means to protect their heritage, but they did not have the will to do so." Vice-President Kavindele said Africans had a duty to protect their own heritage just as their ancestors had done.
He said the issue of access to genetic resources would only be resolved when the world community addresses the challenge posed by the patenting of life forms.
Vice-President Kavindele urged African governments to enact national legislation that recognise, protect and reward knowledge and innovations derived from traditional knowledge systems. "In developing these policies and legislation, effort should be made to integrate the customary laws, values and views of the concerned communities," he said.
"The policies and legislation should set minimum standards for material transfer agreements. This will protect communities from being taken advantage of."
Vice-President Kavindele also called on the international community to develop a legally binding international instrument that would reward traditional knowledge systems.
"The international instrument is important because the manifestation of traditional knowledge systems, traditional knowledge and indigenous innovations in many instances cuts across present day artificial political boundaries," he said. He said though African countries were party to a number of international instruments, the implementation of the instruments was done in isolation of each other.
Vice-President Kavindele urged the participants to devote some of their time to the Organisation of African Unity (OAU) model legislation since it was relevant to discussions at hand. He said to avoid unnecessary duplication of effort, it was important that WIPO played a leading role in promoting synergy and harmony with other inter-governmental organisations and agencies addressing issues of intellectual property rights. At the same meeting, WIPO deputy director Geoffrey Onyeama observed that genetic resources play a key role in the daily lives of people and communities.
Onyeama noted that globalisation and new technologies had enhanced the role of knowledge assets in social and economic development. "As a result, the relevance of intellectual property rights as a basis for promoting creativity and the production of such knowledge assets has grown in visibility," he said.
Onyeama said the relationship between intellectual property rights and traditional forms of creativity raised complex questions. He said it was for that reason that WIPO was mandated in 1998 by its member states to explore and identify intellectual property needs. Onyeama said he was hopeful that the meeting would help African states debate issues of intellectual property rights at a technical level. Welcoming the participants, senior chieftainess Mukamambo Nkhomeshya of the Soli people in Lusaka said it was important to have intellectual property rights protected for the benefit of innovators and their generations.
Senior chieftainess Nkhomeshya said it was important that Africa was put on the world map by its own innovations and knowledge systems.
The three-day meeting is being attended by representatives from all English speaking WIPO African member states.
by Webster Malido
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