TITLE: Tackle bio-piracy, says India AUTHOR: Amiti Sen PUBLICATION: Financial Express, Mumbai DATE: 15 December 2005 URL: http://www.financialexpress.com/fe_full_story.php?content_i d=111601 Financial Express | 15 December 2005 TACKLE BIO-PIRACY, SAYS INDIA Amiti Sen HONG KONG, DEC 14: India has called for negotiations on the relationship between Trade Related Intellectual Property Rights (Trips) agreement and the convention of bio-diversity (CBD) in an attempt to check bio-piracy from the developing world. Speaking at the plenary session of the sixth World Trade Organisation (WTO) ministerial conference in Hong Kong, commerce and industry minister Kamal Nath said that there was growing popular discontent among developing countries over bio-piracy and the misappropriation of their traditional knowledge. He said that the Hong Kong ministerial should pave the way for the launch of negotiations linking Trips to CBD. India wants that provisions on disclosure of origin should be incorporated in Trips. The Indian minister reiterated his stand that there would not be any agricultural agreement without special products and special safeguard mechanism (SSM) which were needed to ensure the livelihood and food security of millions of farmers. If effectively applied, it could be the bedrock of any agricultural development, he said. On industrial tariffs, Mr Nath said that market tariffs was not about tariffs alone, as non-tariff barriers such as abuse of anti-dumping and technical standards hindered market access for developing countries. Stressing on the need for greater liberalisation of services, the minister pointed out that access to overseas markets could be a powerful instrument to banish poverty in developing countries by giving stimulus to economic growth. GOING FURTHER (compiled by GRAIN) Tove S Gerhardsen, "Experts debate IP issues as Hong Kong WTO Ministerial opens", Intellectual Property Watch, Geneva, 13 December 2005. http://www.ip-watch.org/weblog/index.php?p=177 Doris Schroeder et al, "Sharing the benefits of genetic research", Editorial, British Medical Journal, London, 10 December 2005. http://bmj.bmjjournals.com/cgi/content/full/331/7529/1351 Tejaswini Apte and Ashish Kothari, "Keep biopiracy at bay", Editorial, Times of India, 6 December 2005. http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articleshow/msid-1319348 ,curpg-1.cms Amiti Sen, "Trips should have teeth to prevent bio-piracy", Financial Express, Mumbai, 24 November 2005. http://www.financialexpress.com/fe_full_story.php?content_i d=109482