By NATARIO McKENZIE
Tribune Business Reporter
nmckenzie@tribunemedia.net
THE Bahamas’ genetic resources, particularly ‘bush medicines’, have been “exploited” in the past with no compensation or recognition being paid, noted historian Dr Gail Saunders said yesterday, describing the need for intellectual property protection as “critical”.
Speaking with Tribune Business yesterday at a World Intellectual Property (WIPO) ‘Trade Knowledge Consultation’, Dr Saunders said: “To me it’s very important because of the heritage, the bush medicine, the traditional dances.
“But especially the bush medicine, where people from abroad have come and have used something like cerasee and so forth, and made them into economic success by manufacturing medicine.
“The people who gave them the knowledge that these things treat certain illnesses are not recognised, however, and they don’t make anything, only the people who exploit. We must do more research and really try to let Bahamians benefit from their knowledge.”
According to Karla Wells, assistant economist in the Ministry of Financial Services, the consultation is a CARICOM initiative being facilitated by the WIPO.
“We’re holding a consultation on the protection of traditional knowledge, genetic resources and traditional cultural expressions. No country in the Caribbean is currently providing a comprehensive framework of protection for these areas,” Ms Wells said.
“This is a CARICOM-wide initiative, and is being facilitated by the World Intellectual Property Organisation (WIPO). They are visiting CARICOM countries to get the ball rolling, to get the discussion going on how we protect traditional knowledge, genetic resources and traditional cultural expressions.
“It is very related to intellectual property, but it doesn’t fit squarely in there. Traditional knowledge, for instance, is something passed down; it’s not new. I can’t patent that cerasee is good for chicken pox because I didn’t come up with that, but at the same time you don’t want a foreigner coming in and figuring that out and coming up with a cerasee bubble bath, and no one from the Bahamas gets any recognition or benefit from it,.”
The Minster of Youth, Sports & Culture, Dr Danny Johnson, told Tribune Business that this nation was moving “in a dramatic form” to preserve the ownership of Junkanoo as exclusively Bahamian.
“This sets us up to do a proper inventory to see what we have, and then see how we move towards legislation; laws to protect what we have,” he explained.
“We are now moving, from my point of view, in a dramatic form to preserve the ownership of Junkanoo to an exclusively Bahamian domain before we end up with another Tommy Bahama on our hands.
“This will be done with immediate effect after this is passed. We’re going to look at legislation as it relates to UNESCO and other organisations internationally, and seal the deal so that Bahamians and all the things we do that is our original art and culture is protected henceforth.”
Comments
The_Oracle 10 years, 11 months ago
What is this? More Xenophobia? That a foreigner comes in and innovates where we Bahamians are too damn lazy, or are prevented from doing things by our own Government ? Great, next up a Ministry of Cerasee, replete with taxes on foraging thru the bush!
banker 10 years, 11 months ago
Having cerasee forced down my throat as child, we have nothing to worry about. Excrement mixed with rotted flesh and dung beetle guts tastes better than cerasee.
The_Oracle 10 years, 11 months ago
Either Government administration would have been better off to Copyright all the names of Bahamian islands, and the words Bahama, Bahamas, Bimini, etc. Instead, we have Tommy Bahama (Foreign) Bimini Boatyard (Foreign) boats called Bahama 41, etc etc. and many others, all foreign concerns. Revenue potential missed, just like the bus.
sansoucireader 10 years, 11 months ago
Yes! Yes! Yes! Something I've always thought too! How come no one in a position to do something about this has ever thought of it before? We're keeping ourselves back because of a lack of vision. SMT!
concernedcitizen 10 years, 11 months ago
i know i think that too ,i,m not sure if can names of countries and places can be trademarked???originally it was the spainards that came up w/ Bahamas when they called us baja mer ,, meaning shallow sea ,,then over time it became Bahamas
JMcCormack 10 years, 11 months ago
I recently published a book titled, Bush Medicine of the Bahamas (http;//www.bushmedicine.org) which documents primarily the bush medicine plants and practices, oral history, and pharmacology of bush medicine plants on San Salvador Island. Concerned about how this information would be used, I wrote the following in the introduction:
"An unintended consequence of the publication of this book is that others could use the information to identify plants that could be exploited for commercial purposes. This could result in serious consequences including plant scarcity, habitat destruction, and the erosion of cultural and genetic diversity. The intention of the authors is to preserve traditional knowledge and promote research and education, not to facilitate personal gain of any person, corporation, or governing body. The authors explicitly reject the idea of patenting life forms, and the exploitation of genetic material. All the information given to us by the interviewees was freely shared with the intent that it serve the public good. To do otherwise would be a betrayal of their trust. Often traditional healers have no idea of the scientific and political implications of their contributions. Any private or commercial endeavor that benefits from the information in this book should include a means for returning benefits both to the community and the habitat that supports that community. Interested parties should contact the principal author for suggestions regarding individuals and organizations in the Bahamas who can assist or advise in selecting an appropriate means of compensation. One such organization is the Bahamas National Trust...."
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