Pacific Islands Environment Outlook - UNEP

ACCESS TO GENETIC RESOURCES AND INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY RIGHTS
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of greatest significance for long-term investments (e.g.
port development, infrastructure, tourist hotels, tree crop
plantations and forestry), where climate change ‘may
stress a resource or ecosystem sensitive to climate
change or have an effect on the ability of society to cope
with climate change’ (Campbell and de Wet 1999).
In a recent analysis for policy-makers (Campbell and
de Wet 1999), three types of proposals were considered
in terms of adaptation and development:
1. Proposals in which the main objective is development.
In these projects the adaptation component can be
seen as additional, but necessary in order to ensure
sustainability. Examples:
● infrastructure development;
● housing programmes;
● agricultural development;
● tourism development.
2. Proposals that are specifically adaptation oriented.
Examples include:
● coastal protection;
● developing drought/salt resistant crops;
● public awareness programmes on the effects of
climate change and on possible adaptive
strategies.
3. Proposals including capacity-building for dealing with
the likely effects of climate change. Examples
include:
● institutional development;
● human resource development, including:
climate science training;
technical training for adaptation;
public awareness skills training.
Overall, the optimal adaptation approaches will be
anticipatory approaches that facilitate the inclusion of
adaptation options in development.
Access to genetic resources and
intellectual property rights
One emerging issue that will increase in importance is
access to genetic material. As previously noted, this
has already attracted commercial prospectors and, as
the coverage of protected areas increases, there could
be a growth in back-door or illicit dealings, such as
happens world-wide with endangered bird and animal
species. The steps that need to be taken at the
legislative level are only one part of the response
strategy. Conservation staff and managers of protected
areas will need to work with local communities in order
to build awareness and achieve co-operative
surveillance.
Threats to the region’s environment that could result
from uncontrolled access include: excessive collecting
that depletes the species being sampled, damage to the
ecosystems where the sampling occurs, and the
accidental spread of diseases or introduction of alien
species in the process of collecting. Access should be
managed, to ensure that collecting is sustainable and that
the region’s ecosystems are conserved. Control could be
achieved through a system of permits for bioprospecting,
collecting and export, where permission is granted
provided specified conditions are met.
One mechanism for the country of origin to share in
any benefits that may arise from use of the genetic
resource is to require benefit-sharing as a condition of
granting an access permit. Governments, private
companies, individuals and local communities can benefit
from the results of research, information on research
methods, training, facilities, fixed payments and royalties.
In the case of the TaroGen project commenced in 1998,
participating PICs expect to benefit through improved
conservation of taro varieties and the development of
taro varieties that increase food production – the first
goal is to develop taro varieties resistant to blight.
Controlled access provides a means for parties to
the Convention on Biological Diversity to balance their
obligations under Articles 6 and 15. Parties have
agreed, under Article 6, to ‘develop national strategies,
plans or programs for the conservation and sustainable
use of biological diversity’ and, under Article 15, to
‘facilitate access to genetic resources……by other
Contracting Parties’.
Investors in genetic resources will usually seek
intellectual property rights to protect their investment.
Intellectual property rights include rights in relation to
inventions, such as patent rights, copyright, plant variety
rights, registered and unregistered trademarks including
service marks, geographical indications, registered
designs, confidential information (i.e. protection of
undisclosed information in a commercial context,
including trade secrets and know how), and all other
rights resulting from intellectual activity in the
industrial, scientific, literary or artistic fields. Note that
patents give creators exclusive economic rights for only
a limited time and act as an incentive to disclose
information to the public. In contrast, trade secrets are