Governance and Micropolitics of Traditional ... - IPRsonline.org

effective trans-locally and due to the considerable disruption of the customs and the threats
they face, the groups are effectively trying to solidify such norms through an effective and
externally recognisable means.
Although similar situations exist whereby the collective rights of communities may be
marginalised in many countries throughout the world, it is difficult to predict the location of
an appropriate international forum at this stage. This highlights the importance of designing
effective law and policy within Thailand to address these principles which are currently
lacking in many respects. Currently the strength of community rights in Thailand rests with
the actions of communities to assert themselves as rightful custodians of their local
environments, rather than through legislative means.
Other regional initiatives by international organisations such as UNDP and UNESCO appear
supportive of community rights projects. UNDP operates a Regional Initiative on Indigenous
Peoples’ Rights and Development (RIPP) which engages governments, UN agencies and
indigenous peoples in dialogues of indigenous rights and development (UNDP, Acc
27/2/2006). The programme establishes five priority areas of which the Natural Resources
Management, and Justice and Human Rights seem the most pertinent. UNESCO also features
a project on ‘A Place for Indigenous People in Protected Areas, Thailand’ with a particular
focus on sea nomad communities on the Andaman Coast of Thailand (UNESCO, Acc.
27/2/2006).
2.10 Draft ASEAN Framework Agreement on Access and Benefit Sharing
ASEAN is the only regional organisation in an Eastern Asia that is developing a high degree
of interdependence with little concerted institutional basis. The primary objectives of ASEAN
have been political to date, and there has been limited success in economic cooperation. 16
Flexible and with few constraints, this particular form of regionalisation is distinct from other
regional models; there are no institutional mechanisms to exercise coercion on the member
states and the common space can be used as a shield and as a springboard into negotiations
with the major external partners (Kermel-Torres, D. 2004).
The Draft ASEAN Framework Agreement on Access to Biological and Genetic Resources
and fair and Equitable Sharing of Benefits (full-title) has essentially pre-empted potential
problems where there may be biological resources shared across borders, and attempted to
establish some regional unity on these matters. Currently there are laws relating to
biodiversity and plant variety protection in a few countries but not all.
Thailand is not rich in endemic species (those found only in Thailand) because it shares many
ecosystems with its neighbouring countries, yet there are many endemic species to Southeast
Asia found in Thailand. The Center for Conservation Biology (2004) at Mahidol University,
for example, cites 12 freshwater fish species thought to be endemic to Thailand, and 120
species which are endemic to mainland Southeast Asia. This highlights the importance of
inter-state cooperation in the region with regards to access and benefit sharing to species that
are found in ecosystems lying across borders. It is probable, to use the example of some plants
discussed in this report, that kwao krua and plao noi are found in adjacent countries including
Burma and Laos.
16 Although work on the implementation of an ASEAN Free Trade Area (AFTA) has been ongoing.
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