Tony Bennett, Differing diversities - Council of Europe

Reasearch position paper 7six projects devoted to biodiversity in Latin America, Asia, and Africa, several ofwhich have the conservation of indigenous knowledge of cultivation as a priority(Switzerland, 1998: 50). The Darwin Initiative funds UK biodiversity experts in projectsthat will help developing countries meet their obligations under the CBD. The EUfunds the Central Cordillera Agricultural Programme in the Philippines, a project whichhas attempted to integrate indigenous peoples’ resource management knowledge andpractices as well as traditional health methods into its community development programmes.Tragically, a lack of understanding on the part of development authorities andgovernment environmental officials about the effect of introducing new species alongsideindigenous varieties led to the extinction of traditional varieties of great significanceto local cultural practices (Rovillos, 1999b).17. In recognition of this, the Canadian International Development Agency supports thework of Cultural Survival in compiling an international directory of indigenous conservationprojects in the Americas.18. See (30.07.00).The DeneCultural Institute, for example, is providing guidelines for use and access to traditionalknowledge for government and industry planning projects and environmental impactassessments. See (30.07.00).19. The Union of British Columbia Indian Chiefs hosted an international conference on theprotection of indigenous knowledge in February 2000 entitled Protecting Knowledge:Traditional Resource Rights in the New Millennium (Vancouver, Canada, 24-26February 2000). For more information on this conference, see: (30.07.00).20. In Austria, the Austrian Rainforest Programme is involved in projects in co-operationwith indigenous peoples in Brazil and Costa Rica, while the Vienna Institute forDevelopment and Co-operation has been working with the Embera peoples in Panamato reactivate their traditional knowledge about tree species so as to conserve and revitalisethese varieties. The International Development Research Centre (with offices inCanada and Switzerland) has funded the Crucible II Group project, and funds projectsfor preserving indigenous knowledge and digital networking in India, Peru, thePhilippines, Vietnam, Nepal and Papua New Guinea (PNG). Rural AdvancementFoundation International (RAFI) in Canada, has been instrumental in bringing the issueof biopiracy to international attention and in researching and challenging intellectualproperties that are based upon indigenous knowledge of plant genetic resources. See thefollowing materials from RAFI: Captain Hook, the Cattle Rustlers, and the PlantPrivateers: Biopiracy of Marine, Plant, and Livestock Continues, 11 May 2000; andPlant Breeders’ Wrongs: An Inquiry into Potential for Plant Piracy throughInternational Intellectual Property Conventions, 26 August 1998. Available fromWorld Wide Web: (30.07.00).21. These European NGOs include: Fern, Greenpeace European Policy Unit, BirdlifeInternational, Royal Society for the Protection of Birds, Swedish Society for NaturePreservation, Arbeitsgemeinschaft für Regenwald und Artenschutz, Friends of theEarth England, Wales and Northern Ireland, World Wide Fund for Nature. See JointNGO Comments on the draft EC’s Biodiversity Action Plan, available from WorldWide Web: (30.07.00).22. These European NGOs point EU member states to Articles 5 and 6 of the CouncilResolution on Indigenous Peoples which notes “the key role played by indigenous peoplesin the conservation and sustainable use of natural resources, the positive contributionof indigenous peoples in the development process, the vulnerability of indigenouspeoples” and the need for development projects that contribute to enhancing indigenous189