The Hindu : Move to patent tribal knowledge

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Tuesday, Jan 20, 2004

Kerala

Kerala

Move to patent tribal knowledge

By T. Nandakumar

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM, JAN. 19. The Kerala Forest Department and the Tropical Botanic Garden and Research Institute (TBGRI) are preparing to file patent applications for three herbal products based on the traditional knowledge of the Kani tribals in the Western Ghats region. The development of the three drugs is the spin-off of a World Bank-aided pilot participatory project on the conservation and sustainable use of medicinal and aromatic plants implemented in nine tribal settlements in Thiruvananthapuram and Kollam districts.

The drugs include herbal tea which promises a cure for osteoporosis, a cough syrup with anti-oxidant properties and a herbal pain balm. Project officials said the products would be patented as `nutraceuticals' which was the term used to refer to foods which also acted as medicines. All the three products had undergone pharmacological studies to establish their therapeutic properties.

The project coordinator, S. Rajasekharan, said applications for provisional patent would be filed soon. This would be followed by further scientific studies and clinical trials before seeking a product patent. Simultaneously, the project team would also seek a design patent for a bamboo container used by tribals to collect and store wild honey.

International food companies are vying with each other to tap the global market for nutraceuticals which is estimated to be $ 80 billion.

The Chief Conservator of Forests (World Bank project), K. Balachandran Thampy, said the patents would help stake a claim to the traditional knowledge of tribal communities, which had played a key role in the participatory programme. During the course of the two-year project, the tribal communities in the Chonampara, Mangode, Kaithode, Pankavu, Mulamoodu, Aryavila, Valippara, Thottupuram and Achenkovil settlements were encouraged to take up commercial cultivation of medicinal and aromatic plants. A team of experts including botanists, ayurvedic and modern medical scientists, chemists, social scientists, ecological economists and information technology specialists were involved in the pilot project. Health and socio-economic surveys conducted by the team revealed poor education and housing and potable water.

A biodiversity register and a database on indigenous knowledge systems were established under the project. "The project helped develop a working model for sustainable exploitation of non-timber forest produce. It was a breakthrough in social empowerment of tribals and conservation of biodiversity," says Unnikrishnan, CCF, Tribal Welfare.

Enthused by the success of the pilot project, the Forest Department is working on a follow-up programme with micro-level plans covering the entire State. The scheme will be implemented through tribal hamlet-based Vana Samrakshana Samithies. The department is seeking funds from the Forest Development Agency under the Central Government. Gene pool conservation areas will be set up for rare and endangered medicinal plants endemic to the Western Ghats.

The Kani tribe was selected for the pilot project because of its rich knowledge base on medicinal plants. TBGRI has listed about 150 plant species, which are used by the community for various purposes.

The institute is the first research institution in the world to develop a working model for the recognition of intellectual property rights of tribal communities.

In 1995, TBGRI won global attention when it recognised the contribution of the Kani tribals who imparted knowledge about the miraculous properties of a rare plant named Arogyapacha, which was used to develop an anti-fatigue herbal drug. The institute earmarked 50 per cent of the licence fee and royalty to the tribe and passed on the agrotechnology for commercial cultivation of the herb.

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