Biopiracy of Plant Resources and Sustainable Traditional Knowledge System in Africa

Abstract

The relationship between plant resources and traditional communities in Africa is inseparable. For centuries, indigenous communities have been depending on their cultural innovations and practices for health and food. Plant resources are part of the traditional knowledge system of indigenous communities in Africa.Colonialism and the scramble for Africa led to plant resources being opened to bioprospecting by western scientists and multinational pharmaceutical firms. They engage in secluded locations around Africa in order to find ‘new drugs from exotic plants’ for profit-making or patent rights. The advent of technology has witnessed a lot of illegal exploitation and commercialization of plant resources (biopiracy). The traditional knowledge system is being eroded with disregard to the welfare of the owners of the knowledge to sustainably manage it. The paper looks at the challenges, the existing legal framework to appreciate if it’s adequate to ensure the sustainability of the traditional knowledge system in Africa.

Advancing urban ethnopharmacology: a modern concept of sustainability, conservation and cross-cultural adaptations of medicinal plant lore in the urban environment

“…The privileged became wealthier and the scions of the original discoverers continued life in cages of deprivation ( Verma, 2002 ). A plethora of biopiracy cases have occurred ( De Werra, 2009 ; Dunagan, 2009 ; Efferth et al , 2016 ; Ageh and Lall, 2019 ) where patents had been secured but the aboriginal populations concerned were not provided reasonable remunerations ( Shiva, 2007 ; Shiva, 2016 ). Numerous American companies had copyrighted A. indica A. Juss.…”

Sociocultural bound illnesses or syndromes: Voices from the traditional medicine markets

“…Regarding its quintessential socio-demographic traits and pattern, the principal holders of the key sociocultural values and taboos are mainly the elderly people, most commonly the indigenous rural folk (Plieninger et al, 2020). Biopiracy and bio-prospecting missions targeting local plant resources for profit making or patent rights threatens traditional knowledge systems and cultural innovations of the local communities (Ageh and Lall, 2019). This heightens suspicion and exacerbates decline in indigenous or traditional medicine knowledge, decreased cultural practices and negatively influence the transfer to future generations (Ens et al, 2016).…”

Balancing openness with Indigenous data sovereignty: An opportunity to leave no one behind in the journey to sequence all of life

“…The mistrust of the scientific community among Indigenous communities is well-earned: it has been caused by years of exploitation, mistrust, power imbalances, and inequality ( 24 ). It has included decades of taking and using Indigenous samples and data without adequate consent and consultation ( 24 , 25 ); Indigenous data and samples not being properly attributed or acknowledged as coming from Indigenous lands and waters; Indigenous data being misused through bioprospecting and biopiracy ( 26 – 28 ); Indigenous data being scientifically interpreted without cultural or contextual knowledge ( 29 ); and researchers who have claimed authority over the Indigenous world by relying on quantitative data rather than traditional knowledge and lived experience ( 30 ). Furthermore, the failure of researchers to disseminate research outcomes respectfully through mechanisms that are meaningful and applicable to Indigenous partners, such as asset-based approaches ( 31 ), has fomented a sense of a lack of control, lack of access, lack of opportunities to derive benefits from the use of traditional knowledge and genetic resources, and a lack of opportunity to integrate traditional ways of knowing into research plans ( 32 ).…”