Meet To Evolve Regional Plan To Protect Asian Bio-Resources
A two-day international conference is being organised in New Delhi beginning tomorrow to devise a common regional approach to issues like patents, community rights and farmers rights with regard to biological resources and germplasm.
The developing nations must be careful about what kind of intellectual property rights regime they accept, since they have a considerable share of worlds biological resources, says Gene Campaign, a non-government organisation, which is organising the conference.
The seminar scheduled to be inaugurated by Union minister for environment & forests Saifuddin Soz will also discuss ways to develop technology to utilise the natural resources.
Also Read
Experts and policy makers of Pakistan, Bangladesh, Nepal, Bhutan and Sri Lanka, besides India, are expected to participate in the seminar. Indonesia, Malaysia and the Philippines are also being involved in the discussions, as they have considerable experience in the field. We have a lot to learn from them, Gene Campaign convenor Suman Sahai said at a press conference in New Delhi on Wednesday.
The NGO has also called for a law to assert the countrys ownership of its biological resources and germplasm. A similar law is in force in the Philippines, which has declared the indigenous communities the owner of such resources.
Sahai said a regional strategy was essential, as biological resources are not confined to the geographical boundaries of a nation. They invariably spill over into the territories of the neighbours. She said the natural resources of the region were facing an onslaught from multi-national companies and needed protection.