Fiji's Genetic Resources and Cultural Heritage Need Protection
21 Jun 2005
Legislation to protect Fiji's unique genetic resources and cultural heritage needs urgent attention if the country is able to preserve some of the world's most beautiful and coveted natural treasures, says WWF.
"Pacific Island Countries (PICs) do not have adequate policies to protect their assets despite scientists agreeing on the international importance of our amazing biodiversity," says WWF Regional Conservation Director Kesaia Tabunakawai.
Government representatives, environmentalists, academics, legal practitioners and Non Government Organisations are set to meet on June 21-22 in Suva to develop an action plan for instituting urgently needed legislation.
WWF's South Pacific team has taken the lead in engaging regional authorities to help ensure adequate regulations protect Fiji's genetic resources.
"Currently, important plant and marine species are being ripped out of the ground or sea without proper documentation and the benefits are completely by-passing local resource owners," Ms. Tabunakawai says.
The Pacific Region has a rich biodiversity with high number of endemic species used in the cosmetic, pharmaceutical, agriculture and biotechnology fields.
"International drug companies have patented certain kavalactones (derived from kava) but Pacific Islanders believe their traditional use of Kava prompted specimen collections by early travellers into the Pacific. Rightfully so, Pacific islanders consider the kava plant part of their biodiversity and cultural heritage, but cannot do anything about this," she says.
National workshops on developing access regulations have already been held in Cook Islands, Federated States of Micronesia, Papua New Guinea, Samoa, Solomon Islands and Vanuatu, in partnership with SPREP, FIELD and host country's government
These initiatives come under WWF's global project called Access to Genetic Resources and Benefit Sharing (ABS).
The German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development-funded project aims to strengthen the commitment of resource managers/providers to the conservation and sustainable use of biodiversity through the promotion of appropriate access to genetic resources and fair sharing of benefits.
The UN Convention on Biological Diversity requires that countries party to it are accountable for the protection of their biodiversity.Countries are recognised to hold sovereign ownership of their resources and responsible for developing legal measures to control accessing methods. Any benefit that arises from the commercialisation of these resources is required to be shared fairly amongst all stakeholders.
Workshops
National Workshop on the Protection of Genetic Resources and Cultural Heritage of Fiji
21-22 June, 2005
Tanoa Plaza Hotel, Suva, Fiji
For further information
Sholto Fanifau or Ashwini Prabha (M-9268016)
Phone: +679 3315533
Email: sfanifau@wwfpacific.org.fj or aprabha@wwfpacific.org.fj
