Biocultural Protocols – Tools for the Nagoya Protocol implementation

BCP imageWithin the Nagoya Protocol, we can find a list of tools that can be use to ease its implementation, among them, the Biocultural protocol.

The Nagoya protocol requires parties to recognise the customary laws and community protocols of Indigenous people or local communities that govern the access and use of biodiversity and associated traditional knowledge. Such recognition is also named Biocultural protocols.

Biocultural protocol supports the work towards Prior Informed Consent and Mutual Agreed Terms that partners should meet while working together through the use of biodiversity and its associated traditional knowledge.

Biocultural protocols can be used between local communities and states but as well between local communities and companies to set good basis for their commercial relationship.

In relation to states involvement with local communities, Namibia is developing its first Biocultural protocol in 2014 for the Khoe community – who reside in Bwabwata National Park.

With regards to commercial relationships, the Union for Ethical BioTrade develop a tool for companies to support Biocultural dialogues.

Biocultural dialogues are approaches to community engagement that recognise the broader social and cultural context of biodiversity-based activities. These approaches build on experiences with biocultural community protocols, which have been used by indigenous and local communities to communicate the terms and conditions of their engagement with other parties regarding their land, resources and traditional knowledge. Biocultural community protocols entail consultative processes within indigenous and local communities that consider endogenous development objectives in the context of customary, national and international rights.

You can read more on Biocultural protocol applied between companies and local communities in the UEBT website here, looking at the section on Case stories – Benefit Sharing in practice.

Sources:

Natural Justice

Union for Ethical BioTrade