Namibia recently passed their national law on
bioprospecting called Access to
Biological and Genetic Resources and Associated Traditional Knowledge Bill. This is an historic moment as Namibia’s
enactment of their law implements the Convention on Biological Diversity’s
Nagoya Protocol.
Their legislation applies to biological and
genetic resources as found in or outside of their natural habitat, the
derivatives of such resources, associated traditional knowledge, and benefits
arising from their use, including commercial use. The law also sets out both to
recognize and protect the rights of local communities over their genetic
resources and associated traditional knowledge.
The legislation recognizes and protects
community intellectual property rights over genetic resources and associated
traditional knowledge. It states that the “State must recognize and
protect the community intellectual property rights as they are enshrined and
protected under the norms, practices and customary law found in, and recognized
by, the concerned local communities, whether such law is written or not.”
Namibia is therefore leading in the Africa
region in explicitly protecting communities’ rights to recognition of their
associated traditional knowledge. This is often the area where the Africa
region is still vulnerable.
The
text of the bill can be accessed here:
