Biodiversity is not for sale. Genetic pirates: Out of Chiapas!
As the news broke in Europe of the Mexican election results, co-ordinated actions took place yesterday in the U.K. against a British company, Molecular Nature Ltd. in solidarity with the indigenous peoples of Chiapas, Mexico who are opposing the Maya International Co-operative Biodiversity Groups (ICBG) project - of which Molecular Nature is the commercial partner. At the dawn of a new political era in Mexico, the aim of this action was to highlight the struggle of the Mayan indigenous communities against foreign biopiracy and Mexican military aggression, in what is one of the most biologically rich regions of the world. Activists dressed as pirates visited the company's headquarters in Maidenhead, Berkshire and their research laboratories in Wales. They delivered letters to key staff members and shareholders as well as visiting the gardens of company directors to symbolically collect samples of plants there. "We joked that we would send them to Chiapas to see if they contained some new miracle medicine. At the office headquarters, a director complained that we had not made an appointment and that he wanted us to go away - we replied that many communities in Chiapas felt the same way about the Maya ICBG project intruding in their region. "We want to send a strong message to the people of Chiapas and local communities everywhere that they have our support and we will not stand by as corporations from our countries disrupt their cultures and way of life, stealing resources for profit that have always been freely shared. People from around the world are opposed to patents on all forms of life. Cultural and biological diversity can only truly be safeguarded by the peoples who have woven it into the fabric of their lives and the right to maintain this must be defended at all costs." The activists also presented letters to the Mexican Ambassador to the UK, and the Mexican Consulate. "We call on the new president to put an end to military activity against the indigenous populations in Chiapas and its complicity with the pillaging of resources by foreign companies. We demand that the Mexican Government recognises the decisions and rights of the peoples of Chiapas to continue safeguarding their cultural and biological diversity for future generations and that it withdraws its participation from this act of neo-colonialism, as well as its military presence in the region." One of the key researchers in Mexico, Brent Berlin of the University of Georgia, USA emphatically states that "collections for biotechnological purposes have not begun". According to people in the region, however, samples have been taken for the past two years and an extensive collection of germplasm is believed to be held at the University of Georgia. The specific remit of Molecular Nature Ltd, the commercial partner in the UK is to supply samples "screen-ready for use in high throughput screening by the pharmaceutical, agrochemical, and other industries for the discovery of valuable new products". The net result of this enterprise will be a portfolio of patents on screened phytochemical compounds extracted from the plants of Chiapas, owned by foreign companies. The indigenous communities of the region have not been given an inclusive forum for discussion and have had no opportunity to institute a legal 'sui generis' system. They have every right to ultimately reject the concept of patenting life forms and community resources. In the words of Sebastian Luna, an indigenous spokesperson from the Council of Indigenous Traditional Midwives and Healers, "The (Maya ICBG) project is a robbery of traditional indigenous knowledge and resources, with the sole purpose of producing pharmaceuticals that will not benefit the communities that have managed and nurtured these resources for thousands of years." "The project explicitly proposes to patent and privatise resources and knowledge that have always been collectively owned Besides being totally contradictory to our culture and traditions, the project creates conflict within our communities as some individuals, pressured by the grave economic situation, collaborate with the researchers for a few pesos or tools." Mayan communities and their traditional healers are calling for the suspension of this project and for a thorough review of Mexican laws to protect their culture and resources. They are opposed to the granting of a permit to the project to collect plants for biotechnological purposes. According to Rafael Alarcon, advisor to the Council, the agreement signed by ECOSUR, the University of Georgia and Molecular Nature, "flaunts Mexican law, as these institutions have not consulted with or obtained the prior informed consent of the affected communities. We believe the agreement also violates international agreements that Mexico has signed, including the UN Convention on Biological Diversity particularly Article 8j which addresses traditional knowledge and equitable benefit sharing, and the ILO 169 Convention on Indigenous Rights." The council are equally opposed to the NGO PROMAYA, set up to provide a facade of 'benefit sharing' and say that, "it clearly demonstrates the lack of will of the researchers to ensure appropriate consultation with the traditional cultures and true authorities of the communities. In essence, they create their own dialogue partner, and invite participants and organisations that will not question their way of working, probably in exchange for a tiny scrap of the US$2.5 million that this project has received from the US government." It is time that the Mexican government publicly committed itself to valuing the immense treasure of the Chiapas region and its peoples. The very reason why such rich and complex ecosystems continue to exist in the region is because they have been valued and cherished by these communities as a fundamental part of their lives and culture over hundreds of generations. Mexico has a moral obligation to its future generations to implement the articles of the Convention on Biological Diversity, (which Mexico has signed and ratified), which enshrine the rights of Indigenous Peoples to maintain the traditional lifestyles that sustain their biological wealth and traditional knowledge. The fundamental issues at stake - issues of rights, lands and cultures of Indigenous Peoples in Chiapas and around the world - cannot have a financial value placed upon them. Uniquely in a commercial world, none of them can be bought, sold or replaced with money and bilateral benefit sharing agreements. Biodiversity is not for sale or profit! For more info on bioprospecting in Chiapas see the RAFI web site http://www.rafi.org http://64.4.69.14/web/allnews-one.shtml?dfl=allnews.db&tfl=allnews-one-frag. ptml&operation=display&ro1=recNo&rf1=84&rt1=84&usebrs=true For more information about the struggles of indigenous Zapatistas in Chiapas, Mexico see http://www.chiapaslink.ukgateway.net For more information, contact Genetic Engineering Network
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