Sharing of benefits or enclosure of the commons? : investigating the compatibility of national and local access and benefit sharing mechanisms in Peru

Abstract

The Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) declared that genetic diversity, considered for centuries to be the common heritage of humankind, would become the property of the sovereign state in which it is contained. The Convention also contained a special provision expressing respect for indigenous rights to their genetic resources. In 2002 Peru became the first country in the world to enact a national law for Protection of Traditional Knowledge. Prior to this legal regime, customary governance mechanisms of Andean communities have been the primary means of governing the conservation, use and sharing of genetic resources and traditional knowledge. The objective of this research project is to understand from the perspective of policy makers involved in the development of this law, as well as from the perspective of community members and a small grassroots NGO, how this law creates both opportunities and constraints for local governance mechanisms.