Kota Kinabalu: Indigenous knowledge on medicinal plants in
Sabah will be lost forever unless they are documented since the custodians of
the knowledge are old and diminishing in number.
“There is a present danger posed by the traditional
knowledge disappearing soon,” said Tourism, Culture and Environment Minister
Datuk Masidi Manjun in his speech for the launching of the ‘Ethno-forestry
study and workshop on accessing and commercialising biodiversity’ yesterday.
Masidi, who was represented by Assistant Tourism, Culture
and Environment Minister Datuk Ellron Angin, stressed that the issue was
especially critical to Sabah as some of the important knowledge in this domain
had not been documented.
“It is a living knowledge, being the sum of facts known or
learned, derived and acquired from experience or observations, embedded in
local practices and passed on from one generation to the next. There is no
“copy” available, as there will definitely be variations of practice from one
community to the other,” he said.
The lack of interest among the younger generation to carry
on with the traditional knowledge and the increased development and human
activities such as deforestation, unsustainable harvesting of forest products
as well as changes in government policies, especially of land use, have
compounded the problems further to the already existing dire situation, he
said.
He further stressed that Sabah has yet to harness fully its
rich biodiversity to be turned into a new engine of economic growth for the
State.
“The State Government has enacted and enforced the Sabah
Biodiversity Enactment 2000, which paved the way for the establishment of the
Sabah Biodiversity Council and the Sabah Biodiversity Centre to be responsible
for coordinating the conservation of biodiversity and ecosystem activities in
Sabah,” he said.
Fortunately, it is not too late to preserve the knowledge of
the indigenous people in Sabah since they are still intact among the local
communities, he assured.
“Indigenous communities have accumulated immense knowledge
of their environment, based on centuries of living close to nature. They have
particular and detailed understanding of the properties of plants and animals,
the functions of ecosystems and the techniques for using and managing them. Local
plant species are relied on for food, medicine, fuel, building materials and
other products and there has not been much systematic ethno-botanical survey
made in this area,” he said.
Masidi also mentioned that the indigenous people are being
unethically exploited by some research and pharmaceutical companies of their
knowledge of medicinal plants.
“As science and technology advance while natural resources
dwindle, there is increased interest in appropriating indigenous knowledge for
scienti?c and commercial purposes. Some research and pharmaceutical companies
are patenting, or claiming ownership of traditional medicinal plants, even
though indigenous peoples have used such plants for generations. In many cases,
these companies do not recognise indigenous peoples’ traditional ownership of
such knowledge and deprive indigenous peoples of their fair share in the
economic, medical or social bene?ts that accrue from the use of their
traditional knowledge or practices,” he said.
The minister also said that the issue of access to genetic
resources and benefit-sharing has attracted increasing attention in recent
years, but information in respect to their application and the challenges faced
in implementing access and benefit-sharing arrangements is still far lacking.
“Much work still needed to be done especially in relation to
rules and regulations to promote and safeguard the fair and equitable sharing
of benefits arising out of the utilisation of genetic resources. Related issues
include prior informed consent and intellectual property rights,” he said.
Data: 03.08.2012
Nenhum comentário:
Postar um comentário