[afro-nets] Un Study on Benefits from Traditional Medicines

[Claudio Schuftan <aviva@netnam.vn>]

UN Study Analyzes How Benefits From Traditional Medicines Are Shared
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New York, Feb 10 2004 6:00PM

A new United Nations report spotlights the complexities of equi-
tably sharing profits from the commercial use of herbs tradi-
tionally nurtured by indigenous groups, but recently analyzed
and patented by non-indigenous corporations.

The study, produced jointly by the World Intellectual Property
Organization (WIPO) and the UN Environment Programme (UNEP),
highlights the shortcomings of existing agreements while point-
ing out that there is scope for property rights to be used more
effectively to generate and share benefits more equitably.

Offering examples, the report notes that a Genetic Resource Rec-
ognition Fund was established at the University of California at
Davis to share the benefits from the commercial use of a now
patented, disease-resistance gene taken from rice used by the
Bela people in Mali. But so far, the Trust has received no
funds.

The WIPO/UNEP study also questions why the blight-resistance
gene from Oryza longistaminata and the associated technical
knowledge are not being made available to the Institute of Eco-
nomic Research in Mali, given the current work by UC Davis to
transfer the gene into Chinese rice varieties.

The Bela people have been given "no formal recognition as pri-
mary conservators and holders of detailed knowledge of this dis-
ease-resistant variety of wild rice," it notes.

In India, a team of researchers from the All India Coordinated
Research Project learned from the Kani people about an energiz-
ing substance derived from the Arogypaacha plant. Subsequently
the Tropical Botanic Garden Research Institute in Kerala devel-
oped, tested and licensed it to companies under the name
Jeevani.

The Kerala Kani Samudaya Kshema Trust was set up in the late
1980s, funded by some of the profits from licensing Jeevani. The
trust's objectives included community welfare and development
projects for the Kani in Kerala.

The patents filed on the medicines excluded an important Indian
healers' association called Plathis, however, and covered just
India, the study says. Nonetheless, it notes, Jeevani products
are being sold outside India, with at least one company in the
United States falling outside the licensing and benefit-sharing
agreement.



UN HEALTH AGENCY ISSUES SAFETY AND SUSTAINABILITY GUIDELINES FOR
HERBAL MEDICINES

New York, Feb 10 2004 10:00AM

With growing reports of adverse effects from herbal medicines
and the risk that over-harvesting could lead to the extinction
of endangered species, the United Nations health agency today
issued guidelines for good agricultural and collection practices
in an industry estimated to be worth more than $60 billion a
year.

The World Health Organization (WHO) guidelines are intended for
national governments to ensure that the production of herbal
medicines -- which can be the natural, readily available answer
to some ailments -- is safe, posing no threat to either people
or the environment.

Herbal medicines are growing in popularity in wealthy countries
and their use remains widespread in developing regions, but poor
quality of raw plant materials and wrong identification of plant
species are a major cause of adverse effects. Cultivating, col-
lecting and classifying plants correctly are therefore of the
utmost importance for the quality and safety of products, the
Geneva-based WHO said in a news release.

The Guidelines on Good Agricultural and Collection Practices for
Medicinal Plants also warn that the growing market and its great
commercial benefit might pose a threat to biodiversity through
over-harvesting of raw materials for medicines and natural
health care products. If not controlled, these practices may
lead to the extinction of endangered species and the destruction
of natural habitats and resources.

The guidelines cover the spectrum of cultivation and collection,
including site selection, climate and soil considerations and
identification of seeds and plants, as well as the main post-
harvest operations and legal issues such as national and re-
gional laws on quality standards, patent status and benefits
sharing.

Among the risks highlighted are inadvertent contamination by mi-
crobial or chemical agents and misidentification of plants or
intentional adulteration. In this context, the report cites ca
arrhythmias reported in the United States in 1997 after the ac-
cidental substitution of plantain, to be used as a dietary sup-
plement, with Digitalis lanata, generally used for heart condi-
tions.

Among endangered medicinal plants the guidelines mentioned the
reported rapid decline due to increasing demand of wild ginseng
used for digestive conditions resulting from nervous disorders.
Wild American ginseng, goldenseal, echinacea, black cohosh,
slippery elm and kava kava top the "at-risk list" of endangered
species of medicinal plants.