Bio-Piracy:

A Pervasive Threat to Biodiversity and Human Security

By Ayodhya Krishani Amarajeewa
Regional Centre for Strategic Studies

Biosphere is a common heritage of the mankind. The free flow of fauna and flora is a natural process. The natural flow of fauna and flora does not take in to account the man-made political boundaries in their natural dispersion. In the past, this dispersion has served human kind greatly. Tea and rubber in Sri Lanka can be cited as a good example. These two plants came to Sri Lankan soil from far and dominated the Sri Lankan economy for years. In terms of nature’s systemic flow of fauna and flora around the world, any attempt to have exclusive right or monopoly contradict the the nature. The relationship between the humans and their surrounding is complex and multifaceted. History of human kind is a story of how they made use of their environment, natural and otherwise, for the benefit and progress. Cultures and Knowledge systems evolved as result of this human endeavor. With the advancement of science, their ability to make use of fauna and flora has enhanced rapidly. This has created serious challenges to the biodiversity, which is a cardinal principle of nature of dynamics. The issue of bio-piracy came to the forefront in this context. The use of modern technology and science goes to the extent of exploiting biodiversity and becomes a manipulated act, bio-piracy. Within this complicated process, traditional and indigenous knowledge get misappropriated and exploited. Using the power of science and technology, combined with political and economic might corporates and other actors commits acts of bio piracy, by monopolizing the use of fauna and flora and exploiting the traditional knowledge marginalizing the local and traditional communities who initially owned the knowledge and who were entitled to biodiversity in their locality.

In this context, the Regional Centre for Strategic Studies (RCSS) organized a webinar on the topic “Bio Piracy: Threat to Biodiversity and Human Security”, on Thursday 25th March 2021. Three world renowned Sri Lankan scholars: Prof. Siril Wijesundara, Research Professor (Plant Taxonomy and Conservation) at National Institute of Fundamental Studies and Former Director General at the Department of National Botanic Gardens, Peradeniya; Prof. Veranja Karunarathne, Senior Professor, Department of Chemistry, University of Peradeniya and Former Vice Chancellor of SLINTEC ACADEMY, Homagama; and Prof. Sarath Kotagama, Professor Emeritus, Department of Zoology and Environment Science, University of Colombo, presented and shared their views on the topic at the webinar. Prof. Gamini Keerawella, Professor Emeritus, Department of History, University of Peradeniya and the Executive Director of Regional Centre for Strategic Studies moderated the webinar.

Introduction to Bio-Piracy and the formation of Convention on Biological Diversity

Primary thought of bio-piracy comes into being when knowledge becomes livelihood. Knowledge became a livelihood, built on traditional knowledge of indigenous people. With this came the desire to come up with an international agreement of some sorts and there came into being the Convention of Biological Diversity in 1993. This convention came into existence with the idea that biological material need to be considered a resource highlighted Prof. Sarath Kotagama.

Prof. Sarath Kotagama remarked that the word “Biodiversity” was coined in 1986 and put into use in the 1980s, but the discussion about bio-piracy did not start until the recent past. Any piracy or pirate action of bio items is known as bio-piracy. Bio piracy is the practice of commercially exploiting naturally occurring biochemical or genetic material especially by obtaining patents that restrict its future use, while by failing to pay fair compensation to the community for which it originates. According to him, the illegal appropriation of life, micro-organisms, plants and animals (including humans) and the traditional knowledge that accompanies it, which then gets commercialized is known as bio-piracy. Doing something “any effort to find biological resources and the related indigenous knowledge for commercial exploitation” is called Bioprospecting. But, until recently, there has been no mention of bio-piracy or bioprospecting even though this had been occurring since the colonial times.

Prof. Kotagama highlighted the fact that biological diversity was a common heritage in the past. It didn’t matter where it originated. But in 1992, after the Convention of Biological Diversity (CBD), the developing countries said traditional knowledge is a sovereign resource that should not be common heritage. By this time, the traditional knowledge and knowledge inherent to indigenous communities was identified as common heritage. Later, in a battle (between the meetings in cities of Washington D.C and Rio De Janeiro) they claimed that the traditional knowledge is not common heritage and it is a sovereign right of the country that owns the bio items and traditional knowledge. According to Prof. Kotagama, even if the ownership was established and the countries secure the sovereign right for bio-items exported from their countries and their traditional knowledge, it was declared that if there is a humanitarian purpose and if it is for the use of humanity, the substance needs to be shared with the rest of the world.

The contest for the sovereign right was more of an effort after the blunder in bio-diplomacy between the United States and Nicaragua. Prof. Kotagama pointed out that when in Nicaragua potato blight occurred and potato started dying, North America had the solution, they had the original gene from the type of potato that Nicaragua was losing. Nicaragua wanted to get the original material the genetic production from the US as a solution to the issue at hand. But because of the political differences the US did not agree to send their genetic production to Nicaragua. Biodiversity issue became a matter of concern with this diplomatic occurrence. Prof. Kotagama highlighted that, with such issues amounting to tensed diplomacy between the countries, after the Convention, how resources must be used sustainably and equitably and how it should be conserved became a point of debate.

According to Prof. Kotagama, when biodiversity came into the picture, animal and plants were looked at differently, more of a resource with a commercial value. Coming to grips of the fact that livelihood is built on the traditional knowledge of the indigenous people (of traditional people) by them mattered most. Still the ongoing destruction of resources and nature in the word of development has not stopped and it is another fact that generated discussion on bio-piracy. What is traditional knowledge is important to know. In-situations – found in the ecosystems natural environment and ex-situation in gardens and home gardens, brought and planted in commercial and non-commercial situation, have an end product, a very good genetic production. Both non-commercial uses, taxonomy and conservation and commercial uses – biotechnology, horticulture, pharmaceutical, ultimately can achieve genetic production. All these together are considered traditional knowledge. This knowledge base was what has been in use and data were collected from the availability of such information. Taking substances from traditional knowledge it will be brought to a commercial platform and look at in benefiting from monetary way. Prof. Kotagama highlighted that giving it a commercial value is the issue. It comes to a point where some countries make money out of somebody else’s knowledge and possessions mercilessly.

Historical background of Bio-Piracy

Prof. Keerawella in his introduction highlighted that Patenting system as a form of blatant colonialism as it monopolizes the ownership of bio items of other countries and vested the power and authority in using the items and knowledge related to them with others other than the indigenous communities who owns the knowledge. He stated that one dimension of early colonialism was gathering information and data of fauna and flora from colonized countries and this has been a practice since many decades ago since the colonial times. When colonialism started, Alexander Johnston collected many books that contained information of fauna and flora and they were collected from Sri Lanka and India and he took them to London. Later Sir James Emerson Tennent (1804-1869) in his book “Ceylon: An Account of the Island Physical, Historical, and Torpographical with Notices of Natural History, Antiquity and Production” recorded all the information gathered on fauna and flora from Sri Lanka. And there is one Williams Johnes who was not only interested in language but culture, plants and animals in Bengal and India. These are the evidence that shows that the knowledge system was the most important aspect in Colonial domination.

The legitimate governments have motivated individuals to do various bio piracy activities, from gathering information to establishing gardens that will enable information gathering of fauna and flora in colonized countries. According to Prof. Siril Wijesundara, some of the historical events of bio-piracy shaped agriculture, forestry and even the economies of recipient countries. According to him, early explorers played a major role in expeditions where plants were involved. In terms of plant expeditions, even in the distanced past 3500 years ago, plants were taken from places they originated by the Egyptian rulers during their military expeditions. Passage of plants across geographical borders, aided by man became prominent about five centuries ago.

In recorded history, Vasco Da Gama, the Portuguese explorer and navigator, is the first person to sail directly from Europe to India in 1498. Prof. Wijesundara remarked that the first man to come to India was Da Gama and then lot of other people followed him. Therefore, the Portuguese played a major role in global dissemination of plants. They were the carriers of plants from temperate to tropics areas and vice versa. Some were to become major crops in their new habitats. In terms of introduction of new plants and crops, the Potato, the world’s fourth largest food crop, was introduced to Europe by Spanish conquerors from Peru in the 16th Century.

According to Prof. Wijesundara, the greatest bio-piracy in the 19th century occurred with Sir Henry Alexander Wickham falsely declared 70,000 live seeds of a valuable tree as “academic specimens” and smuggled those out from Brazil to England. Today. It is known as rubber. 27,000 of those germinated and on 12th August 1876, the Colonial Office, sent 38 cases containing 1919 rubber seedlings from Kew Gardens to Ceylon. The seedlings were planted at the Henarathgoda Botanical Gardens in Sri Lanka. In 1877 twenty-two of these young trees were sent to Singapore from Sri Lanka, and seedlings from those trees were distributed throughout Malaysia and Borneo. This is known to be an experimental station. That is how the Asian rubber industry began. In 1848, the British East India Company sent a Scottish Botanist, Robert Fortune on a trip to China to steal the secrets of tea horticulture and manufacturing. Prof. Wijesundara mentioned that the book “For All the Tea in China: How England Stole the World’s Favorite Drink and Changed History” by Sarah Rose discloses the information on how tea became the most favourite drink of the entire world. Robert Fortune has travelled from China to India and then to Ceylon bringing his stolen knowledge to these countries. These are the very known cases of bio-piracy in the colonial times.

Role of Botanic Gardens in plant introduction

According to Prof. Wijesundara, in the 17th and 18th centuries botanic gardens became key players in the plant introduction process. This continued through to the 19th and early 20th centuries although responsibility for introductions gradually transferred to agricultural stations or Departments of Agriculture. In Sri Lanka, Chief Justice at the time Aleander Johnston, suggested Sir Josehph Banks to have a botanical garden. Then he assigned the task to William Cur to set up a botanical garden. William Cur set up the first Botanical garden in Sri Lanka, in Slave Island. Since the place did not match the occasion, it was going to be moved to somewhere else and the first Botanic Garden Director, an opium addict dies and perished with the idea. In the last century, the British Empire instituted regular plant collections. Some plant collections were not done with the consent of the owners and this is true to many plant collection occurred in the colonized countries.

Bio-Piracy in the Modern Times: The Cases of Neem, Basmati and Turmeric

Both Prof. Sarath Kotagama and Prof. Siril Wijesuriya highlighted how in the modern times bio-piracy is happening citing the cases of Neem, Basmati and Turmeric as classic examples of modern bio-piracy and how the developing countries took action to overturn this trend of unfair patenting – or rather legalizing theft of bio items.

To be continued