This aim will be achieved by means of the following strategic actions:
•
Disseminating the intellectual property system and the mechanism for safeguarding
biodiversity in local communities, where necessary and possible using the national/local
language;
•
Promoting empowerment and awareness-raising programs on the importance of
intellectual property and its positive impact on the appreciation of local knowledge;
•
Producing informative material on the intellectual property system, the advantages to its
strategic use by project and local communities and the gains arising from this;
•
Training the relevant people in local communities on the use and strategic management
of intellectual property for the benefit of local development;
•
Introducing training programs on traditional knowledge into curriculums in relevant
areas;
•
Empowering and supporting communities in negotiating with institutions or enterprises
prospecting genetic resources and traditional knowledge so as to protect their interests
effectively and ensure that they benefit.
6.5.2. Establishing an effective legal framework for promoting and safeguarding genetic
resources and traditional knowledge
As has already been amply demonstrated, the international trend is to create a solid legal
framework designed, essentially, to acknowledge the value of genetic resources and associated
traditional knowledge, to grant intellectual property rights over this knowledge, and to put in
place effective mechanisms for sharing the benefits deriving from the exploitation of these rights.
A number of countries have already introduced legislation on this and are already reaping the
rewards of the system.
Establishing an effective legal framework for promoting and safeguarding intellectual property
calls for the ratification of various international legal instruments, accession to the relevant
international organizations, introducing domestic legislation and setting up institutions to