Written Aug 18, 1994 by swissaid@igc.apc.org in the EcoNet conference
biodiversity. For more information about EcoNet, send a blank e-mail
message to econet-info@igc.apc.org.
International Symposium on Commercialisation of Biodiversity
20 and 21 October 1994 - Berne, Switzerland
PATENTS, GENES AND BUTTERFLIES
Are plants and Indians becoming raw materials for the gene industry?
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The international conference organised by SWISSAID, WWF Switzerland
and WWF International will take place in Berne (Switzerland) on 20 -
21 October 1994. The conference will bring together some of the
leading thinkers on the issues from the South and the North and
members of the European network engaged in the debate on the uses and
abuses of biodiversity.
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Programme:
THURSDAY, OCTOBER 20, 1994
Issue: The commercialisation of biodiversity
08.15 Inscription
09.30 Opening
Claude Martin, Director of WWF International
I. Socio-economic and legal questions
09.45 The changes in the genetic supply industry
Jack R. Kloppenburg (USA)
10.15 Intellectual property rights and life: a comparison of
trends in the USA and Europe
Christine Noiville (France)
10.45 Coffee Break
II. New scientific paradigms
11.15 Biodiversity new speak
Christine von Weizsaecker (Germany)
11.45 Ideology through science?
Regine Kollek (Germany)
12.15 Lunch at "Kornhauskeller"
III. Workshops
14.30 Discussion in separate groups:
1 - Science, markets, law and power
Why and how are the directions of scientific and technological
research changing? Does science play into the hands of big business
and power politics? How is the legal system accomodating this process?
Introduction: Tewolde B.G. Egziabher (Ethiopia) Resource persons:
Jack Kloppenburg (USA), Vandana Shiva (India), Tewolde B.G. Egziabher
Chair: John Vidal (The Guardian,UK) Language spoken: English, German
2 - Ethical questions
Is life just chemicals, genes or more? How do mechanistic views of
nature influence our vision of the world? What are the ethical
implications of ownership on life-forms?
Introduction: Nicolas Hildyard (UK) Resource persons: Nicolas
Hildyard, Regine Kollek (Germany), Christine von Weizsaecker (Germany)
Chair: Rosemarie Waldner (Tages Anzeiger, CH) Language spoken:
German, English
3 - Trade rules, IPRs and the Biodiversity Convention
What are the impacts of patents and other intellectual property rights
on the conservation of biodiversity and livelihood security? Is there
a conflict between the results of the Gatt Uruguay Round, the European
Patenting directive and the aims of the Biodiversity Convention?
Introduction: Pat Mooney (Canada) Resource persons: Linda Bullard
(Brussels, B), Pat Mooney, Christine Noiville (France) Chair: Gordon
Shepard (WWF International, CH) Language spoken: English, French
4 - Historical and socio-economic questions
How are local livelihoods affected by the loss of biological and
cultural diversity? How have advances in the new biotechnologies
further enhanced the commercial potential of genes? Who gains, who
loses?
Introduction: Renee Velve (Spain) Resource persons: Marcus Colchester
(UK), Jose Gomez (Colombia), Ren,e Velv,e Chair: Peter Einnarson (Sweden)
Language spoken: English
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FRIDAY, OCTOBER 21, 1994
Issue: Conventional strategies and other visions for the
conservation and sustainable use of biodiversity
09.00 Opening
Gabrielle Nanchen, President of SWISSAID
I. Examples of strategies
09.10 Bio-Prospecting and other models of co-operation
Iwan Levy (The Body Shop, CH)
Charles Zerner (USA)
09.50 The Human Genome Diversity Project
Andre Langaney (Geneva, CH)
II. Other visions
10.15 Genes and Genetic Reductionism. Glorification of the Genes?
Alan H. Goodman (USA)
10.45 Coffee Break
11.15 Local people: Empowerment through control of resources Vandana Shiva
(India)
11.45 Reversals for diversity: New Development Paradigms
Robert Chambers (UK)
12.15 Lunch at "Kornhauskeller"
III. Workshops
14.30 Discussion in separate groups:
1 - Peoples' responses to commercialisation
What is the commercial potential of genes found in plants, micro-
organisms, an-imals and human beings? What are peoples responses to
the different models of co-operation (Body Shop, Merck-INBio, Shaman
Inc., etc.)? What kind of rights need to be established?
Introduction: Darrel Posey (UK) Resource persons: Jose Gomez
(Colombia), Christine Noiville (France), Darrel Posey, Vandana Shiva
(India), Representatives of Peoples Organizations Chair: Journalist
of 'Le Monde' (France) Language spoken: English, French
2 - Creative options and countervisions
What options, conventional or other, exist to conserve and use
biodiversity and to recognise and support informal innovation? What
countervisions can governments and NGOs develop in the South, in the
North?
Introduction: Linda Bullard (Brussels, B) and Tewolde B.G. Egziabher
(Ethiopia) Resource persons: Linda Bullard, Jack Kloppenburg (USA),
Tewolde B.G. Egziabher Chair: Irene Loebell (TV DRS, CH) Language
spoken: English, German
3 - Indigenous Poeples, Human Diversity
What is human diversity? The Human Genome Diversity Project:
scientific breakthroughs or commercial co-option? How do indigenous
peoples react to anthropo-logical research and the possible
commercialisation of "their" genes?
Introduction: Marcus Colchester (UK) Resource persons: Marcus
Colchester, Alan H. Goodman (USA), Andre Langaney (Geneva, CH), Pat
Mooney (Canada), Representatives of indigeneous groups Chair:
Claudine Sauvain (Anthropologist, CH) Language spoken: French,
English
4 - Alternative development models
How do recent trends challenge the dominant development models? Are
reversals for diversity possible - in knowledge, production methods,
institutions, social life and nature?
Introduction: Nandini Narula (India) Resource persons: Robert
Chambers (UK), Barbara del Pozo (SWISSAID), Nandini Narula Chair:
Nicolas Hildyard (The Ecologist, UK) Lan-guage spoken: English
IV. Conclusions
17.30 Where to, but how?
Pat Mooney (Canada)
18.00 End of conference
21.00 Bar and concert with the african band AKAPOMA (Ghana)
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Registration
International Symposium, P,O, Box 326, CH-3000 Berne 6, Phone (41-31)
351 33 11, Fax (41-31) 351 27 83, E-mail: swissaid@igc.apc.org.
Closing date is September 5, 1994. Applications for registration
received after that date will be accepted if space permits. Receipt of
your registration form will be confirmed and an invoice sent.
Translation
During the presentations simultaneous translation will be provided in
English, French and German. During the Workshops translation is
limited (see detailed information under the short presentation of the
workshop topics).
Conference Fees
CHF 250.- for both days (Thursday and Friday)
CHF 150.- for one day (Thursday or Friday)
Fees include coffee, lunch, the preliminary conference folder, and the
entrance to the concert on Friday evening.
Any questions?
The secretariat of the conference is at your disposal for further
information: International Symposium, P.O. Box 326, CH-3000 Berne 6,
Phone (41-31) 351 33 11, Fax (41-31) 351 27 83, E-mail:
swissaid@igc.apc.org.
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Comments from NATIVE-L co-moderator, Gary Trujillo (gst@gnosys.svle.ma.us):
Since the question came up recently on NATIVE-L about how to subscribe to the
INDKNOW list, which is operated by Preston Hardison (pdh@u.washington.edu), I
thought it might be a good idea to pass along the instructions that Preston
posted to that list a few months ago. I'd like to mention that I generally
don't like to copy articles from one mailing list to another, for a number of
reasons, including that those people who are subscribed to both lists (which
is likely if the lists cover related subjects), and since the author of an
article might not know about the fact, and hence be unable to respond to a
comment made about it in the list to which the article has been copied. I'd
like to encourage NATIVE-L subscribers interested in indigenous knowledge
systems to subscribe to INDKNOW. Please be aware that INDKNOW is unmoderated
(unlike NATIVE-L and the other NativeNet lists), so anything you send to the
posting address for that list will be sent to all subscribers immediately,
with no checking that what you've posted is appropriate for the list by a
moderator, so do follow the guidelines outlined below if you do decide to
subscribe and participate.
Anyway, despite my not liking to copy articles, I did so in the case of the
above conference announcement, since I feel it's important to know that
conferences on such subjects are being held (and there's a chance that
someone reading the article might want to and be able to attend).
Here's how to subscribe to INDKNOW:
| Date: Wed, 29 Jun 94 08:24:54 -0700
| Originator: indknow@u.washington.edu
| From: Preston Hardison <pdh@u.washington.edu>
| To: Multiple recipients of list <indknow@u.washington.edu>
| Subject: Signing On/Off INDKNOW
| X-Listprocessor-Version: 6.0b -- ListProcessor by Anastasios Kotsikonas
| X-Comment: Discussions on indigenous knowledge systems and biodiversity
| X-Sender: pdh@stein3.u.washington.edu
|
|
| INDKNOW@U.WASHINGTON.EDU (New List Address)
| LISTPROC@U.WASHINGTON.EDU (New List Server Software)
| pdh@u.washington.edu (List Manager)
|
| Hello All -
|
| We've been getting many messages sent to the entire list asking to be
| signed off and onto INDKNOW. Below, I will give some directions for
| doing so automatically. If you ever have problems, please send
| requests to the housekeeper around here, Preston Hardison
| (pdh@u.washington.edu) rather than the entire list.
|
| We have recently changed the software running the list from "listserv"
| to "listproc", and I am learning how to use the new command set.
| If you have previously requested to sign off of the list, please
| send me a message to my personal address, and not to the entire
| list, and I will remove you.
|
| If you are unsubscribing from the e-mail account you used to subscribe
| INDKNOW, you should be able to unsubscribe by sending a one-line
| message to listproc@u.washington.edu:
|
| unsubscribe indknow
|
| You may run into problems if your e-mail address has changed, because
| the computer can only recognize your request as valid if it precisely
| matches the address on record in the subscribers file (e.g.: if you
| signed up using the account "foo@pooh.bah.edu", the software won't
| recognize you if you send an unsubscribe request from "foo@bah.edu").
| Again, if you run into problems, please send messages to me and not the
| list.
|
| You can get a list of the commands available to you from the listproc
| software by sending the one-word message "help" (without the scare
| quotes) to listproc@u.washington.edu. Listproc (ListProcessor) will
| become more familiar to users over time, as the support for Listserv
| begins to decline with the demise of Bitnet. Most (but not all) of the
| commands are the same.
|
| Regards,
| Preston Hardison
| pdh@u.washington.edu
--
Gary S. Trujillo gst@gnosys.svle.ma.us
Somerville, Massachusetts {wjh12,bu.edu,spdcc,cdp}!gnosys!gst