Abstract:

Despite the 1992 UN Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) requiring the rendering of due credit and benefit to local biodiversity conservators and Traditional Knowledge (TK) holders, very few examples of benefit sharing can be seen on the ground in India. Looking to the importance of the requirement, a project on indigenous natural resources management practices of the tribal peoples of Northeastern India was implemented in the year 2005 in different regions of Arunachal Pradesh and Meghalaya. The primary goal of the project was to explore the hidden wisdom of tribal peoples regarding indigenous knowledge and use, and conservation of biodiversity. In the project, workshops of TK holders together with personal interviews were organized to seek their views and perspectives about Prior Informed Consent (PIC) and Intellectual Property Rights (IPR) relating to their knowledge and practices.