Bija Vidyapeeth: Centre for Learning

Biodiversity, Biopiracy and Patents

August 3 - 10, 2005

Patents on life were introduced through the Trade Related Intellectual Property Rights Agreement (TRIPS) of W.T.O. This has led to an epidemic of cases of biopiracy, the patenting of traditional knowledge.

For the last two decades Navdanya has conserved biodiversity, created community seed banks, launched the Living Democracy Movement (Jaiv Panchayat), and defended traditional knowledge and spread organic farming and fair trade.

On 8th of March a major victory was won in the Neem case at the end of a ten year battle in the case of the first legal challenge to biopiracy. Dr. Vandana Shiva, Linda Bullard, Magda Aelvoet and the parties Lawyer Dr. Fritz Dolder, worked together to challenge the U.S Department of Agriculture and W.R. Grace.

This is the third in a series of biopiracy cases in which Research Foundation for Science, Technology and Ecology (RFSTE) / Navdanya has been involved. With Greenpeace, RFSTE challenged Monsanto's wheat biopiracy and the patent was struck down. RFSTE / Navdanya also successfully had a biopiracy claims of basmati rice revoked.

The course will have faculty who have participated in these historical challenges to the biopiracy and who are leading the movement for changes in IPR laws to stop biopiracy and patents on life. The course will provide in depth analysis of Patent Laws and WTO rules, the impacts of seed patenting and the alternatives that Navdanya has evolved.

The course will be held at Navdanya's organic farm in Dehradun and will be followed with an optional visit to communities in the Himalayas who are conserving biodiversity and defending their rights to seeds and traditional knowledge.

Faculty

Dr. Vandana Shiva, Magda Aelvoet, Prof. Dr. Fritz Dolder and Linda Bullard