By NATARIO McKENZIE

Tribune Business Reporter

nmckenzie@tribunemedia.net

THE Bahamas’ genetic resources, particularly ‘bush medicines’, have been “exploited” in the past with no compensation or recognition being paid, noted historian Dr Gail Saunders said yesterday, describing the need for intellectual property protection as “critical”.

Speaking with Tribune Business yesterday at a World Intellectual Property (WIPO) ‘Trade Knowledge Consultation’, Dr Saunders said: “To me it’s very important because of the heritage, the bush medicine, the traditional dances.

“But especially the bush medicine, where people from abroad have come and have used something like cerasee and so forth, and made them into economic success by manufacturing medicine.

“The people who gave them the knowledge that these things treat certain illnesses are not recognised, however, and they don’t make anything, only the people who exploit. We must do more research and really try to let Bahamians benefit from their knowledge.”

According to Karla Wells, assistant economist in the Ministry of Financial Services, the consultation is a CARICOM initiative being facilitated by the WIPO.

“We’re holding a consultation on the protection of traditional knowledge, genetic resources and traditional cultural expressions. No country in the Caribbean is currently providing a comprehensive framework of protection for these areas,” Ms Wells said.

“This is a CARICOM-wide initiative, and is being facilitated by the World Intellectual Property Organisation (WIPO). They are visiting CARICOM countries to get the ball rolling, to get the discussion going on how we protect traditional knowledge, genetic resources and traditional cultural expressions.

“It is very related to intellectual property, but it doesn’t fit squarely in there. Traditional knowledge, for instance, is something passed down; it’s not new. I can’t patent that cerasee is good for chicken pox because I didn’t come up with that, but at the same time you don’t want a foreigner coming in and figuring that out and coming up with a cerasee bubble bath, and no one from the Bahamas gets any recognition or benefit from it,.”

The Minster of Youth, Sports & Culture, Dr Danny Johnson, told Tribune Business that this nation was moving “in a dramatic form” to preserve the ownership of Junkanoo as exclusively Bahamian.

“This sets us up to do a proper inventory to see what we have, and then see how we move towards legislation; laws to protect what we have,” he explained.

“We are now moving, from my point of view, in a dramatic form to preserve the ownership of Junkanoo to an exclusively Bahamian domain before we end up with another Tommy Bahama on our hands.

“This will be done with immediate effect after this is passed. We’re going to look at legislation as it relates to UNESCO and other organisations internationally, and seal the deal so that Bahamians and all the things we do that is our original art and culture is protected henceforth.”