ABSTRACT
The regulatory measures for access to the assets of indigenous and local communities in developing countries rich in biological resources and the associated knowledge, innovations and practices of local communities described in the previous chapter are very broad in nature. They are aimed at all developing countries, not just the four covered in this book, and must be adapted to each country’s own environmental, social and economic circumstances. The thrust of these measures is that they are framed to assist stakeholders involved in all access processes to ensure that respect of the rights of local and indigenous communities is embedded in their actions and that community needs and expectations are central in IP-based biodiversity policy-making. This chapter discusses how some of these measures can work in practice in the study countries in order to achieve the aim of protecting community rights and addressing their concerns from a human-rights perspective. Furthermore, despite its recognition of the constraints associated with monitoring compliance with these measures when community assets are scientifically and commercially transformed beyond the geographical boundaries of the providing developing countries, discussions in this chapter attempt to cover the possibility of a wider applicability of the proposed measures (beyond the four study countries) and their international enforceability.
