ABSTRACT
Chapter 8 identifies the main outcomes and conclusions of the research for this book in considering the different roles and functions of incorporated community organisations used by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities for identifying Indigenous communities and knowledge holders, and for facilitating individual and community participation in decision-making on sharing and protecting traditional knowledge relevant to the Nagoya Protocol. The observations and conclusions complement the research of the Garuwanga Project at the University of Technology Sydney in identifying an appropriate governance structure for a national Indigenous competent authority for implementing the Nagoya Protocol. The proposed criteria provide a framework for analysing the legal governance structures and procedures of incorporated community organisations as competent authorities to facilitate participation in decision-making for self-determination, upon which fair and equitable benefit-sharing is predicated. Potential areas for law and policy reform are identified in Australia to align access and benefit-sharing measures with the Nagoya Protocol in a nationally consistent way. The chapter concludes by identifying avenues for further research to advance the objective of a rights-based approach to benefit-sharing with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people in a fair and equitable way arising from the use of their traditional knowledge.
