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the past few years, there has been a surge of interest in the use of
natural resources used in the pharmaceutical industry. This has
brought to the fore many issues such as patenting of natural
resources, intellectual property rights and the problem of rewarding
indigenous people for knowledge which is commercially exploited.
Umesh Anand’s book is indeed a timely effort in trying to understand
some of these very complex issues.
The
author in this book, describes some Indian examples and by doing so,
exposes the reader to action in our very own backyard. The first
case he describes is of the Kani tribals of Kerala and a plant whose
berry they have been using for centuries as an energy provider. The
scientists of the Tropical Botanical Garden and Research Institute (TBGRI)
who came across the plant as part of a survey carried out with the
Kanis, took a step further in attempting to synthesise a drug from
the plant to be sold in the market. What is unique is that TBGRI has
been emphatic about the fact that at least part of the revenue from
the sales of this drug must go back to the tribals - easier said
than done and what is happening on the ground is history in the
making. The neem and turmeric cases have also been described and
give a good background to issues involved when an indigenous
resource gets patented in another country. In the case of turmeric,
Anand describes how the patent was revoked with the compilation of
appropriate background material at the right time.
Umesh
Anand particularly needs to be congratulated on his skillful
handling of the complex debate between traditional and modern
medicine. Kudos to him also for recognising the community’s cultural
identity and lobbying for it. However, a word of caution for the
championing of traditional medicine, as the author does in his
praise for Chinese traditional medicine. This too is not without its
pitfalls such as the over-exploitation of natural resources. A prime
example is the increase in tiger poaching, due to the huge demand
for tiger bones for traditional Chinese medicine.
The
author, however, tends to jump from one issue to another a bit too
fast. Also, at times the book tends to get more personality-oriented
rather than issue-based. For instance, it would have been
interesting to know more about Shahnaz Hussain’s herbal empire
instead of an inconsequential lawsuit. To convey the tardiness of
the government in formulating policy and implementing existing law,
the author has used examples of pollution at Delhi’s Income Tax
Office crossing and attempts of a multinational conglomerate to set
up a nylon plant in Goa. The point is well taken, but these examples
digress from the central theme. It may have been more useful to
discuss the lack of a policy for medicinal plants in India.
Traditional systems of medicine are today regaining popularity.
International Conventions, such as the Convention of Biodiversity (CBD),
emphasise the need to acknowledge traditional cultures and
knowledge. Keeping this in mind, one hoped for a more in-depth
analysis of some of the issues that the author has discussed. In the
Kani case, for instance, processes of establishing institutional
mechanisms for benefit sharing could have been looked at. In an
effort towards this, some of the Kanis, with the assistance of TBGRI,
have registered a trust called Kerala Kani Samudaya Kshema Trust. In
the Shahnaz Hussain case, it would have been interesting to know her
source of raw material. At a more general level, it would be vital
to know if any commercial concern is ensuring the sustainable
harvesting of natural products in the wild.
Publications like this are needed to expose the interested public to
such issues. With the author’s distinctive style of writing and
research capabilities, perhaps we can look forward to another book
to address these and more issues in depth.
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