WIPO E WIPO/GRTKF/IC/11/INF/5(a) ORIGINAL: English DATE: July 3, 2007 WORLD INTELLECTUAL PROPERT Y O RGANI ZATION GENEVA INTERGOVERNMENTAL COMMITTEE ON INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY AND GENETIC RESOURCES, TRADITIONAL KNOWLEDGE AND FOLKLORE Eleventh Sessin Geneva, July 3 t 12, 2007 WIPO PANEL ON, INDIGENOUS AND LOCAL COMMUNITIES CONCERNS AND EXPERIENCES IN PROMOTING, SUSTAINING AND SAFEGUARDING THEIR TRADITIONAL KNOWLEDGE, TRADITIONAL CULTURAL EXPRESSIONS AND GENETIC RESOURCES A CASE OF THE LAIKIPIA MAASAI IN KENYA JULY 3, 2007 Dcument prepared by Mr. Jhn OLE TINGOI, Maasai Cmmunity,Laikipia, Kenya* * This dcument cmprises the presentatin in the frm received frm the presenter. Any views expressed in the presentatin are nt necessarily thse f WIPO r any f its Member States.
page 2 1. INTRODUCTION: This presentatin discusses the effrts indigenus peples are making t prtect, manage, strengthen and prmte their cultural heritage fr bth cultural and ecnmic benefit. It als highlights a cmmunity perspective n traditinal cultural expressins and knwledge and the need fr partnership, r the value added by a partnership, t cmmunity effrts in enhancing its develpment. The prject cncept was initiated thrugh a cmmunity meeting and infrmatin sharing held in 2003. Frm the meeting, the majr prblems affecting the culture and the cmmunity were a lack f respect fr the culture and the explitatin f bth cultural and natural resurces withut any benefits ging t the cmmunity. The cmmunity meeting reslved that the Maasai culture was n the verge f disappearing, the Maasai children culd n lnger fluently speak and culturally express themselves and, wrse still, the culture was being misused by thers. The Laikipia Maasai f Kenya, with a ttal ppulatin f 35,468, are pastralists and they derive their livelihd and mainstay frm livestck keeping. Their unique skills and expertise in interacting with rangelands and nature in brader terms has enabled them t survive the nging cultural explsins fuelled by the effects f glbalisatin. They frm 10% f the ttal ppulatin in Laikipia district and as a plitical minrity, they are threatened with assimilatin if effrts are nt undertaken t cnserve their identity and culture. 2. THE PROBLEM/CHALLENGES The Laikipia Maasai cmmunity is cncerned that the Maasai culture is ften used t attract turists and cntributes a lt t the ecnmic develpment f the cuntry while the Maasai themselves are quickly lsing their cultural resurces. The turism industry ften generates very little ecnmic benefits t the Maasai cmmunities as their cultural expressins are cpied and marketed by thers. This is the case f beadwrk, traditinally prduced by the Maasai wmen but nw cpied by thers, wh, despite the pr quality f the prducts, have better access t the market and wh sell their fake prducts as authentic Maasai prducts. It is als the cncern f the cmmunity that, internatinally, the Maasai name is widely used t prmte and market prducts such as cars, shes and clthes that are cmpletely unrelated t the Maasai cmmunity. Amng this cmmunity, this leads t a strng sentiment f being misused. The traditinal cultural expressins and knwledge such as music, perfrming arts, designs and ral narratives are part f the lives f the Maasai cmmunity and such expressins are in danger f disappearing. The Maasai are nw faced with mre serius challenges than ever befre! There is increasing pressure t change their land tenure systems and as such livelihd, culture and future. The diminishing natural resurce base, fd insecurity and pverty have erded their self-cnfidence and self-determinatin. By and large, these interwven realities threaten the intricate scial, cultural and ecnmic fabric that has made the Maasai unique.
page 3 Cmmditizatin and cmmercializatin f cultural expressins withut Prir Infrmed Cnsent (PIC) f the Maasai peple and the exprpriatin f ancestral land used fr individual purpses and wildlife cnservatins excluding the Maasai is anther majr prblem that is affecting the livelihd system and cmmunity scial set up and rganisatin. Lss f language by the yung generatin is anther big prblem, which is cntributing t the rapid lss f culture. Very little has been dne s far t cnserve and prmte Maasai culture within the educatin system and ften children are discuraged t use their traditinal language in schls. This makes the yung peple reluctant in learning abut culture and the indigenus language. 3. LAIKIPIA MAASAI COMMUNITY PERSPECTIVE ABOUT TK AND TCES Traditinal knwledge amng the Laikipia Maasai cmmunity is a gift frm the creatr t their ancestrs. The traditinal knwledge and the traditinal cultural expressins are inseparable. It is a resurce within ur natural envirnment and us. It is als ur indigenus knwledge n the varieties f species f herbs in ur frests and administratin skills f such medicines fr bth human and livestck treatment. Fr example, Indigenus knwledge and skills in the management f the human health herbal plants are used fr the preservatin f Milk Olrien Olea Africana/Africa Olive, is used fr the treat f the gurds and milk wuld fresh fr lng perid. Certain plants are als used fr special ceremnies and ritual and fr treatment f certain ailments. Olmakutikuti is a traditinal herb fr treating (STDs) sexually transmitted diseases. Olrien; African live uter stem cver is used t treat wrms and liver flukes in livestck. Oltipilikwa is a bitter herbal medicine used t treat malaria. The traditinal knwledge f this cmmunity is mstly with the ld peple (elders) and the yung generatin are reluctant in the learning abut this knwledge. Frm all these factrs that cntribute t lss f the culture, the cmmunity has realised the need t preserve the existing knwledge within the elders. As regards t the prtectin f traditinal cultural expressins amng the Laikipia Maasai cmmunity, these include their music, perfrming arts, designs and ral narratives. The cmmunity has identified the need fr prtectin f traditinal cultural expressins, which are cultural resurces which cnstitute nt nly an essential value fr the cmmunity themselves but have als a ptential cmmercial value fr the cmmunity. The ther majr reasn fr the prtectin f the cultural heritage f the cmmunity is t make the dcumentatin f the culture available fr the wrld t learn abut the uniqueness f the culture and als infrm plicy makers and ther develpment actrs wh may be interested in bringing develpment t this cmmunity. One example, is a successful cmmunity initiative in integratin f cultural heritage and ecnmic develpment.
page 4 Thrugh establishment f cmmunity enterprises, lcal jbs creatin, skills develpment, apprpriate turism and sale f cmmunity prducts fr freign earnings can be achieved. The Ilngwesi cmmunity f Laikipia district in Kenya is a gd example where an ecturism enterprise has been established and is run and managed by the lcal indigenus Maasai. The ec-ldge play an imprtant rle in the lcal ecnmic develpment f the whle cmmunity as well as prmting the culture, which is the cmmunity archive fr traditinal knwledge and traditinal cultural expressins. This initiative is a mdel in the East Africa cmmunities in prmting apprpriate turism and best cnservatin practices. Opprtunities fr the prtectin f TK and TCEs In Kenya, a Task Frce n the develpment f laws fr the prtectin f traditinal knwledge, genetic resurces and flklre has been setup, under the ffice f the Attrney General. The cmmunity, therefre, can raise their cncerns t the task frce t be cnsidered and included in the develpment f the new plicy. 4. THE PARTNERSHIP BETWEEN THE MAASAI, WIPO AND THE ILO This partnership grew ut f initial discussins between the Maasai Cultural Heritage Fundatin, WIPO and ILO, and this led t invitatin f the tw UN specialised agencies by the cmmunity t visit the cmmunity fr infrmatin-sharing and cnsultatin in Laikipia last year in Octber. The partnership attempts at bringing the differentiated experiences, resurces and appraches f the partners tgether in an innvative prcess twards achieving a set f cmmn bjectives. Frm this cnsultative meeting, the cmmunity identified and priritised issues that they need t address in rder t enhance their develpment and reduce pverty at the lcal level. Tw f the immediate pririties raised in the cmmunity cnsultatin meeting are already nging and these are the internship I am underging at the ILO and a market assessment t study the ecnmic ptential f the Laikipia Maasai and their cultural resurces. 5. INTERNSHIP The internship s purpse is t strengthen the exchange f experiences and skills between the partners and als as part f capacity building. Thrugh my presence here as an intern at the ILO, I am able t facilitate frward mvement n the partnership. At WIPO The ILO and WIPO each bring their respective areas f expertise t the cmmunity, and this is a gd example f cncrete and practical inter-agency cperatin. The ILO has significant expertise in lcal ecnmic develpment and human rights issues as they cncern indigenus peples.
page 5 In this presentatin, I will fcus, hwever, n ur wrk n intellectual prperty issues with WIPO. WIPO s Creative Heritage Prject is wrking n the management f intellectual prperty issues during the recrding, digitizing and making available f traditinal knwledge and cultural expressins and this is the cntext within which the partnership between the cmmunity and WIPO is fund. During my internship, I am wrking clsely with WIPO and I am: Undertaking a survey n the existing IP legal prvisins, mechanism and tls relating t the prtectin f cultural heritage. Develping practical guidelines in the frm f a small handbk t be used by the Laikipia Maasai cmmunity fr prtecting their cultural expressins thrugh IP measures Undertaking web research n the use f the wrd Maasai by unauthrised parties fr cmmercial purpses. Explring the cnditins surrunding the recrding f Maasai cultural expressins in Laikipia fr the digitising and restratin f existing recrding the cmmunity has already undertaken 6. EXPECTATIONS FROM THE PARTNERSHIP WITH WIPO The cmmunity is hping that its partnership with WIPO will: assist the Laikipia Maasai in explring t what extent the IP issues are relevant t their effrts t better prtect, manage and prmte their cultural heritage. The cmmunity is interested in explring the use f trademarks t prmte handicraft (particularly beadwrk dne by wmen), cpyright fr the prtectin f music and sngs and patents in the cntext f traditinal medical knwledge. assist in legal and technical advice t the cmmunity n the use f the Maasai identity and cultural resurces by unauthrised parties as marketing tls fr increasing incme with n benefit ging t the cmmunity. assist the cmmunity t prtect their TCEs like music thrugh establishment f an nline library and putting legal prtective measures by recrding new music, digitising and restring the existing nes t enable in the lng-term benefit sharing t the surce cmmunity. cntribute t the develpment f a manual n intellectual prperty specifically tailred fr the Maasai. enhance the cmmunity capacity thrugh prviding intellectual prperty awareness raising and training, which in the lng run will enable the cmmunity t participate fully in their wn develpment at varius levels. 7. LESSONS TO THE INTERGOVERNMENTAL COMMITTEE The Maasai believe that their develpment has t start frm hme. Cultural educatin is seen as ne way f strengthening the culture internally amng the Maasai while at the same time prmting respect and understanding amng ther cmmunities.
page 6 The Maasai cmmunity has a rich heritage and diverse skills and it has been used fr s lng withut authrity frm the cmmunity and withut any benefits accruing t the cmmunity r if any it is insignificant t the level f damage dne t the identity f the cmmunity. The Maasai livelihd that is pastralism is a prductive system, a culture and a frm f identity and cntributes a lt t the natinal develpment f the cuntry but the natinal plicy framewrks d nt in mst circumstances favur the pastralists. The cmmunity expects the internatinal laws and practices t respect their traditinal institutins f gvernance and the culture. [End f dcument]