Arctic Athabaskan Council Newsletter Issue 2 Spring 2005 Access and Benefit Sharing Workshop February 22-24, 2005 Inside this issue Access Benefit Sharing Workshop pg. 1-3 Northern Workshop on Access and Benefit Sharing pg. 4 Oil and Gas Activities in the Arctic pg. 5 Contact Info: Arctic Athabaskan Council Cindy Dickson, Executive Director (Canada) 11 Nisutlin Drive, Whitehorse, YT Y1A 3S4 Tel: 867.393.9215 Fax: 867.668.6577 Email: cdickson@cyfn.net Web: www.arcticathabaskancouncil.com The Council of Yukon First Nations hosted a two day information session on the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD), Access and Benefit Sharing Agreements (ABS), and Intellectual Property Rights (IPR) February 23 rd and 24 th, 2005 at cafeteria CYFN in Whitehorse. The CBD is an agreement that has been signed by over 150 countries with the intent of ensuring the sustainable use of biodiversity while maintaining the health of the world s ecosystems as well as aiming to ensure the fair and equitable sharing of the benefits that result from the sustainable use of these biological resources. ABS refers to the fair and equitable sharing of the benefits of the biological resources. Access and Benefit Sharing agreements are legal contracts that frame the terms of use and access to biological resources including any associated traditional knowledge. The terms for sharing of the benefits that result from the use and access of these resources also form part of the contracts. The benefits may be economic, academic, intellectual property rights, training and technology or direct benefits to the community. Arctic Athabaskan Council Newsletter 1
IPRs are a set of laws that are intended to protect the creator or inventor of original works. The discussions that are of particular interest to First Nations are the discussions on Access and Benefit Sharing Agreements and Intellectual Property Rights as these often have to do with genetic resources and traditional knowledge. The presenters included Brian Macdonald, a member of the Champagne and Aishihik First Nation and a lawyer who on behalf of the Arctic Athabaskan Council has participated in several of these international discussions. Brian provided a background and an overview of ABS and IPRs for the participants in his presentation Access and Benefit Sharing and Intellectual Property Rights. Phillip Bird, a consultant based in Ottawa has extensive experience researching these issues and has worked very closely with a number of Inuit organizations also presented. He offered his experience and knowledge particularly with regard to ABS agreements in the north pertaining to genetic resources, traditional knowledge and some resources that the communities have not realized the benefits from. These include Icy Waters Fisheries with regard to ABS agreements with Inuit communities, and Lakota company of medicines who claim their medicines are sourced from traditional knowledge even though this company also has no connection to the Lakota communities. CYFN also welcomed Kimberley Brown, a representative of Pauktuutit, a national Inuit Women s Association, and Karen Wright-Fraser, a Gwich in designer who lives in Yellowknife, to the workshop. Both Pauktuutit and Karen Wright Fraser have several years of experience working in the area of Intellectual Property Rights, educating their communities and themselves about their rights as creators as well as working towards having Canadian Intellectual Property Rights be more reflective of indigenous concepts of ownership and adequate protection for indigenous creations. The representative from Pauktuutit presented the work Pauktuutit has done around protection of the Amauti the Inuit women s traditional parka that is very unique in its design. This work, and the work that Karen Wright-Fraser has pursued, resulted after Donna Karen, an internationally recognized designer, sent one of her assistants up the north to purchase traditional clothing. This clothing was then taken to New York and sold for a profit. It was also mentioned that Donna Karen was interested in these designs to incorporate their style into her fall line, that was when Pauktuutit became very concerned that their design and tradition would become mass marketed, appropriated and no longer belong to Inuit women. The Amauti not only signifies Inuit innovation, but is a significant link to Inuit culture and Inuit women s traditional knowledge. PEOPLE MAGAZINE JAN. 24,2005 Arctic Athabaskan Council Newsletter 2
Yukon presenters included Diane Strand, the Heritage Officer from Champagne and Aishihik First Nation who discussed an agreement their First Nation negotiated with the province of BC regarding co-management in Tatshenshini Alsek Park, and Mark Nelson, a Heritage Officer from Little Salmon Carmacks First Nation, who on behalf of the Yukon First Nations Heritage Group provided information on a Traditional Knowledge Framework policy that their group has been working on for almost a year. DIANE STRAND PRESENTING Lawrence Charlie, an artist from the Vuntut Gwitchin First Nation offered his perspective as an artist as to the importance of Intellectual Property Rights for First Nations artists. The workshop was well attended with 13 Yukon First Nations being represented and with over 30 participants. Many First Nations had more than one participant and there were several Elders in attendance. The Elders participated in a half day workshop prior to the two full days and were provided with a background in Access and Benefit Sharing, Intellectual Property Rights, the Convention on Biological Diversity, the World Intellectual Property Organization and some examples of Access and Benefit Sharing agreements in Canada with regard to genetic resources. The discussions were at some times sensitive, as the ownership, use of and protection of land, traditional knowledge and indigenous culture are important issues for Yukon First Nations. Participants and the people who represent Yukon First Nations and the Arctic Athabaskan Council were cautioned not to give away too much culture. There was a general consensus that the self-government agreements offer Yukon First Nations the opportunity to create laws and policies that can adequately protect their resources and their culture, while ensuring that in any development process, the First Nation and its citizens are able to see and share in the benefits that may result. Several First Nations provided their own perspectives and experiences for others to learn from in terms of managing traditional knowledge, creating policies, and engaging in multiparty agreements. Overall the discussion was animated and participants felt that the information provided at the discussions were informative. It was agreed that the AAC should continue to gather this information and distribute to the communities. For more information on the workshop, the coordinator, Alisa Kelly can be reached at 867-393-9215 or at akelly@cyfn.net More information on the Convention on Biological Diversity and its agreements can be found at www.biodiv.org. Arctic Athabaskan Council Newsletter 3
Northern Workshop on Access and Benefit Sharing March 15 th to 17 th 2005 During the third week in March, the Arctic Athabaskan Council and their Indigenous partners who they have worked closely with at the international level, the Inuit Circumpolar Conference, co-hosted a workshop in Whitehorse with the collaboration of the Biodiversity Convention Office. The Northern Workshop on Access and Benefit Sharing from the Use of Genetic Resources and Associated Traditional Knowledge was held March 15 th to 17 th. The presentations covered a wide range of topics from the basics of ABS and the international negotiations to specific case studies, and work being done by Aboriginal governments and organizations. All of the Indigenous representatives emphasized the need for Indigenous rights, culture and voices to be respected and included in these decision making processes. As a preliminary discussion in the north on Access and Benefit Sharing agreements, this workshop helped link Yukon First Nations with First Nations and Inuit from across the country as far away as Labrador. As well, there were numerous federal and territorial government departments in attendance. Some of the Yukon First Nations Elders in attendance such as Pearl Keenen, Stanley James, Don Trudeau, Johnson Edwards, Lena Johnson and Clyde Blackjack were able to convey their concerns about these processes to the government representatives, particularly, those representatives from the Biodiversity Convention Office who play a significant role in forming Canada s position when attending international conventions where these issues are discussed and negotiated. Opening remarks were given by the Yukon Government s Minister of Economic Development, James Kenyon; Jock Langford from the Biodiversity Convention Office; Vice-President of ICC Violet Ford; and Elder Stanley James on behalf of AAC. All speakers indicated the potential for sustainable use of resources, and Violet Ford and Stanley James emphasized the necessity to include Indigenous peoples at all levels of the negotiations and the need for the Indigenous peoples to have adequate resources to effectively participate and contribute to these discussions. The workshop concluded with a consensus that AAC needs to continue to attend these international meetings and develop effective methods of communicating the information to its members. For more information on the workshop please contact the AAC office at 867-393-9215 or by email at akelly@cyfn.net Arctic Athabaskan Council Newsletter 4
Indigenous Perspectives On Oil and Gas Activities in the Arctic A project under the auspices of the Arctic Athabaskan Council aims to investigate and examine indigenous and local perspectives on the social impacts of past, current and planned oil and gas activities in Canada s Yukon and Northwest Territories, and in northeast Alaska. Changes in world energy markets and technology have led to major and rapid expansion of oil and gas exploration and development in several regions of the Arctic during the past thirty years. Most activity to date involves oil onshore along the North Slope of Alaska and in western Siberia, and offshore in the Barents and Beaufort Seas. However, the Alaskan North Slope, the Mackenzie Delta of Canada, the Yamal Peninsula of Russia and their adjacent offshore areas hold enormous natural gas deposits that are projected to be developed during the next decade. Current developments and further exploration will likely continue as reductions in sea ice open new sea and river routes and reduce development and transportation costs. In addition to direct effects and impacts on Northern environments, oil and gas developments have many cumulative effects on traditional livelihoods and on the economies and well-being of indigenous peoples. This project is intended to provide policy-focused and accessible information about local observations, perspectives and concerns regarding oil and gas activities and their consequences, including negative and positive social and cultural impacts, concerns over changes to communities, environment and wildlife and how oil and gas activities will impact people's daily lives. It will feed into the Arctic Council s Arctic Oil and Gas Assessment and a stand-alone report will be produced. The project is being carried out by the Arctic Athabaskan Council in collaboration with Dr. Mark Nuttall of the University of Alberta. The two main components are: 1) Documenting the social and economic consequences of oil and gas development in the Arctic; 2) Gathering the concerns of local voices in one region of the Arctic affected by imminent or existing oil and gas development. The project will facilitate a variety of structured community-based opportunities for indigenous communities to participate in and benefit from the sharing of experiences regarding Arctic oil and gas development. This includes key informant interviews and small-scale workshops and meetings to be held in communities in the Mackenzie Delta and Valley, Alaska and Yukon. These interviews are critical for understanding the potential impacts of oil and gas development, but will also illustrate the importance of accumulating detailed knowledge of local perspectives and understandings of oil and gas development. Similarities and differences will be highlighted between local understandings of sustainable development, and the different visions people have for the future of their communities. The project will seek to acquire a thorough understanding of what exactly forms the basis for the social, cultural, political and economic viability of Arctic communities. It will also explore the concerns and priorities highlighted by communities themselves in the face of potential oil and gas development, and how traditional and existing forms of society, community and economy will be affected. For more information on this project, please contact Mark Nuttall at: mark.nuttall@ualberta.ca Tel. +(780) 492-0129 Fax. +(780) 492-5273 Arctic Athabaskan Council Newsletter 5