IMPACT OF INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY RIGHTS, ON FOOD SECURITY AND BIODIVERSITY

Abstract

Intellectual property rights (IPRs) are a major factor in the growth and consolidation of the biotechnology industry, which proponents argue, has the potential for increasing food crop production and conserving the fast depleting biodiversity on the planet. Critics contend that IPRs are a cultural specific construct being applied uniformly across different social, cultural and environmental contexts and for purposes not originally intended. The IPR regime sanctions monopoly controls that are predatory on the traditional knowledge and genetic resources of farmers and indigenous people, and carry the potential to undermine food security of local communities and diminish biodiversity. This report explores how the IPRs, particularly patents on plant biological organisms, undermine non-western knowledge systems, food security of local communities, and biodiversity.