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 INDIGENOUS
peoples possess a vast body of knowledge that is of great value to
humanity. Their creativity is reflected in the rich knowledge systems they
have developed to conserve and carefully utilise Earth's resources.
And that creativity has healed, fed and clothed the world.
There is so much that mainstream society can learn from indigenous
communities not only about plants, herbs and flowers that have the power
to heal but also about this whole ethos of living harmoniously with
nature.
Before you dismiss this as the romantic notions of environmentalists,
pause a while to consider the contributions of indigenous knowledge to
world health.
Three quarters of plants that provide active ingredients for prescription
drugs came to the attention of researchers because of their use in
traditional medicine.
Among the 120 active compounds currently isolated from the higher plants
and widely used in modern medicine today, 75 per cent show a positive
correlation between their modern therapeutic use and the traditional use
of the plants from which they are derived.
More than two thirds of the world's plant species - at least 35,000 of
which are estimated to have medicinal value - come from the developing
countries.
At least 7,000 medical compounds in the Western pharmacopoeia are derived
from plants.
According to Rural Advancement Foundation International estimates, US$32
billion (RM121.6 billion) of sales of pharmaceuticals worldwide are based
on traditional medicines.
Yet the developing countries' exports account for only US$551 million - an
incredible shortfall.
The importance of medicinal plants is highlighted by the work of the
United States National Cancer Institute. Between 1986 and 1992, it paid
for the collection of 23,000 plant samples of 7,000 species, almost all of
which came from the South countries.
These staggering statistics were presented by Gurdial Singh Nijar,
professor of law at Universiti Malaya, at the recent two-day seminar on
"Biodiversity and the Knowledge Systems of Indigenous Peoples"
jointly organised by The Indigenous Peoples' Network of Malaysia (Jaringan
Orang Asal SeMalaysia) and UM's Law Faculty.
Indigenous knowledge and practices pertaining to medicinal plants are of
particular relevance to Malaysia because of its desire to be a global
player in the natural products sector.
The Malaysian Industry-Government Group For High Technology (Might) is now
fine-tuning the National Herbal Products Blueprint for presentation to the
Cabinet soon.
Proponents see opportunities in the rising demand for speciality natural
products especially in the primary health care and cosmetics arena.
They point to two of Malaysia's many strengths: the plants growing in its
forests and the local know-how about the myriad uses of medicinal plants.
Indeed, the creation of a depository of knowledge on the traditional uses
of tropical herbs among Malaysians has been suggested as a way of
expanding product development.
Many allude to the unique confluence of Asian health traditions found in
Malaysia and say this cumulative knowledge could be used to advantage.
They suggest that a continuous effort be taken to document that knowledge
to build up a rich database of medicinal plant applications.
It is sad if the proposed initiative overlooks the rich healing systems of
the various indigenous peoples in Malaysia.
This is because Malaysia's indigenous communities are said to have
mastered their practices and knowledge about the way plants and other
biological resources are used to treat many ailments and for promoting
health.
But how many realise that the source of the "local know-how" (as
touted by the promoters of Malaysia's natural products sector) has
actually come from the indigenous peoples themselves, a process which
started when local communities began interacting with the indigenous folk?
"People must understand that the source of a lot of this knowledge is
actually the indigenous peoples ... the cumulative knowledge which we have
acquired for millennia, in fact. And this is not just true of Malaysia, it
is also true of all Third World countries; so it is very critical for all
of us to acknowledge this fact," says Gurdial, who is also consultant
to Third World Network.
Even so, this is not a licence for mainstream society particularly
researchers and bioprospectors to appropriate indigenous knowledge for
commercial gain.
"There is a danger of that happening as well," says Gurdial.
"It should not become another commodity. You must draw a balance
between the commodification of indigenous knowledge and the undermining of
that knowledge itself."
"Outsiders accuse us of being lokek (stingy) with our
knowledge," says Jannie Lasimbang, a Kadazan from Sabah and
secretary-general of the Asia Indigenous Peoples Pact which is
headquartered in Chiangmai, Thailand.
"It is not that. We want it to be shared for the common good and not
for the profit of a few multinationals which are controlling the
pharmaceutical industry," adds Lasimbang, who was in Kuala Lumpur
recently to take part in the UM discussions.
"Unless we are convinced that commercialisation will benefit us in
every way and not just in monetary terms, we will continue to protect our
knowledge."
The fear is real. The search for new drugs has taken pharmaceutical
companies to species-rich countries. They engage ethnobotanists to work
with indigneous peoples to scour and collect samples of plants for
surveys.
These ethnobotanists talk to healers among the indigenous communities
about secrets of a particular species.
"The use of this information about traditional medicinal uses of
plants when screening them for biological activity has increased the rate
of discovery of a lead chemical by some 400 to 800 per cent," writes
Ong Chui Koon, senior manager at Sirim's Intellectual Property Services
Section in his paper "Indigenous Rights and Forest Products".
"We cannot tell how many researchers or bioprospectors approach our
villages because they come as tourists or they come without revealing
their true intentions," says Lasimbang.
In response to that threat, Sabah has passed a law which controls access
to indigenous knowledge and biological resources. Any researcher or
bioprospector must obtain consent from the community concerned.
"That will, to some extent, protect us but not all the issues related
to knowledge and biological resources are addressed," says Lasimbang.
For example, in areas claimed by both the indigenous communities and the
State Government, the question of ownership of biological resources makes
obtaining consent problematic.
That has prompted the indigenous communities in Sabah to draft a community
protocol on the collection of biological resources and documentation of
indigenous knowledge by outsiders.
"We are pushing for the State Government to accept the community
protocol as a mechanism to obtaining consent," says Lasimbang.
Since the access law also talks about benefit-sharing of any commercial
development accruing from usage of indigenous knowledge and biological
resources, the community protocol will decide whether or not the
researcher or bioprospector can carry out work in a particular area.
Sabah's indigenous communities find commercialisation of medicinal plants
distasteful because these are tied to their spiritual beliefs.
Tijah Yok Chopil, a Semai from Kampung Chang Lama, Bidor, Perak, wants to
know why herbalists from Peninsular Malaysia's Orang Asli community - a
term which means "original peoples" - were not invited to form a
group under the Health Ministry's programme to organise Malaysian
practitioners of traditional and complementary medicine (New Sunday Times,
March 4).
"Why were we not invited?" asks Tijah, one of the organisers of
the UM discussion and deputy president of The Indigenous Peoples' Network
of Malaysia.
"You can't say that you don't know about the existence of Orang Asli
herbalists or holders of knowledge in traditional medicine. That is
impossible because history tells you about our existence and our
dependence on the forest and its products not only for food but for our
medicinal needs as well," she says.
"I do not think for a moment that it is because the Government wants
to exclude the Orang Asli," says Gurdial. "But for some reason,
the indigenous peoples have been marginalised and we should rectify
this."
He suggests that the Standing Committee for Traditional/Complementary
Medicine, Malaysia, include representatives of indigenous peoples from
Sabah and Sarawak as well as Orang Asli from Peninsular Malaysia.
Tijah says inclusion of Orang Asli in the Health Ministry drive to
integrate relevant components of traditional and complementary medicine
into the national healthcare system will result in the following: Orang
Asli will be able to continue practising their healing systems and they
will be part of the national development process besides receiving
acknowledgement of their existence.
Deputy director-general of Health (research and technical support) Datuk
Dr Mohd Ismail Merican says indigenous communities "can write to me
officially, provided they have a registered body within which they are
operating".
"Whoever contacts us must represent the majority. We do not want a
situation where so many will come forward, once they know there is an
avenue, and claim to be representing the Orang Asli. Once we receive the
letter, we will certainly look into it and see whether they can come under
one of the existing five umbrella bodies or otherwise," says Dr
Ismail.
The spectre of cultural extinction hangs over indigenous communities who
live close to, or within, forested areas in Malaysia.
Deforestation threatens to cut them off from their traditional cultures
and this loss is the world's loss. Indigenous communities worry that one
day when no forest is left, their descendants cannot keep cultural
traditions such as natural healing.
For Nelson Janggai, an Iban from Miri, Sarawak, that day has already
arrived.
He lives in an area which has no more forest resources.
"Traditional medicinal practices and knowledge are disappearing
because the forest is gone and many of us who have converted to other
religions are not allowed to practise our traditional systems, including
that pertaining to health," says Janggai, also a participant at the
UM seminar.
"The situation is compounded by the strong influence of urban
lifestyles and modern medicine," he adds.
If dominant society continues to marginalise forested communities, a
repository of knowledge based on an enormous amount of practical know-how
will vanish.
But if we want to learn from them, it has to be on their own terms and in
a mutually beneficial arrangement.
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