NEW DELHI, INDIA, December 6, 2002: “Mega diverse” countries in the developing world, including India, have just finished meeting in Peru where they decided to push for patent requirements which specifically protect the holders of traditional knowledge. These countries, rich in natural resources, are still debating some of the common issues, positions, experiences and possible strategies against multinational company raiders with officials from South America, Africa and Asia. The Mexican Initiative, which bore fruit in the first ministerial meeting in Cancun earlier this year, is expected to see India take over the presidency in 2003. The classical definition of mega diversity looks not just at the number of species in a country but at how many are endemic to that nation. The original countries on the list include India, China, Mexico, Brazil, Ecuador, Peru, Chile, Madagascar, Zaire, Indonesia, Malaysia and Australia. Other countries which joined them in Peru include South Africa and Kenya. The aim is to share information, help each other and develop a sort of negotiating bloc in environmental negotiations which can protect mega diversity and the traditional knowledge bases which provide the building blocks for technological innovations in medicine, agriculture, industry, biotechnology, even biological warfare. Some countries don’t know what to protect or how to arrive at a price negotiation mechanism to ensure a fair price is paid. These are also countries struggling with development issues, unable to document their biodiversity or compile a traditional knowledge base.
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