Southern States - Kerala   

Kerala project to draw global attention at Earth Summit

By T. Nandakumar

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM AUG. 22. A novel benefit-sharing agreement between a research institute and a tribal community in Kerala is set to take centrestage at the UN-sponsored World Summit on Sustainable Development beginning in Johannesburg, South Africa, later this month. A two-member team comprising a Kani tribesman and a scientist will draw global attention to the project during the Summit.

Dr. P.Pushpangadan, former director of the Tropical Botanic Gardens and Research Institute, here and Kuttimathan Kani, secretary of the Kerala Kani Welfare Trust have been invited by the UN to present the benefit-sharing exercise launched by the institute in 1995. They left for Johannesburg on Tuesday.

Under the project which was launched by the TBGRI in 1995, the tribal communities in the Agasthyar hills were compensated for imparting the secret of a rare plant which led to the development of a herbal drug with a huge commercial potential. The initiative had been recognised by the UN Environment Programme and the World trade Organisation as a global model in benefit sharing and recognition of the intellectual property rights of tribals.

The trail-blazing venture is one of the 25 shortlisted from 10,000 nominations all over the world for the Equator Initiative, launched by the UN Development Programme. The project was selected after screening by four UN committees. At the Earth Summit, a jury of 60 judges from UN agencies and multilateral financial institutions will examine the two representatives and collect evidence on the implementation. The project presentation includes an exhibition, workshop and an interactive session.

Under the benefit-sharing pact between the TBGRI and the Kani community, the tribal folk are compensated for imparting information about the Arogyapacha (Trichopus Zeylanicus)--a rare, endangered plant which constitutes the crucial ingredient in a formulation developed by the institute to tap the global market for herbal drugs.

A team of scientists attached to the institute had stumbled on this plant during the course of their scientific expedition in the Agasthyar hills in 1987. Kuttimathan Kani was one of the tribal guides accompanying the scientists who revealed the secret of the miraculous herb.

In a project spanning eight years, the institute headed by Dr. Pushpangathan went on to refine and validate the medicine. The scientists isolated compounds and developed a composite drug named Jeevani which has been proved to possess immuno-enhancing, anti-stress, anti-fatigue properties.

In September 1995, the TBGRI entered into a technology transfer pact with the Arya Vaidya Pharmacy, Coimbatore, for commercial production of Jeevani. The pharmacy agreed to pay Rs.10 lakhs seed money and a royalty of two per cent on the ex-factory price in exchange for the technology transfer and the right to manufacture the drug for seven years.

Printer friendly page  
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

Southern States

News: Front Page | National | Southern States | Other States | International | Opinion | Business | Sport | Miscellaneous |
Advts: Classifieds | Employment | Obituary |

Stories in this Section

• Karunakaran hits out at Antony
• Pattayam or not, forestland grab is a way of life
• Mar Thoma Sabha Mandalam meet begins
• Kerala project to draw global attention at Earth Summit
• DCC suspends three `I' faction members

Copyright © 2002, The Hindu. Republication or redissemination of the contents of this screen are expressly prohibited without the written consent of The Hindu