Spikenard export now banned?

[Guest guest]

> was not going to send any more messages to the group today, since I have

> been sending so many today* :-O but I just got this email from a supplier

> in India, and I'm wondering if this is new news? I know that spikenard is

> endangered, but I did not know a ban on export was in effect:

>

> >Oils will be sent shortly except Jatamansi Oil because it is banned for

> export under >Wild Life Protection. Hence unable to offer.

>

> I can see nne and Gail crying right now if this is the future...

>

> Anya

Hi,

The unrestricted export of Jatamansi herb/roots etc is banned from Nepal by

the authorities. The export of preparations such as essential oil, oleoresin

or concrete is not banned. No one has much idea of how much plant material

or extracts is physically gathered and exported - sure there are figures -

because for customs purposes the material is often called something else

when it makes its way across the borders, in order that the exporter doesn't

pay duty. The Government of Nepal have officially restricted the export of

rhizomes to external 100 metric tons in previous years, in order to keep the

processing ( & jobs opportunities) within Nepal. On the other hand you will

find for example that there are figures that show the total annual

production of Jatamansi oil is a mere 20Kg per annum, and you will find (if

you look hard enough) oil producers on the Internet offering 50Kg drums of

the material from stock. Go figure!

You will find that there is now an official scheme in Nepal to support

farmers in an initiative to grow Jatamansi sustainably, whereas previously

there was no cultivation as such, and few measures were taken to protect

rapidly dwindling species. I was approached a while ago to assist

entrepreneurs pointing to NGO's who are currently working and supporting

this sustainability scheme. The particular purpose of the entrepreneur's

interest was to produce a product containing jatamansi oil/extract (and

maybe lavender oil to make the preparation more acceptable) in an attempt to

market something to calm down tempestuous kids. He was also trying to patent

the bioactive principles.

I dropped out of this work pretty quickly, as soon as I understood what was

really going on: I was against this on several levels:

1. I don't believe in the chemical doping of children, just because their

natural boisterousness can be wearing to their mothers in the holidays or at

the end of a long day. Giving them jatamansi preparations is no different

from administering anaesthetic, and I believed that such as scheme was

potentially abusive to children.

2. The more you look at the function of some characters working in NGO's,

the more suspicious you become of their motives. Hypotheticically these

individuals get the chance to cruise round the world via their work for

World Health authorities, or well known International Aid concerns. But some

of them siphon off the saleable aromatic raw materials via producers they

meet, and so supply their grubby little business interests. This to me is

totally unacceptable let alone unethical. Either they are Health workers,

or Aid workers. Otherwise they should buy their own airline tickets and not

steal money meant for good causes!

3. The total environmental impact of such cultivation schemes is rarely

assessed, and some have failed in the past (for example a disastrous scheme

to grow Eucalyptus species in India). It may or may not be possible to

resurrect Jatamansi - I dont know - I have only seen the side of the issue

presented from those with vested interests. But its no good saving one

species and damaging the environment in other ways, and Nepal has a

particularly fragile ecosystem.

4. Jatamansi preparations have a long history of use in indigenous medicine.

I therefore have serious doubts about potentially patent the principles herb

of the herb, as it could prove to be an issue of biopiracy.

Tony.

www.tonyburfield.co.uk

[Guest guest]

Tony said:

4. Jatamansi preparations have a long history of use in indigenous medicine.

I therefore have serious doubts about potentially patent the principles herb

of the herb, as it could prove to be an issue of biopiracy.

Tony.

www.tonyburfield.co.uk

Tony made some other points that I dont' have time to address here, maybe in

the future. The issue of indigenous people and intellectual property

rights, however, is something that as a folklorist I have long been

associated with. M.R.Boyd's definition of 'intellectual property rights' in

Journal of Ethnopharmacology - " Intellectual property may be in the form of

knowledge, information, knowhow, concepts, or other 'matters of the mind'

which in the absense of disclosure or access thereto, is neither known nor

obvious to others. " This presents an appreciation somewhat abstract concept

of intellectual property not written or covered by copyright. Therefore,

intellectual property could very well be " owned " or possessed exclusively

(or jointly, referencing an indiginous tribe or group) but desired or seen

as useful by others, and, without adequate protection, left subject to

theft. "

This poses many ethical questions regarding indigenous peoples' rights and

protection. As a folklorist, I also know that it is futile to keep

traditional knowledge alive in books, just as that keeping wild animals in

zoos does not prevent their extinction.

Some important books/articles on intellectual property rights:

Assessing the Economic Value of Traditional Medicines from Tropical Rain

Forests, Balick and Mendelsohn/Conservation Biology Issue 6

1992.

Biodiversity; Culture Conservation and Ecodevelopment, M. L. Oldfield and J.

B. Alcorn, editors, Westview, CO

Biological Diversity, Indigenous Knowledge, Drug Discovery and Intellectual

Property Rights: Creating Recriprocity and Maintaining Relationships,

R. King, J. Carlson, Katy Moran, Journal of Ethnopharmacology, issue

51 1996

Biopiracy, Vandana Shiva

Biotechnology, Indigenous Peoples and Intellectual Property Rights, J. R.

Axt, M. L. Corn, M. Lee and D. M. Ackerman 1993 CRS Reports for Congress

(93-478A) Congressional Research Service, Library of Congress, WA, D.C.

Folklore, Tradition or Know-How?, Eliane betsky 1991, Cultural Survival

Quarterly, issue 15

People, Power and Profit: Social, Economic and Ethical Consequences of the

New Biotechnologies, L. Busch, et al, 1991 Basil Blackwell Oxford

I have many other references that will be posted to my website in the near

future.

Gurdial Singh Nijar from Third World Network has written a Conceptual

Framework for a Community Intellectual Rights Network that serve to

disseminate the information for non-commercial purposes and a framework

establishing ownership and co-ownership for commercial endeavors that

protect the local community.

Be well,

Marcia Elston http://www.wingedseed.com

" First of all, cultivate a contented spirit. A garden is a good place to

begin. "

Natural Perfumery & Aromatic Exotics Weekend

http://www.wingedseed.com/events/JeanneRosePerfumery2004.htm

[Guest guest]

Re: Spikenard export now banned?

Tony said:

1. I don't believe in the chemical doping of children, just because their

natural boisterousness can be wearing to their mothers in the holidays or at

the end of a long day. Giving them jatamansi preparations is no different

from administering anaesthetic, and I believed that such as scheme was

potentially abusive to children.

Tony.

www.tonyburfield.co.uk

Just a quick note to say that I agree with Tony wholeheartedly about the

foolish move towards allowing teachers and pharmaceutical companies make

decisions to affect our children's behavior in schools with drugs, and the

mis-labeling of all active or hyperactive children as ADD or ADHD. There

are now many other *syndromes* added to the list in an attempt to diagnose

unusual or different children's behaviors, all of which could simply be that

some children are . . . different! That said, I have to disagree with Tony

regarding the value of traditional herbal remedies, and don't think he

really meant to compare pharmaceuticals to herbal remedies as apples to

apples. Not the same thing, Tony, as you should well know. Indigenous

people (indeed, animals, also) have long used herbs for wellness (and as

mind-altering substances). I believe that our future will be better by

adapting whole herbal usage (most specifically, from our individual regions)

.. . . AND providing for protection of plant species as well as indigenous

peoples' intellectual rights (as stated in my previous post).

Just a sampling of the promise of Jatamansi - In India, it is used in making

many massage oils and is said to be useful for many diseases, especially

beneficial as a sedative and to treat disorders of the digestive and

respiratory systems. In Pakistan it is included in several remedies for

hemiplegia, Bell's palsy, and Parkinson's disease. Nardostachys, which is

native to the Himalayan foothills at high altitude, is used extensively in

the Ayurvedic tradition. In fact, this herb may have been adopted into the

Chinese tradition from India, with plants growing in the Western Chinese

provinces of Yunnan and Sichuan (in the mountain regions) being the same

species as the Indian variety. Nardostachys was recommended in the Ayurvedic

tradition for nervous and spasmodic symptoms, such as heart palpitations,

headache, shaking, and convulsions. The active constituents of nardostachys

are similar to those found in valerian. In India, modern research with the

herb has been aimed at examining new uses rather than the traditional ones:

it is being examined for its liver protective effects, ability to increase

nerve growth factor, and lipid lowering effects. In Germany and Japan, some

interest in this herb as an alternative to valerian has been shown, in that

preliminary experiments (in laboratory animals) show that it has an even

lower toxicity than valerian (which already has low toxicity).

I would much rather support further herbal research and ethical distribution

of those products and sustainability than look to the chemical drug

pharmaceutical companies.

Be well,

Marcia Elston http://www.wingedseed.com

" First of all, cultivate a contented spirit. A garden is a good place to

begin. "

Natural Perfumery & Aromatic Exotics Weekend

http://www.wingedseed.com/events/JeanneRosePerfumery2004.htm

[Guest guest]

Hi Marcia,

Its hard for me not to be cynical about this. The US position of extensive

freedom to patent ahead of commercial exploitation, by allowing the

patenting of life forms, and the fear of this policy also being adopted in

Europe via the passing of European Directives has caused a certain degree of

panic across continents, such as India and Indonesia. Some areas such as

Chiapias in S. Mexico have actually banned transnational companies from

entering the country to mount bioprospecting expeditions and thereby robbing

the peoples of the potential of their indigenous plants by patenting their

pharmaceutical properties. Our EMP's, no doubt persuaded by the lobbying

from multi-nationals, seem to have a fear of losing out on future

Agri-business to countries such as Japanese and the US, although the voters

they represent might have made it quite plain that they have little appetite

for biotechnology in its various forms e.g. bio-pharmaceuticals (unnatural

chemicals engineered from plants) and GM. Nevertheless the party pressure to

vote in favour of these measures is there. We are already seeing moves in

many developing countries to embrace this sort of technology, as Western

multinationals investigate and patent a variety of indigenous plants and

seeds, sometimes attempting to exploit their latent properties in novel ways

(but they are still patenting the plant!). Worse still, because of the

crisis of biodiversity, as in some instances seed banks of rare and

threatened species are now totally in the hands of private industry. No

doubt if the financial rewards are not evident for these reserved life

forms, the private owners will eventually unplug the freezers to save

building space and maintenance costs.

Just looking at random at this weeks maturing patents, I see that cancer

treatment methods and compositions comprising compounds of the ginger family

has been patented by the University of Minnesota. (US patent 1392266;

application published 3 March 2004). I have no idea of what this patent

covers, but I am reminded that the annual Captain Hook Award Prize for

Biopiracy was won in 2002 by the U.S. University of Toledo in Ohio State for

a patent on Ethiopia's endod plant. I might be doing these people an

injustice, but maybe the University of Minnesota will win it in 2004? All

this remember is 2 years on from the Conference of Biodiversity, where 182

countries signed an agreement to stop drug and perfume countries plundering

the natural resources of countries without paying anything back to the

peoples. We seem to have gone backwards from that high-spot. Sure, we have

of course some famous examples in the essential oils field: perhaps amongst

the most notorious is Estee Lauder and the famous Ylang Ylang patent

situation, which, in on top of their animal testing policy has sparked a

world-wide boycotting campaign. Other examples in the perfumes area that I

have uncovered I am saving for a future edition of Cropwatch....

In Feb 2004 the United Nations University Institute of Advanced Studies

advised that patent officials need access to indigenous knowledge when

weighing up the merits of prospective patents to decide if the application

is novel or based on traditional practices. This might prevent the

repetition of the farcical situation were the W Grace Company was given the

patenting rights to the Neem Tree you might recall - a decision rightly

taken away in the international courts. But for every victory there are

thousands of losses - the resources are just not there to fight off the

sponging greed of transnational concerns. However, public awareness and

positive boycotting of companies employed in unethical practices does

certainly cause companies concern. Ironically those very companies who are

amongst the worst offenders are those currently trying to get into green

portfolio products to improve their public image. Its a difficult equation

....

I'd be delighted to work with you Marcia on a project or article or

whatever, to prevent and expose bio-piracy. The rewards are few, the abuse

is considerable, and you will find that many organisations will shun you, or

try their best to ignore you, as they have me. Eventually however, you might

just become more influential than they are.... and you might also think to

yourself that you perhaps also did the right thing!

Tony.

www.tonyburfield.co.uk