[A2k] SAN CRY FOUL OVER HOODIA TRADE

[Sangeeta]

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TITLE: San cry foul over Hoodia trade
AUTHOR: Wezi Tjaronda
PUBLICATION: New Era (Winhoek)
DATE: 9 March 2006
URL: http://allafrica.com/stories/200603090311.html
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New Era | 9 March 2006

SAN CRY FOUL OVER HOODIA TRADE

Wezi Tjaronda
Windhoek

San communities in southern Africa have urged governments of Switzerland,
Germany and South Africa to act against the illegal sale of Hoodia products=
.

While the Convention of Biological Diversity (CBD) stipulates that
indigenous groups be given a share of the profits from the commercial use o=
f
local genetic resources and traditional knowledge, the San are yet to
benefit from the many Hoodia products that are being sold in Germany and
Switzerland.

The San people, found in Namibia, South Africa, Angola and Botswana have
known and used Hoodia, a succulent plant, for over 100 years as an appetite
suppressant.

The plant was however patented a few years ago by the Council for Scientifi=
c
and Industrial Research (CSIR) and licensed for further development to a
British company, which in turn sold additional licenses to drug company
Pfizer, and later to Unilever.

The San of Southern Africa, represented by the Working Group of Indigenous
Minorities in Southern Africa (WIMSA) and other organisations, namely
Biowatch, Berne Declaration and the Church Development Service have written
to the governments of South Africa, Germany and Switzerland to stem the
trade in Hoodia, which they say is an illegally acquired resource.

In a letter to ministers of the three countries, the organisations said the
intended solution would be to only suppress the illegal sale of Hoodia
products but also establish a structure that prevents the biopiracy of many
other generic resources as well.


In the letter, Wimsa's Roger Channels urged the countries to take "long
overdue steps against the continued trade of Hoodia plants and products
without the return of benefits to the San - the holders of the traditional
knowledge about the plant".

He said a recent inquiry found that more than 10 Hoodia products are on sal=
e
in stores and pharmacies in Germany and Switzerland.

The products are marketed in Germany, Switzerland, France and the UK as
Hoodia, Hoodia Kapsel, Hoodia Plus and Hoodia L10. On the Internet, the
product is marketed as a super pill that naturally suppresses one's
appetite.

"Almost all sellers/distributors market their product with reference to the
traditional knowledge of the San. In other countries too, notably the UK an=
d
US, there is brisk trade in Hoodia products," he said, adding that while
this is the case, the San have yet to receive a single penny from the trade=
.

CSIR and the San Council three years ago signed a benefit sharing formula
while a second such agreement was signed between the San and the Hoodia
Growers Pty Ltd in early February this year.

Channels said through the CSIR agreement, only the license holders,
Phytopharm UK and Unilever have legitimate access to the knowledge and
generic resource but for the moment, the license holders are not selling an=
y
Hoodia products.

And while the Hoodia growers market the product saying the owners of the
traditional knowledge benefit from the growing of Hoodia, WIMSA says this i=
s
not the case.

"Therefore all Hoodia products currently on the market are not part of the
above-mentioned two San benefit sharing agreements. The San have not
negotiated Benefit Sharing Agreement with anyone except the CSIR and the
South African Hoodia Growers. It seems safe to conclude that all
commercially traded Hoodia products contain illegally acquired resources an=
d
traditional knowledge according to CBD," reads the letter in part.

So far, said the letter, no user country has made any move to stop the sale
of these products.

The letter also notes that the two countries that were involved in drafting
the Bonn Guideline were not implementing the guidelines which state that
contracting parties should take appropriate legal, administrative, or polic=
y
measures, which should include preventing the use of genetic resources
obtained without prior informed consent and also to address infringements o=
f
access and benefit sharing agreements.

The organisation urged the countries to "take seriously their obligations a=
s
user countries to initiate appropriate legal, administrative or policy
measures to stop the sale of Hoodia products in their countries in violatio=
n
on CBD rules".

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GOING FURTHER (compiled by GRAIN)

WIMSA, Biowatch, Berne Declaration and EED, "The San of southern Africa urg=
e
governments to act", Windhoek, Cape Town, Z=FCrich and Bonn, press release =
and
further materials, 6 March 2006.
http://www.evb.ch/en/p25010803.html