sustainable development 20 years on from the ... - José Eli da Veiga

226
4. Knowledge plurality
Rural populations and indigenous peoples have their own knowledge, practices and representations of the
natural world, along with their own conceptions of how human interactions with nature should be
managed. These cognitive systems have been maintained and developed through historical interaction
with the natural environment, and form a holistic entity that encompasses language, cultural roots in a
given place, spirituality, and “cosmic vision”. For many cultures, what is “rational” or “objective” cannot
be separated from what is “sacred” or “intuitive”, but is interwoven in the global perspective of local and
indigenous knowledge.
By adopting the UNESCO Universal Declaration on Cultural Diversity in <strong>20</strong>01, the international
community demonstrated its commitment by recognizing the “contribution of traditional knowledge,
particularly with regard to environmental protection and the management of natural resources, and
fostering synergies between modern science and local knowledge” (UNESCO, <strong>20</strong>01, paragraph 14). This
is reinforced by the UNESCO Convention on the Protection and Promotion of the Diversity of Cultural
Expressions, which recognizes “the importance of traditional knowledge as a source of intangible and
material wealth, and in particular the knowledge systems of indigenous peoples, and its positive
contribution to <strong>sustainable</strong> <strong>development</strong>, as well as the need for its adequate protection and promotion.”
This is still far from being materialized in formal intellectual protection systems.
In addition, the Convention for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage, adopted in
<strong>20</strong>03, represents major support for traditional knowledge as a factor of <strong>sustainable</strong> <strong>development</strong>. Under
this convention, the Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity recognizes
31 expressions of Latin America and the Caribbean, of which nine are in the category of “knowledge and
practices concerning nature and the universe” (UNESCO, <strong>20</strong>03). 18
In short, there is a set of international conventions and declarations 19 regarding local and
indigenous knowledge, several of which have been ratified by the 33 countries of Latin America and the
Caribbean; and, although ratification by each country follows its own strategy and proceeds at its own
pace, it is notable that there is a shared international framework of law to guide scientific <strong>development</strong>
and technology transfer with broad recognition and support for the link between <strong>sustainable</strong> <strong>development</strong>
and traditional knowledge of their peoples.
18
19
Art.2.2: “Nonmaterial cultural heritage […] is manifested in particular in the following domains: […]
d) knowledge and uses concerning nature and the universe (UNESCO, <strong>20</strong>03).
Convention on the Protection and Promotion of the Diversity of Cultural Expressions (<strong>20</strong>05); Convention for the
Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage (<strong>20</strong>03); Indigenous Peoples Kyoto Water Declaration (<strong>20</strong>03);
Plan of Implementation of the World Summit on Sustainable Development (<strong>20</strong>02); UNESCO Universal
Declaration on Cultural Diversity (<strong>20</strong>01); Declaration on Science and the Use of Scientific Knowledge (1999);
United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (1994); Convention on Biological Diversity (1992).