Copy of bcp 18112011 English - Natural Justice

The biocultural community protocol of maldharis of banni11. OUR RIGHTS UNDER INTERNATIONAL LAW:21We, Maldharis, in our biocultural community protocol identify the following principles and rightsbased on international law, (that are further elaborated in Annexure 7), namely:A. PrinciplesWe are creators of breeds and custodians of our animal genetic resources for food andagriculture; Maldharis and sustainable use of traditional breeds are highly dependent onthe conservation of Banni ecosystem; and our traditional breeds represent collectiveproperty, products of traditional Knowledge and our cultural expression.B. RightsWe have the rights to:1. Make breeding decisions and breed the breeds we maintain;2. Participate in policy formulation and implementation processes on animal geneticresources for food and agriculture;3. Receive appropriate training and capacity building and equal access to relevantservices enabling and supporting us to raise livestock and to better process andmarket our products;4. Participate in the identification of research needs and research design with respect toour genetic resources, as is mandated by the principle of Prior Informed Consent; andEffectively access information on issues related to our local breeds and livestockDiversity.5. We call on the Conference of Parties to the UN Convention on Biological Diversity,specifically under Article 8(j) of the Convention, to recognize our contribution to theconservation and sustainable use of biological diversity in Gujarat's forest ecosystem.We also call on the UN Food and Agriculture Organization to acknowledge theimportance of our animal genetic resources and to recognize livestock keepers' rights.