Baya (fifth left) with Dr Yeo (third left) and Peter Sawal (fourth left) representing the Ministry of Urban Development and Natural Resources and village chiefs from five communities during a photocall.
KUCHING: Sarawak Biodiversity Centre (SBC) today officially sealed the Benefit Sharing Agreement (BSA) with five indigenous communities under the SBC Ordinance 1997.
The five participating communities are the Bidayuh of Kpg Kiding in Padawan, the Lun Bawang of Long Telingan and Long Kerebangan, Lawas, and the Kelabit of Pa’Ukat and Pa’Lungan in Bario.
The BSA breaks new ground for Sarawak in becoming the first in the country to implement the Nagoya Protocol on access and benefit sharing, a major landmark for governance of genetic resources and traditional knowledge (TK) with benefit sharing is indigenous communities through the sustainable use of their biodiversity.
Present at the ceremony was SBC chairman Tan Sri Datuk Amar Wilson Baya Dandot and representatives from the indigenous communities and SBC chief executive officer Dr Yeo Tiong Chia.
The best practice adopted in the BSA presents three-fold benefits to the participating indigenous communities – recognition and respect to the communities’ right to its biological resources and associated TK, ensuring fair and equitable sharing of monetary and non-monetary benefits arising from the utilisation of biological resources and associated TK as well as promoting the importance of biodiversity conservation.
“The official signing of BSA presents new avenues for wealth generation through alternative socio-economic activities for the participating indigenous communities,” he pointed out.
In addition, the agreement aligns with the Sarawak government’s vision to move beyond traditional industries and explore alternative economic growth resource through science that fully taps into the state’s rich biological landscape, he added.
Dr Yeo said the strong association between TK and ethnobotanical research offers new opportunities.
“This is evident especially with the rapid growth of global wellness industry worth US$3.7 trillion which is now three times larger than the pharmaceutical industry, making a strong business case for Sarawak to protect its rich biological resources,” he said.
He added that SBC’s flagship programme on documentation of TK aims at empowering the indigenous communities through greater recognition of their rights and access to their knowledge.