Intellectual Property Rights and Ethnobiology: An Update on Posey's Call to Action

Following the 1988 International Congress of Ethnobiology, at which the Belem Declaration had been adopted, Darrell Posey published a global call to action for researchers and policy makers to address outstanding issues related to the protection of Indigenous and local knowledge (ILK) (1990a). ILK protections are today largely treated as a matter of intellectual property rights, a field whose global political landscape has undergone intense regulation and critical scrutiny since the time at which Posey was writing. This paper provides an update on the state of intellectual property policy as it relates to the “just compensation” of Indigenous and local communities, while also addressing how global bodies and various national governments have grappled with Posey's suggestions. Additionally, we highlight how the shortcomings of national and international policy to address outstanding issues related to intellectual property have affected cultural, ecological, and biological conservation. In conclusion, an update to Posey's suggestions is offered in light of the Belem +30 Congress (August 7–10, 2018) and of ongoing developments in intellectual property policy.