[MPWG] MPWG Ethics and Ethnobotanical Research

[Eric T Jones]

Dear MPWG,

I've noticed that the MPWG list has had quite a few postings of 
ethnobotanical research as well as anti-wild harvesting posts (media 
stories, not science).  Does this not seem contradictory, perhaps unethical 
in terms of biopiracy and intellectual property?  Ethnobotanical research 
is quite often the study of indigenous or local people's knowledge about 
wild plants.  At the same time I keep reading posts claiming that wild 
plants used for the global medicinal plant trade must be brought into 
cultivation to avoid degradation of wild species.  Are the people posting 
these messages suggesting that indigenous and local people are supposed to 
abandon their wild harvesting traditions because their traditions and 
knowledge have become global commodities?  It seems to me that such a cycle 
undermines cultural well-being, knowledge systems, and resource stewardship 
practiced by local people.  Ethnobotanical research under such a framework 
is another form of colonialism, appropriation, and ultimately an agent for 
the demise of local practices.  Does the MPWG have a code of ethics to 
operate by?  If not, I would suggest looking at the American 
Anthropological Association's Code of Ethics as a blueprint.

Eric



Eric T. Jones, PhD
Institute for Culture and Ecology (501c3)
Post Office Box 6688
Portland, Oregon 97228-6688.  USA
Telephone:  503-331-6681
E-Mail:  etjones at ifcae.org
Website:  www.ifcae.org