First ABS Capacity Building Workshop for Africa Cape Town 19-24 Nov 2006

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First ABS Capacity Building Workshop for
AfricaCape Town 19-24 Nov 2006

• Collecting and exporting a medicinal herb
• by Wivine Ntamubano
• Burundi

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1.THE COUNTRY Burundi

• Burundi is a small landlocked country Size 27843
  Km2 of land
• Altitude highlands 2200 m
• Low lands 750 m
• Climate
• Temperature 15-25C
• Rainfall 500-2000 mm
• wet season October-May
• dry season June-October
• Neighbouring countries Rwanda in north, Tanzania
  in east and DRC in west
• Population 6 millions of inhabitants,
• and annual growth rate 3
• Income more than 90 living in rural area from
  agriculture products

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THE COUNTRY

• Major food crops
• Pulses beans, soyabean, peanut, peas
• Cereals maize, rice, wheat, sorghum, finger
  millet
• Tubers irish potatoe, sweet potatoe, cassava
• fruit/cooking banana plantain
• Tropical fruits citrus spp, mango, avocado,
  tomato
• Vegetables amaranthus spp, cabbage, carrots,
  onions
• Cash crops coffea, tea, oil palm, cotton,
  sugarcane

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THE COUNTRY

• Key institutions involved in PGR management and
  use
• National Agriculture Research Institute (ISABU)
• National Institute for Environment and Nature
  Conservation (INECN)
• Department of Forestry (tree seed centre)
• Department of Water Protection and Use
• Univ of Bdi Faculty of Sciences and Faculty of
  Agrononomy
• National Seed Service
• NGOs Global Biodiversity Institute
  Burundi Branch and Burundi Association for Birds
  Protection

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THE COUNTRY Memberships of organisations/convent
ion/treaties and networks

• Member of ISTA, OECD
• Member of the CBD
• Signatory of the ITPGRF
• Signatory of the WTO
• Signatory of the Stockholm Convention on
  Persistent Organic Pollutants
• Signatory of the International Plant Protection
  Convention
• Signatory of the Cartagena Protocol on
  Biosafety
• Signatory of the CITES Convention, 1988
• Signatory of the RAMSAR Convention, 1997
• Member of regional conventions and
  networksEAPGREN,
• Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa
  ( COMESA) , COMIFAC,CEPGL,
• On-going laws and policies the field of PGR
  conservation and use
• Harmonization of land and forestry Act
• Reorganization of national seed sector ,Seed
  legislation (PGR inclusive)
• Some of the conventions and treaties like IT
  are not yet domesticated to be taken into account
  in elaborating national laws.
• No existing specific legislation on ABS

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NAME AND TYPE OF GENETIC RESSOURCE Ensete
ventricosum

• Ensete ventricosum is a vegetal species for
  various uses. Local communities used it a long
  time ago in their daily life. They used (and
  still use) it as medicine in curing animal as
  well as human diseases. Also, it serves as food
  , ornementation and various uses. It is further
  used in traditional ceremonies.

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NAME AND TYPE OF GENETIC RESSOURCE Ikigomogomo

• Ensete as a medicinal plant
• Human medecine
• Leaves for mothers (breastfeeding)
• Roots for children
• Roots for men(male unvirility)
• Teetheache
• Powder and seeds for All types of body injuries
• Animal medecine (cows)milk
• Young plants and seeds are collected from the
  forest by autochtone communities and sold to
  commercial societies.

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3. ACTORS INVOLVED

• 1.Local community The Batwa are autochtone
  people who live in and around the Kibira National
  Park. They know the forest and its
  biodiversity.The livelihood of the Batwa
  traditionally depends much on the basic natural
  resources .
• Agricultural and commercial Society
  "PLTPlantations du Lac Tanganyika" represented
  by Jacques Heidmann and Emmanuel Bigirimana.
• Ministry of environment represented by INECN
  (National Institute for the environment and
  nature conservation), INECN is the national
  institution in charge of protected areas,
  managing the CITES Convention and CBD national
  focal agency.
• Ministry of Trade
• Ministry of Agriculture

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TYPE/KIND OF ABS AGREEMENT

• There is neither ABS regime nor ABS agreement.
  Since the Ensette is not including in CITES list,
  it is not requested to have a license of
  exploitation. Therefore, the sellers of these
  plants hide themselves since they get them from
  the protected areas.

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AGREED BENEFITS IN THE AGREEMENT

• monetary benefits
• The lisence of exportation is 20 000 BUF( 20 US)
  without taking into account the exported quantity
• They also pay the tax before exportation This
  tax represents 10 of the plant value.
• This money is paid to the ministry of trade

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BENEFITS REALIZED TO DATE

• We are not able to know benefits of "Plantation
  du Lac tanganyika PLT claims that it has not get
  any benefit in the last few years, giving the
  reason that the transport was too long and unsafe
  in this Civil war period
• There is no benefits for the ministry of
  environment represented by INECN.
• there is no benefit for local communities

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DIRECT CONTRIBUTION TO POVERTY ALLEVIATION

• Nonethe local communities, who sell these plants
  do not get any benefits. In fact, they receive 50
  BUF(0,05 US) by sold plant.
• The Batwa people is the poorest community in
  Burundi. their livelihood depends much on the
  basic natural resources which is being
  overexploited.
• No real job
• No fees to send their children to school
• No enough food for their familly

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LESSONS LEARNT TO DATE

• There is a real biopiracy on the genetic
  resources. This situation is favoured by
• Acces which is not regulated
• decision makers who are not consencious to the GR
  value,
• the absence of a specific ABS regime and
• the lack of implementation texts on existing
  legislations.
• The overexploitation of biological ressources
  without sharing the benefits raised from those
  ressources will lead the communities to more
  poverty

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WHAT CHANGES WOULD HAVE MADE THE DIFFERNCES

• Ensete ventricosum is one example but there are
  at least 300 species exported without real
  benefit for the government and the community .
• Most of them are taken from protected area.
• So, there is a need of raising awareness to all
  levels, especially the decision makers on the GR
  value as well as the necessity of protect and
  value GR in poverty alleviation.
• Also, a specific ABS legislation is very
  necessary.
• Besides, other legislations on GR are existing
  but need to be updated as well as implementation
  texts
• Burundi is classified among the very poor
  countries. Now, the priorities are reconsruction
  of infrastuctures destroyed during the war,
  mother and children health, HIV , refugees,
  reintegration of ancient rebels and soldiers,
• Even multilateral institutions which normally
  founded biodiversity program had stopped their
  activities(GTZ).