Bioética e sociobiodiversidade: visões e práticas das lideranças indígenas do Amazonas.

Abstract

This study is about the bioethical implications of and its interaction with biotechnology regarding the use and access of the traditional knowledge of indigenous peoples in the state of Amazonas. The objectives of the study are: to analyze the bioethical implications that arise from the use and access of the traditional knowledge of indigenous peoples of the Amazonas state; to identify how relevant these populations are in the definitions of public policies in regard to its tangible and intangible cultural heritage; to discuss, in light of the current law, the benefits those subjects are enjoying from such relevance (or lack thereof) and to propose an extension of the concept of bioethics, including the idea of sociobiodiversity as a mechanism for effective participation of indigenous traditional peoples. Studies about sustainability, socio-biodiversity, bioethics and biolaw were used as theoretical frameworks. The subjects of this study were the indigenous leaders of the State of Amazonas and its main interlocutors: representatives of the Secretaria de Estado para os Povos Indígenas SEIND (State Secretariat for Indigenous Peoples) and the Coordenação das Organizações Indígenas da Amazônia Ocidental Brasileira COIAB (Coordination of the Indigenous Organizations of the Brazilian Amazon Basin). The study presents a dialectical approach: it demonstrates the contradictions between the indigenous leaders s perceptions of man, the world, society and its technological and socio-cultural practices and those of non-indigenous social actors regarding the use and access of traditional indigenous knowledge. Considering what s on the legislation about the commitments formally made by Brazil and other federal entities in international treaties and agreements, also the codes of ethics of research institutions, the practices of use and access of tangible and intangible heritage of the traditional indigenous people of the state of Amazonas, including the material and symbolic universe that surround its knowledge and practices, worsened by the incipient opening given by non-indigenous actors to the participation of indigenous leaders in the decision-making process, sets a complete violation of rights, and affronts the principles of bioethics. Thereby, this study proposes to expand this participation, aiming the respect for their rights, and a higher valuation of its tangible and intangible heritage. As a theoretical contribution to the conceptual and methodological issue, the study proposes a new principle to be included: sociobiodiversity.