Conhecimento tradicional associado ao recurso genético: os desafios da legislação brasileira na tutela de interesses coletivos

Abstract

With the international dilemma formed, on the one hand, the countries, holders of technology, supported on the devices of the Agreement of the Rights of Intellectual Properties Related to Trade of the World Commerce Organization in order to guarantee that the genetic resources be considered common patrimony of humanity and, on the other hand, the countries, holders of genetic resources, sticked to the Convention on Biological Resources, based on the sovereignity principle of the State to explore its own resources, Law becomes fundamentally important in the intermediation of such antagonistic interests. This conflict is materialized by means of the practice known as biopiracy, which involves as much the genetic resource as the knowledge related to the mentioned resource, damaging mostly countries like Brazil. With the ratification of the Convention of Biological Diversity in 1994 and the edition of the legislation MP nº 2.186-16 in 2001, Brazil regulated affairs that involve the traditional knowledge related to genetic resource. But will this legislation take into account the interests of traditional populations? With the aim to analyse the applicability of Brazilian legislation which regulates the acess to traditional knowledge related to genetic resource of two native populations who inhabit the surroundings of Benjamin Constant city, located in the region of High Solimões River, in Amazonas, Brazil, one denominated Aldeia Kokama, of Kokama ethnic group, and the other Native community of Novo Paraíso, of Ticuna ethnic group. This research founded on the Sociological concept of Law, developed by Bourdieu (1989), and as logical sustainability the systemic abordage of Morin (2002), and employing the case study methodology, more specifically of two cases: the legislation and the human group. Thus, with the development of the research, it was been observed that Brazilian legislation, the MP nº 2.186-16, presents conceptual inaccuration and lack of practicability. With regard to the native populations of Nova Aliança and of Novo Paraíso, it was observed that these human groups develop a relation of community and live daily in an environment little modified in a region of Amazonian Forest which contains high concentration of biodiversity, demonstrating a great knowledge on the genetic resources that sorround them. Nevertheless, their lack of information and of legislative knowledge render impossible the application of such legislation rules and, consequently, the demand of their rights. The analysis of Brazilian legislation which regulates the acess to traditional knowledge related to genetic resource and of the native populations of Nova Aliança and of Novo Paraíso showed the correspondence between both, but with sorrowful confirmation of the inapplicability of the legislation for these people, caused mainly by the lack of information they showed regarding the rights due to them.