INDIGENOUS%20KNOWLEDGE%20SYSTEMS%20POLICY

1
INDIGENOUS KNOWLEDGE SYSTEMS POLICY

• VISION AND GOALS FOR AN
• INDIGENOUS KNOWLEDGE
• SYSTEMS POLICY FOR SOUTH
• AFRICA

2
HISTORY AND BACKGROUND OF IKS IN SOUTH AFRICA

• Audit of Indigenous Technologies between 1996 and
  1998 Portfolio Committee instrumental in the
  support and advancement of IKS
• Involvement of the CSIR and 9 Universities in the
  Audit Each university conducted its own
  Provincial Workshop to report on its findings
• First National Workshop on IKS at University of
  North West September 1998 (jointly organized by
  the Portfolio Committee, DACST, and the CSIR
  Supported by other stakeholders)

3
IKS IN DST

• Establishment of Ministerial task team to Draft
  Legislation and Policy on IKS in 1999
• Delegations by Task Team to India and China in
  1999 2000 to learn about IKS in the two
  countries
• Provision of ring-fenced funding to the NRF for
  research in IKS since 2000
• Establishment of Unit dedicated to IKS within the
  Department of Science and Technology in 2001

4
OBJECTIVES OF THE IKS UNIT

• Undertake an intra and extra departmental audit,
  as well as an audit of international IKS
  activities and processes.
• Actively participate/engage in regional and
  international IKS activities
• Actively co-ordinate national IKS interventions
  and projects and link relevant ones to
  international efforts
• Developing and implementing IKS legislation,
  policy and strategy
• Providing mechanisms and infra-structure for the
  codification, documentation and preservation of
  IKS knowledge and technologies
• Promoting research, monitoring and evaluation of
  IKS
• Promoting and developing IKS within the National
  Systems of Innovation
• Providing mechanisms for the development and
  management of IKS database

5
IKS POLICY

• Key Policy Drivers 4
• Role and Involvement of other Departments in IKS
  and related Activities

6
Key Policy drivers in the South African context

• Affirmation of African cultural values in the
  face of globalisation
• Development of the services provided by
  Indigenous Knowledge Holders and Practitioners
• Contribution of indigenous knowledge to the
  economy
• Interfacing with other knowledge systems

7
Affirmation of African cultural values in the
face of globalisation

• Redress
• The recognition and protection of indigenous
  knowledge and IKS in South Africa for cultural
  reasons .
• Knowledge institutions created during the
  apartheid era and before it are still in the
  process of being transformed to give expression
  to an African intellectual personality.
• The Policy seeks to creatively advance the course
  of IKS within the context of complex economic,
  social and cultural rights.

8
Globalisation

• With South Africas re-entry into the global
  arena, there are both opportunities and
  challenges for the prudent management of IKS.
• An indicator of the serious effect of
  globalisation is the rapid attrition of language
  diversity across the world.
• IKS policy framework places great emphasis on the
  promotion of international linkages in IKS from
  the perspective of sharing best practice and
  commitment to common objectives

9
Development of Services Provided by Traditional
Healers

• In Africa up to 80 of the population uses
  traditional medicine to help meet their health
  care needs.
• According to WHO, the most important issues
  affecting the practice of traditional medicine
  fall into four categories,National policy and
  regulatory frameworks, safety, efficacy and
  quality, Access,and rational use.
• There is a need to intensify RD work in this
  area, particularly as it relates to recording the
  IKS and supporting traditional healers on safety
  and accessibility.

10
RELATED DEVELOPMENTS IN IKS

• DOH Traditional Health Practitioners Bill
• DEAT Biodiversity Bill
• DPLG Traditional Leadership and Governance
  Framework Bill
• DTI IKS and IPR Policy
• DST Project on Development of a Traditional
  Medicines Database for South Africa
• MRC Mapping of Traditional Healers in South
  Africa, starting with Kwazulu-Natal

11
Contribution of Indigenous Knowledge to the
economy

• In South Africa IKS are owned by and provide
  services to disadvantaged people who are prone to
  unemployment.
• Consideration is given to the role that IKS can
  play in employment creation, poverty alleviation
  and technology transfer.
• In deploying the economic potential of IKS, three
  main factors are considered the creation of
  incentive mechanisms to promote IKS innovation
  the promotion of IKS in the context of
  sustainable development, the promotion of IKS as
  an employment creator.

12
Interfacing with other knowledge systems

• International trade in genetic resources involves
  high economic stakes today eg. the sale of drugs
  based on traditional medicines alone amounts to
  over US 32 billion a year.
• From the perspective of national competitiveness,
  systems of knowledge that are less accessible to
  others offer a potential competitive advantage.

13
IKS AND THE POLICY POSITION ON THE NATIONAL
SYSTEM OF ED AND INNOVATION FOR SOUTH AFRICA 

• The policy emphasizes the importance of the
  integration of IKS in Education and the necessity
  for the closer working relations between DST and
  DOE on IKS and the curriculum.
• Although it would be ideal for IKS to become
  holistically integrated into mainstream
  Innovation Systems, a first step would be to
  ensure the development of adequate government
  intervention on behalf of IKS, in establishing
  the infrastructure .

14
STAKEHOLDERS

• Role of the Private Sector-capacity building
  developments
• Role of Traditional Leaders -recognition afforded
  by the Constitution and other legislation
  unfolding in South Africa
• Role of IKS Holders- holders of core competencies
  and knowledge, includes local farmers, elders,
  traditional healers etc
• Role of Women in IKS -as repositories of a large
  part of IK . It is envisaged that the SA
  Reference Group on Women in ST will create a
  focal point on Women and IK.

15
INSTITUTIONAL FRAMEWORK

• A National Office on IKS -as a possible precursor
  to an IKS regulatory mechanisms, initially housed
  at DST.
• A National Advisory Committee -to support the
  department in policy analysis as well as in
  respect of advice on all matters on IKS.

16
THE PRINCIPLES FOR FUNDING IKS

• It is recognised that IK system outputs and IK
  policy objectives are strongly facilitated by
  appropriate funding instruments.
• Funding in research is to receive priority.
• Establishment of the IKS Fund

17
IKS FUNDING

• Allocation of ring-fenced funds to the NRF since
  2000
• Review of the IKS activities at the NRF in March
  2004
• DST and NRF to meet soon to explore the
  recommendations of the Review Panel and determine
  the way forward.
• iIKSSA Seed funding since 2002/2003 Financial
  Year

18
INTERNATIONAL AND NATIONAL IMPERATIVES

• Integrating IKS Policy with other national
  Policies.
• Protection of IKS- in terms of intellectual
  property rights
• Institutional Infrastructure- WIPO, ARIPO

19
INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENTS IN IKS

• There is an increasing international trend
  towards recognizing the value of IK and the
  advantages it provides.
• BRAZIL, INDIA and the PHILIPPINES (and other
  countries) recognize, respect and protect
  indigenous community's rights with respect to
  traditional knowledge associated to genetic
  resources.
• The World Intellectual Property Organization
  (WIPO) has organized a series of meetings of the
  Intergovernmental Committee (IGC) on Intellectual
  Property and Genetic Resources, Traditional
  Knowledge and Folklore Meetings
• In March 2004 the Africa Group made a proposal
  about the principles and elements of an
  international instrument on intellectual property
  at the Intergovernmental Committee (IGC) on
  Intellectual Property and Genetic Resources,
  Traditional Knowledge and Folklore at the World
  Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO)

20
INVOLVEMENT OF OTHER GOVERNMENT DEPARTMENTS

• Department of Trade and Industry
• Department of Arts and Culture
• Department of Agriculture
• Department of Health
• Department of Environmental Affairs and Tourism
• Department of Education
• Department of Foreign affairs
• Department of Land Affairs
• Department of Provincial and Local Government
• Department of Water Affairs and Forestry
• Department of Sports and Recreation
• Interdepartmental Committee on IKS has been in
  place since 2002

21
CAPACITY BUILDING AND HUMAN RESOURCE DEVELOPMENT

• Development of IKS Human Resource Capacity
• Links with the National Innovation strategy
• Equity through redress
• Public understanding and awareness of of IKS

22
ESTABLISHMENT, OPERATION AND MAINTENANCE OF
IKS 

• Databases
• Role of Libraries
• Museums
• Oral forms of IK
• IKS Laboratories
• IKS Centres

23
CONCLUSION

• IKS offers many opportunities to SA and its
  people
• - Poverty Reduction
• - Innovation in various fields
• - Competitiveness
• SA has already made progress in developing IKS
  related legislation. The Policy will help to
• - coordinate focus of initiatives
• - create appropriate linkages
• - lead to improved impact
• IKS Policy will guide and add to regional,
  continental and international collaborations and
  initiatives, e.g. SADC, NEPAD, IBSA