Document Traditional Knowledge

News
By Hazel Sujatha, Eastern Times, 12/12/07
KUCHING: Traditional knowledge can bring much benefit to the community and the country including through tourism when it is used by modern industries and R&D activities.
State Secretary and Sarawak Biodiversity Chairman, Datuk Amar Wilson Baya Dandot said this when launching the Traditional Knowledge Documentation Seminar at the Sarawak Biodiversity Centre near here, yesterday.
He pointed out that Sarawak was truly unique as it is located in one of the 12 mega diverse regions in the world and is blessed with some of the most unique, magnificent and rare plants and animals not found anywhere else.
“It is estimated that there are more than 8,000 species of flowering plants, 2,000 species of vertebrates, 10,000 species of invertebrates, 615 species of ferns and 4,500 species of fungi in the state. Currently, 1,500 plant species have been documented as medicinal plants. This shows that there is a huge potential among these species to be developed as herbal/medicinal plants,” Wilson said.
“With more than 30 indigenous communities in Sarawak, we have right in our doorstep, an abundance of Traditional Knowledge on how our communities have utilised all these plants for medicinal, cosmetics and general well being for generations,” he pointed out.
Traditional knowledge, he said had contributed to the development of modern agriculture, natural products and drug development as many of the products found in the market today were based on information derived from traditional knowledge.
The local indigenous communities have for generations learnt and handed down their knowledge on what varieties of crops to plant, when to sow and weed, which plants are poisonous and which can be used as medicine, how to cure diseases and at the same time, manage the environment in a sustainable and balanced manner.
Such traditional knowledge is often passed down from generation to generation orally and rarely in any form of formal documentation.
He said that traditional knowledge that had been retained by the indigenous communities was slowly disappearing.
Wilson also noted that many communities had started to document their respective traditional knowledge particularly to safeguard the valuable heritage and to ensure that their knowledge was rightly acknowledged if used in some way or another to produce a commercial or medical product.
He said that the first workshop on Traditional Knowledge Documentation which was jointly organised by SBC, Majlis Adat Istiadat and Biodiversity was held in November 2001. One of the outputs of the workshop was to appoint a Bidayuh community village to pioneer the pilot project and for on-site training.
Due to the success of these pilot projects and acceptance by the communities, the State Government amended the Sarawak Biodiversity Centre Ordinance in 2003 to include additional function for SBC.
With the amendment, SBC is to facilitate the documentation of the traditional uses of the State’s rich biodiversity by the local indigenous communities.
To date, Wilson said that SBC had started the Traditional Knowledge Documentation project among 12 indigenous communities in 28 locations throughout the State.
“From these 28 locations, they have documented over 2,000 plants with various uses such as to cure ailments and used for handicrafts,” he said.
He stressed that these knowledge must be documented before it was lost with the older people within the community.
He pointed out that currently, SBC was conducting R&D on selected plants that have been documented from the indigenous communities. They have identified essential oil plants which have anti-microbial properties. These plants could be developed as the active ingredient for healthcare products such as in hand wash, body shampoos and soaps.
He revealed that SBC was looking into collaboration with SIRIM and other organisations to conduct further R&D and to develop healthcare products from these essential oils.
With these potentials, our communities can have an immediate economic benefit through carrying out contract farming on plants which have been identified to have potential for further R&D work or products development, he said.
At the National level, Malaysian Intellectual Property Organization (MYIPO) is looking into protecting the country’s traditional knowledge.
He said that MYIPO has set up a committee to look into the drafting of the National Legislation to protect Traditional Knowledge. They are also looking into developing a Traditional Knowledge Digital Library.
MYIPO will organise a National Seminar on Traditional Knowledge in January 2008 to discuss matters pertaining to the development of the National Legislation and Traditional Knowledge Digital Library.
This seminar will be supported by the World Intellectual Property Organisation. As a member of the committee, SBC has strongly requested that opinions and suggestions of the indigenous communities be included when drafting the National Legislation.
SBC also requests assistance from MYIPO to fund a few representatives from the ethnic communities to participate in the National Seminar, he further added.
The objective of this seminar, he said was to learn how best to document the rich heritage of the indigenous communities to ensure that it is handed down to future generations.
He hoped that representatives from each community would take the initiative to start documenting traditional knowledge by using the systems which SBC had implemented within the communities.
This reinforces the urgent need for awareness and full participation from everyone within the communities to document their respective traditional knowledge as their heritage so that it will not be lost.
The workshop speakers included Dr Paul Quek from Biodiversity International, Universiti Sarawak Malaysia (Unimas) Head of the Plant science and Environmental Ecology Department, Associate Professor Dr Cheksum Tawan, Universiti Putera Malaysia lecturer, Sinsoon Jabu and a researcher Voon Boon Hoe.

I uploaded this piece of news because i feel sad that nearly all the traditional knowledge of the local community would be lost forever if nothing is being down to document them. Kudos to those involved, I regretted that i didn't spend time with my late grandfather. He was a very hardworking farmer, quiet but kindhearted.

God bless your soul, tepu'