1. Introduction
The Potato Park communities are deeply committed to the conservation of biocultural resources, associated
knowledge, and indigenous rights, and undertook the present project to further investigate the role of
customary norms and institutions in the protection of traditional knowledge (TK) and resources. The
development of a Biocultural Protocol, in the form of the Inter-community Agreement for Equitable Access
and Benefit Sharing, is the result of their efforts. In addition to providing a valuable example of effective
community-based protection of TK and genetic or biological resources in praxis, this initiative is also one of
only a handful of examples worldwide of working models that stem directly from customary laws and norms.
Given the present international paucity of models that adequately value and protect indigenous and local
community rights, biodiversity and customary norms and practices in relation to benefit sharing and access to
resources and knowledge – the present initiative may further serve as an example of best practice in relation
to the implementation of the Nagoya Protocol.
“Protecting Community Rights over Traditional Knowledge: Implications of Customary Norms and Practices”
is a research project conducted by the International Institute for Environment and Development (IIED) in five
countries: Peru, India, China, Kenya and Panama, with financial support provided by Canada’s International
Development Research Centre (IDRC), between 2005 and 2009. The project in Peru was jointly developed
with Asociación ANDES and the communities that make up the Potato Park in the Cusco region. Its main
objectives were to:
1) Protect the rights of the communities regarding their biological resource-related traditional knowledge, in
accordance with their customary laws and practices; and
2) Contribute to the debate within the CBD, Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), and World Intellectual
Property Organization (WIPO) through findings on the role of customary law in defining mechanisms for
equitable benefit sharing.
The present case study focuses on the project results for Peru, paying special attention to the experience
gained in developing the Inter-community Agreement for Equitable Access and Benefit Sharing among the
six communities of the Potato Park. The impetus for this agreement came with the signing of a repatriation
agreement between the Potato Park and the International Potato Centre (CIP) in 2004. A mechanism was
needed to ensure equitable sharing of the potato seeds and monetary benefits derived, and avoid potential
conflicts amongst the communities.
The study results demonstrate the need to adopt an innovative approach to the distribution of benefits – one
that takes into account indigenous perspectives as a starting point; and emphasises the holistic nature of
traditional knowledge systems by working with the corresponding customary laws of Indigenous Peoples.
This study also attempts to contribute to the construction of epistemological bridges between Indigenous and
Western societies, through sharing experiences, including experiences of overcoming obstacles, and ideas
about best practice in the design and implementation of a participatory, creative methodology and framework
for benefit sharing. The aforementioned methodology and framework were both developed inter-communally,
built from and by the respective communities.
Community Biocultural Protocols
1