This Is MS Multiple Sclerosis Community: Knowledge & Support

i'm so excited, i just got home from a symposium in toronto to the news in my email that i landed a summer placement with environment canada's biodiversity convention office! and i might even get to work on article 8j, omg i envisioned working on this stuff when i applied to the program - and it's all coming true!!!!!!!!!!! wheeeeeeeeeeeee!

Congratulations JL! That is excellent. I'm probably going to be looking for a new job here soon as my industry in the midwest is really drying up (automotive component manufacture). BTW, what is article 8j? I am just curious.

Lew

Great news Jimmy. Really positive.
muu

congrats there jimmy good luck with the job

chris

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waiting for answers

hey thanks all i feel good about it for sure.

okay so to answer your question loobie, first there was the 1992 united nations conference on environment and development (earth summit) which affirmed the sustainable development paradigm in the UN context, via the rio declaration. binding agreements were signed including the convention on climate change and the convention on biological diversity. so now canada has a biological diversity convention office which reports to Conferences of the Parties regarding progress towards targets set out in the various articles. article 8(j) of the convention on biological diversity states:

Article 8. In-situ Conservation
Each Contracting Party shall, as far as possible and as appropriate:
(j) Subject to its national legislation, respect, preserve and maintain knowledge, innovations and practices of indigenous and local communities embodying traditional lifestyles relevant for the conservation and sustainable use of biological diversity and promote their wider application with the approval and involvement of the holders of such knowledge, innovations and practices and encourage the equitable sharing of the benefits arising from the utilization of such knowledge, innovations and practices;

so, that's 8j!

That’s wonderful news Jimmylegs! Congratulations!

thanks!

It sounds like Article 8J will be relevant to helping out with the problem of Bioprospecting that I posted about earlier. I'm all for having pharmaceutical companies (and others as well) give back and help the indigenous peoples from whom medicinal knowledge is often stolen for profit.

NHE

absolutely! biopiracy sucks. i have read of its being referred to as colonization of knowledge.