Photo：Guenay Ulutuncok

Photo：Li Qingsong

What is traditional knowledge？

This term “traditional knowledge” encompasses the knowledge，innovations and practices of indigenous and local communities embodying traditional lifestyles that are of importance for the preservation and sustainable use of biological diversity. This knowledge，which has been developed over the centuries，is a collective asset of the local communities；it is passed on from generation to generation in such forms as stories，songs，cultural values，traditional laws，local languages，rituals，medical lore and agricultural practices.

Indigenous people and traditional local communities often have a profound understanding of their environment and its ecology. They know numerous ways of using wild plants and animals，for example as food，medicine and dyes. Different cultivation techniques have been developed for a large number of useful plants. This knowledge is an important foundation for the conservation and sustainable use of global biodiversity.

There are close links between cultural and biological diversity. Indigenous peoples suffer from the destruction of the environments in which they live，from being uprooted or displaced and from losing their identity；as a result there is a threat that this great wealth of traditional knowledge will be lost to these peoples themselves and humanity as a whole. At the UN Conference for Environment and Development in Rio de Janeiro in 1992 there was for the first time broad recognition of traditional knowledge. Under the Convention on Biological Diversity（CBD）contracting parties have pledged to recognise and promote traditional knowledge and to make it available for general use. Access to traditional knowledge must be based on the consent of the knowledge holders and their equitable participation in the benefits arising from the use of such knowledge. Traditional knowledge is often not confined within ethnic or geographical boundaries. In addition，biological resources and traditional knowledge are defined in the CBD as a collective asset. This contrasts with WTO usage，since the TRIPS Agreement（Trade Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights）defines private and individual rights to knowledge and intellectual property. The contradiction between the CBD and TRIPS is as yet unresolved.

Biodiversity and the Biodiversity Convention

The term “biological diversity”，or “biodiversity” for short，encompasses the diversity of life on Earth，ranging from genetic diversity and diversity of species to the diversity of ecosystems. The Convention on Biological Diversity（CBD）adopted in Rio de Janeiro in 1992 comprises three elements：the conservation of biological diversity，its sustainable use and the equitable sharing of benefits arising from such use. In the meantime，193 Parties have joined the Convention. By signing the Convention，Germany has agreed not only to conserve biodiversity on its own territory but also to support developing countries in implementing necessary measures.