Historical Facts

• In 1992, during Eco-92 in Rio de Janeiro, the Convention on Biological Diversity was signed. The Convention aims, among others, at the regulation of access to biological resources and at sharing in a fair and equitable way the results of research and development and the benefits arising from the commercial utilization of genetic resources with the communities.

• In 1995, Senator Marina Silva (from 2003 on, Minister of Environment of Brazil) presented a law project to create legal mechanisms for practical arrangements according to the Convention on Biological Diversity.

• In December 2001, shamans of various indigenous peoples from Brazil formulated the Letter from São Luis do Maranhão, an important document for the World Intellectual Property Organization, questioning all forms of patents that derive from traditional knowledge.

• In may of 2002, ten years after Eco-92, the workshop "Growing Diversity" took place in Rio Branco, Acre. The event was organized by the international NGO GRAIN in partnership with the NGO GTA-Acre. 100 representatives of farmers, fishermen, indigenous people, extrativists, craftsmen and NGOs of 32 countries of Asia, Africa and Latin America, participated in this event. They formulated the "Commitment of Rio Branco", alerting the world on the serious threat of biopiracy and requiring, among others, that life patents and any form of intellectual property on biodiversity and traditional knowledge should be banned.