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given various constraints, including the conflicting demands on limited land for which priorities sometimes are given to economic development,177 it is not always the case with legal guarantee over the rights associated with land, forest and other resources of ethnic minorities. Therefore, TKaGRs holders may not always be the holders of land use rights that define the right to manage GRs to which such knowledge is linked.
4.2. Overview of TKaGRs in Vietnam
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GRs is associated with the wealth of TKaGRs. According to the focus of know-how and skills, TKaGRs can be categorized into four following groups:
Group 1 - TKaGRs on conservation and management of natural resources. This group of knowledge shows experiences, initiatives and practices of local peoples in management and protection of forests, drainage and living water resources, animal and plant genetic resources associated with local people’s lives and subsistence.
Group 2 - TKaGRs on agro-forestry production. This group of knowledge includes experiences, initiatives and practices of local peoples on grasping natural principles of climate, soil, growing characteristics of plant varieties for cultivation; methods of farming and husbandry; methods of exploiting and using plants, animals for food; breeding and domesticating precious and endemic plants and animals…
Group 3 – TKaGRs on traditional crafts. This group of knowledge includes experiences, initiatives and practices of local peoples in using biological resources to make traditional handicraft products, such as making brocade weaving from flax fiber; pillows and mattresses from bong lau plant (Saccharum Arundinaceum Retz).
Group 4 – TKaGRs on traditional knowledge on medication, nutrition and human health care. This group of knowledge reflects experiences, initiatives and practices of local peoples in using biological resources for medical treatment and health care.
Living in harmony with the nature, ethnic groups in Vietnam through generations have accumulated and developed experiences and initiatives on the conservation and use of genetic resources to adapt to natural conditions and serve the needs of life and development.
TKaGRs, as an intellectual product of ethnic groups, embodies an essential element of communities’ sustainable livelihoods, and has tremendously contributed to the society at large in all ecological, socio-economic and scientific perspectives.
Within the local setting, TKaGRs plays an active function in improving livelihoods of ethnic minorities and local communities. In the traditionally self-sufficient model, TKaGRs takes its dominant roles in every aspect of life. It may be illustrated by various
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well-known local experiences, such as roofing of Rong houses from grass (in the Central Highland), weaving from flax (in Ha Giang province), using medicinal plants as medicines (in almost all ethnic minorities in mountainous areas). In recent decades, fostered by the demand of the market-oriented economy, communities have been taking advantage of TKaGRs to bring products, such as Seng Cu rice, Bo khai vegetables, Sang vegetables and H'Mong cucumbers, to the market. Besides, utilizing TKaGRs in developing the model of farming and tourism has become a popular trend.179
For the society at large, the contribution of TKaGRs to conservation and sustainable development of natural resources, especially genetic resources, is an undeniable fact. TK on forest protection of ethnic minorities in mountainous areas of Vietnam, among others, serves as an evidence for ecological value of TKaGRs.180 Additionally, TKaGRs also makes a considerable contribution to the richness of GRs, exemplified by numerous rare and endemic gene resources conserved and developed by ethnic and local communities, such as H'mong pigs, Tap na pigs, Te chickens, white horses, six-fingered chickens, Dom duck ...
Finally, but not less important, an increasing number of modern products bearing TKaGRs’ footprints proves an essential part of TKaGRs in modern sciences and developmental activities. Examples may be found in various cases, such as Ampelop - for treatment of stomachache - developed from medicinal properties of Che day plant - traditionally used by the Tay ethnic minority in Cao Bang province; Berberine Chloride –
179 Oxfam. Report Models of poverty reduction in some selected ethnic minority communities in Vietnam: Case studies in Ha Giang, Nghe An and Dac Nong Province within the project “Participatory Poverty Monitoring” implemented by AAV và Oxfam from 2007 to 2013, http://www.actionaid.org/sites/files/actionaid/mo_hinh_giam_ngheo_tai_mot_so_cong_dong_dan_toc_t hieu_so_dien_hinh_o_viet_nam.pdf. (Last visited August 10, 2019).
180 See Cultural Identity and Resource Use Management (CIRUM). Report Roles of Local Customs in Management and Conservation of Forest and Water Resources, February 2011, http://cirum.org/vn/documents/127-vai-tro-cua-luat-tuc-va-tap-quan-trong-quan-ly-su-dung-tai-nguyen-rung-va-nuoc.html (Last visited August 10, 2019).
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for treatment of intestinal diseases - extracted from Vang dang plants of Ba Na ethnic minorities in the Central Highland.181
4.2.2. Threats of loss
Since the last few decades, TKaGRs has been facing the danger of getting loss, which may be attributed to different reasons, including:
- The introduction of modern science and technology leads to changes in lifestyles, farming practices, animal husbandry, health care options of ethnic minorities and local communities.
- Endemic genetic resources face degradation due to illegal exploitation and trade, mismanagement of genetic resources, uncontrolled-exploitation by a part of ethnic minorities in response to the needs of livelihoods, etc. When the genetic resources associated with TKaGRs are no longer available, TKaGRs resultantly disappears.
- Some secrete TKaGRs faces very high risk of getting loss due to its restricted transmission. Moreover, in modern society, young generations are less interested in TKaGRs, therefore not everyone maintains secrete TKaGRs of his/her family.
- Policies on land and forest allocation have a great impact on this matter. In fact, not all TKaGRs holding communities are assigned forest or land use rights with which the right to manage genetic resources is associated. Furthermore, under the impacts of the market economy, land and forests under the use of communities may be recovered to serve
181 Vu, V. H. et al., Traditional Knowledge on Healthcare in Communities－from the Perspective of the Policy on Management, Utilization and Conservation [Tri thức truyền thống/bản địa về chăm sóc sức khỏe tại cộng đồng －Góc nhìn từ chính sách quản lý sử dụng, ứng dụng và bảotồn], paper presented at the Workshop “Policy Consultation for Conservation and Utilization of TraditionalMedical Knowledge in Healthcare” [Tham vấn xác định chính sách nhằm bảo tồn và ứng dụng tri thức truyền thống, nguồn gen dược liệu của Việt Nam trong chăm sóc sức khỏe], held on June 9, 2018 in Hoa Binh province, Vietnam.
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development projects, resulting in loss of control over genetic resources associated with TKaGRs
- Lack of appropriate legal mechanism for protection is also a cause leading to the loss of TKaGRs. Since the rights and interests of TKaGRs holders have not been guaranteed by a sufficient legal framework, holders have no motivation to preserve and share their TKaGRs.