To introduce this collection of chapters, we explore the “biological diversity/
cultural diversity” nexus against the backdrop of biocultural community
protocols (BCPs) and biocultural rights. BCPs and biocultural rights signal the
development of biocultural approaches in biodiversity conservation. However,
by no means, they can be confined to the sphere of conservation. They speak
to the heart of sovereignty and the politics of identity, as much as they have a
bearing on land claims and touch upon issues that we may venture to place under
the heading of political ontology. The coming together of BCPs and biocultural
rights, the success of which is in large part credited to the lawyer and activist
Kabir Bavikatte (Bavikatte, 2014), shows that we are treading new ground. In the
Mo’otz Kuxtal Voluntary Guidelines, (Biocultural) Community Protocols (CPs)
are broadly defined as a
[…] term that covers a broad array of expressions, articulations, rules and
practices generated by communities to set out how they expect other
stakeholders to engage with them. They may reference customary as well
as national or international laws to affirm their rights to be approached
according to a certain set of standards. Articulating information, relevant
factors, and details of customary laws and traditional authorities helps other
stakeholders to better understand the community’s values and customary
laws. Community protocols provide communities an opportunity to focus
on their development aspirations vis-a-vis their rights and to articulate for
themselves and for users their understanding of their bio-cultural heritage and therefore on what basis they will engage with a variety of stakeholders. By considering the interconnections of their land rights, current
socio-economic situation, environmental concerns, customary laws and
1
COMMUNITY PROTOCOLS AND
BIOCULTURAL RIGHTS
Unravelling the Biocultural Nexus in ABS
Fabien Girard, Ingrid Hall and Christine Frison
1
DOI: 10.4324/9781003172642-1
cultural diversity” nexus against the backdrop of biocultural community
protocols (BCPs) and biocultural rights. BCPs and biocultural rights signal the
development of biocultural approaches in biodiversity conservation. However,
by no means, they can be confined to the sphere of conservation. They speak
to the heart of sovereignty and the politics of identity, as much as they have a
bearing on land claims and touch upon issues that we may venture to place under
the heading of political ontology. The coming together of BCPs and biocultural
rights, the success of which is in large part credited to the lawyer and activist
Kabir Bavikatte (Bavikatte, 2014), shows that we are treading new ground. In the
Mo’otz Kuxtal Voluntary Guidelines, (Biocultural) Community Protocols (CPs)
are broadly defined as a
[…] term that covers a broad array of expressions, articulations, rules and
practices generated by communities to set out how they expect other
stakeholders to engage with them. They may reference customary as well
as national or international laws to affirm their rights to be approached
according to a certain set of standards. Articulating information, relevant
factors, and details of customary laws and traditional authorities helps other
stakeholders to better understand the community’s values and customary
laws. Community protocols provide communities an opportunity to focus
on their development aspirations vis-a-vis their rights and to articulate for
themselves and for users their understanding of their bio-cultural heritage and therefore on what basis they will engage with a variety of stakeholders. By considering the interconnections of their land rights, current
socio-economic situation, environmental concerns, customary laws and
1
COMMUNITY PROTOCOLS AND
BIOCULTURAL RIGHTS
Unravelling the Biocultural Nexus in ABS
Fabien Girard, Ingrid Hall and Christine Frison
1
DOI: 10.4324/9781003172642-1