The Community-to-Community Exchange and Capacity Development Workshop for Traditional Knowledge Holders was held on 28th September to 4th October 2015, in Bengaluru, India and 100 delegates from Africa, South East Asia and the Central Asia gathered to highlight the importance of fostering the linkages between biodiversity and health and the relevance of Access and Benefit Sharing (ABS). UNU-IAS and UNDP among others were co-organizers of this important event.

Nine major highlights emerged from this event:

(1) Common sense on the potential of Access and Benefit Sharing as a tool for conservation of ecosystems, protection of traditional knowledge and creating sustainable livelihoods.

(2) International knowledge exchange and sharing ideas on how to tap into the potential of Access and Benefit Sharing.

(3) Innovative documentation and assessment approaches of traditional knowledge and practices.

(4) Innovative approaches to conserve biodiversity ex-situ and in-situ.

(5) Enterprise development based on sustainable resource management and protection of traditional knowledge.

(6) Biocultural Community Protocols (BCPs) as a useful tool to protect the customary values, rights and rules about bio-cultural heritage.

(7) Sharing Access and Benefit Sharing experiences and Capacity Development approaches from African countries.

(8) Implementation is key!

(9) Looking beyond 2015 – building alliances to take further steps for South-South Cooperation.

For a more detailed report of the event, please click here.