Kenya loses heavily in global theft of flora and fauna, says new report

Kenya is among African nations losing billions of shillings through bio-pirates, an international report indicates, as the world observes the Intellectual Property Day on Tuesday.

Bio-pirates are international organisations that poach for monetary gain naturally growing plants and own the medicinal, chemical, horticultural and any other derivative products without the country of origin benefiting.

US-based Edmonds Institute in its 2009 publication lists Kenya among African countries that have lost more than 30 rights in medical, horticultural and cosmetic products to Western bio-pirates.

The report states that, in 2004, British scientists worked with a US firm to “poach” a microbe that is found in the caustic lakes of Kenya’s Rift Valley and which is behind the manufacture of the highly popular faded jeans.

When jeans are soaked into this microbe, an enzyme that ‘eats’ the indigo dye is produced, giving them a naturally faded look.

The report estimates that the company — which has vigorously denied the “poach” charges — has so far made more than $1 million (approximately Sh84 million) in sales to detergent makers and textile firms out of which Kenya gained nothing.

“This is both an environmental and economic crime that reeks of colonial pillaging. Western corporations reap large profits by taking out patents on indigenous materials from developing countries and turning them into obscene profit businesses out of which none of the financial benefits are shared with the country of origin,” the report says.

The director of communications in the Ministry of Trade, Mr John Kamuto, says that the issue is of great concern, noting that the government is aware of the economic threat.

“It will require vast research endeavours, but we are up to the task. We will identify a mechanism of profiling the species of value and patent them,” Mr Kamuto says.

Given that Kenya invests only 0.3 of GDP into research, the task towards this drive looks like a tall order.

The Edmonds Institute’s report cautions that it is a must that African Bushmen forge a benefit-sharing agreement that will see the tribe that lives around the valued flora collect a small share of any profits the “poachers” rake in.

The report lists Libya to have suffered the loss of Artemisia judaica, which has been used to develop a diabetes drug in Britain.

According to Mr Alex Wijeratna, who is an anti-piracy campaigner with ActionAid, the whole scenario is testimony of “economic theft against the African Continent.”