Introduction to Hoodia Gordonii
The San of Southern Africa have collected and used the Hoodia gordonia
succulent for centuries. WIMSA, a San-owned regional networking
organisation, learnt in 2001 that the Council for Scientific and
Industrial Research (CSIR) based in Pretoria, South Africa, had
identified the active ingredient of the Hoodia. San representatives
expressed concern that the CSIR had not consulted them before registering
the research on the Hoodia for patenting, and passing the findings
of their tests on to the pharmaceutical companies Phytopharm in
the UK and Pfizer in the USA. With the assistance of their legal
advisor the San entered into negotiations with the CSIR, which resulted
in a memorandum of understanding and a benefit-sharing workshop,
which was held recently. A mutual understanding between all stakeholders
has been established in this project, the first of its kind, with
a firm commitment to sharing the benefits of the future success
of the Hoodia patent with the San.
San and the Hoodia
Since 1999 WIMSA has been undertaking a Regional Oral Testimony
Collection Project in close co- operation with other San organisations
and their support organisations. San themselves conduct, tape and
transcribe interviews relating to San history. Over 200 interviews
have already been conducted. A number of male and female respondents
refer to the San's knowledge of medicinal plants, and some refer
to the Hoodia.
San elderly and youth alike have elaborated on the use of the succulent,
various species of which grow in sandy or rocky areas in Angola,
Namibia, Botswana and South Africa.
The ||Anikhwe of northern Botswana feed children who "eat too much"
pieces of Hoodia to make them eat less. If this practice is carried
out for longer than three months, the child could die, so Hoodia
must be used with caution.
The Hai||om of northern Namibia still use Hoodia sap to treat allergic
reactions in the eyes, and to treat severe stomach pain they boil
Hoodia pieces in water and drink the brew.
The ‡Khomani of north-western South Africa also refer to aforesaid
practices. Already decades ago obese members of the ‡Khomani community
were eating the Hoodia to slim down. (In the old days people consumed
the plant to meet the requirements of a healthy body whereas today
overweight young people do so to slim down to meet the requirements
of fashion.)
All San communities interviewed - including the !Xun and Khwe who
hail from Angola and now live in Schmidtsdrift in South Africa -
stated that San hunters suppressed their hunger and maintained their
energy levels on their two to three-day hunting trips by eating
a slice of Hoodia twice a day. The plant had the same effect on
the hunting dogs. Every generation in all San communities has passed
the knowledge of the Hoodia on to the next generation despite such
evils as apartheid, which denied the San pride in their culture.
Benefit-sharing
Most San communities enjoy extensive sharing of resources and thus
have not withheld their knowledge of the Hoodia and other plants
from other ethnic groups. We have come to realise, however, that
we need to protect our intellectual property, and we have taken
measures to prevent further exploitation and ensure benefit- sharing
amongst our peoples.
It was of critical importance to the San that the CSIR acknowledged
that our traditional knowledge regarding the Hoodia was the original
source leading eventually to the approval of the patent in 1995.
At the last WIMSA General Assembly meeting the San delegates appointed
the South African San Council to negotiate with the CSIR on behalf
of all San in the region. The first round of negotiations between
the South African San Council and the CSIR led to the signing of
a memorandum of understanding in which the CSIR acknowledges the
San's prior intellectual property rights in respect of the Hoodia.
The council also undertakes in the memorandum to negotiate a benefit-sharing
agreement to take effect if the plant reaps success in the marketplace.
The General Assembly agreed that future benefits deriving from
the Hoodia will be shared equally by the Sanin all countries in
which they live, namely South Africa, Namibia, Botswana, Angola,
Zambia and Zimbabwe. The San are aware of the complexities arising
from the CSIR's association with international commercial partners,
and do not wish to threaten the viability of the planned commercial
undertaking.
At a workshop on benefit-sharing held recently it was decided that
the relationship between the CSIR and the San should involve not
only monetary `sharing', but also sharing knowledge. It was also
agreed that the Department of Arts, Culture, Science and Technology
(DACST) will provide information to the San on the patenting of
all South African plants internationally.
Recommendations
The representatives of WIMSA, the South African San Council and
the CSIR present at the above-mentioned workshop recommended the
following:
The Government of South Africa should direct more attention and
resources to support indigenous communities who are directly responsible
for the creation, maintenance, custodianship and development of
their own indigenous knowledge.
The need for vigorous formal consultation with San should be attended
to. This would help to alleviate the perception of the lack of consideration,
and to protect indigenous knowledge across regions. The San have
for example not yet been consulted by the South African Government
with regard to the proposed laws on biodiversity and benefit-sharing.
DACST should extend co-operation and support for a regional initiative
for awareness-raising, initially by means of a regional conference.
The San hope that their recommendations will be taken seriously,
and that they will be acted on in the near future.
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