THE BIOPIRACY OF TRADITIONAL KNOWLEDGE IN THE FACE OF THE (IN)EFFECTIVENESS OF PUBLIC POLICIES TO PROTECT INTANGIBLE PROPERTY IN BRAZIL

Abstract

This article arises from an analysis of the protection of knowledge of traditional Brazilian peoples and communities, considered an intangible cultural heritage, target of the practice called biopiracy. The work aims to analyze the Brazilian legal institutes that protect the knowledge of traditional Brazilian peoples and communities, as well as to carry out a critical analysis of the problem of biopiracy of the ancestral knowledge dominated by these communities. In this sense, the starting point is the following problem: To what extent do Brazilian public policies protect the ancestral knowledge of traditional peoples and communities in the face of the advance of global biopiracy? For the development and structuring of the text, the approach was through the deductive method, using the systemic-complex approach as a method, given the transdisciplinary nature of the theme. As for the method of procedure, bibliographical research was used. As a final result, it is clear that Brazil lacks an analysis of protective legislation on the subject and effective combat against biopiracy.

Key-words: Traditional Peoples and Communities. Biopiracy. Neocolonialism. Intangible Cultural Property.