5.24. The representative of Peru said that biological diversity was one of the main pillars of the Peruvian economy. Some 99% of Peru's fishing activities depended on hydrobiological resources, 65% of its agricultural production was based on native genetic resources, 95% of its livestock farming used native natural pastures, and 99% of its forestry industry used native woodland and species. Moreover, biological diversity was an important source of direct employment and livelihood for a large part of Peru's population. That was why Peru was pushing for an amendment to the TRIPS Agreement that would bring it into line with the provisions of the CBD, thereby providing Peru with an international instrument that would establish firm rules with which to fight against biopiracy.
5.25. He said that a requirement for multilateral and mandatory disclosure would be the most effective way to address the international problem of misappropriation of genetic resources and traditional knowledge, as it would allow all countries to identify the country supplying the biological resource by requiring patent applicants to disclose the country of origin and provide evidence of compliance with prior informed consent and benefit sharing. That conviction, in addition to the need to improve the system so as to prevent biopiracy and system misuse to the detriment of developing countries, had prompted Peru to co‑sponsor, with some 110 Members, document TN/C/W/52, and to submit, in conjunction with a considerable number of other delegations, document TN/C/W/59 on enhancing the relationship between the TRIPS Agreement and the CBD, through which Peru was seeking to protect access to or use of its genetic resources with a view to ensuring that they were used sustainably and to the benefit of all Peruvians and particularly the indigenous communities. Inclusion of the disclosure of origin requirement would ensure recognition of the legitimate rights of peoples over their genetic resources.
5.26. Peru was fully convinced of the importance of the IP system as a tool for economic, social and cultural development, and therefore attached such importance to that issue as one of the outstanding implementation-related issues mentioned in paragraph 12 of the Doha Declaration. In his view, only a balanced result that dealt with the problem of biopiracy would enable Members to establish a proper balance in the patent system and in the IP system in general for the benefit of all, particularly the local and indigenous communities of developing countries.
5.27. He supported the proposal that WIPO report on the IGC's progress in the Council. He said that the IGC of 4-8 February 2013 meeting had resulted in a revised version of the text that would be used as the basis for IGC negotiations on genetic resources and associated traditional knowledge. That text, which incorporated the various viewpoints of proponents and demandeurs was, despite some remaining differences of opinion, a fundamental step forward in that process, as it allowed Members, for the first time in over a decade of negotiations, to envisage, with cautious optimism, the real possibility of convening a diplomatic conference in the not too distant future.
5.28. In that context, as one of the 17 countries in the world that were considered mega-diverse, Peru believed that those negotiations should take into consideration the following points. Firstly, the inclusion of the concept of "derivatives" of genetic resources as protected subject matter. More than 60% of patents in the world of biotechnology, pharmaceuticals and cosmetics, etc. were awarded to inventions based on products derived from genetic resources, which meant it would be of little use to protect only the genetic resources as such. Second, it should be ensured that the requirement to disclose the origin of the genetic resource and/or its derivatives and associated traditional knowledge in a patent application was clear and expressly recognized. Thirdly, this disclosure requirement should also oblige the patent applicant to present the respective access contract for the genetic resource concerned, as well as the formal agreement with the respective local communities, where appropriate.
