Pueblos Indígenas y Biotecnologías: aspectos jurídicos

About three hundred millions indigenous are living all around the world. Throughout the centuries they have been developing a deep and special relationship with the environment, the earth and natural resources in general, which are indispensable elements for their survival, as sources of life, socio cultural links and spiritual wellness. Sustainable development and the maintenance of biodiversity have been granted for ages thanks to the traditional customs and knowledge of indigenous peoples. Nowadays, there is a spread diffusion of biotechnologies and an ever increasing exploitation of natural resources (generally found in lands which are properties of indigenous communities or that are related to traditional indigenous knowledge) by pharmaceutical and food corporations, without prior informed consent of the involved indigenous communities neither an equitable following sharing of economical benefits. Those phenomena are raising some interesting and complicated questions about the relationship between indigenous peoples and biotechnologies. During the last years, international law has been trying to address these questions, even if until now there has been scarce or nonexistent consideration for the need to harmonize two antithetical views of the world (individual and collective). Nonetheless, some interesting original proposals have been put forward and they are (together with a general overview of the historical development of the issue) the subject of the present paper.