protecting intellectual property and the environmental ... › law › newsfeatures › law program...

Saturday 23rd February 20199:00 am – 3:00 pm

Social Sciences Conference Lounge,The UWI, St. Augustine Campus

ProtectingIntellectual Property and

The Environmental Rightsof Indigenous Peoples

in Trinidad and Tobago

PROTECTING INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY AND THE ENVIRONMENTAL RIGHTS OF INDIGENOUS PEOPLES IN TRINIDAD AND TOBAGO

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WORKSHOP RATIONALEIt is now widely acknowledged that the indigenous peoples of our world have a unique and valuable approach to existence, which demonstrates creativity, conservation and utility, prioritising harmony with the environment and even a spiritual connection with the land. This is exhibited particularly in their agricultural, manufacturing and cultural practices, methods and products. Many of these important resources of indigenous peoples, tangible or intangible, have either been lost through plunder and exploitation, or remain vulnerable to extinction because of a failure to protect them for the benefit of mankind.

Like indigenous peoples of other lands, the First Peoples of Trinidad and Tobago have unique resources which include, inter alia, medicinal plants, ornamental plants, agricultural products and materials that could be used for construction and craft. They have also identified and designed a range of innovative conservation practices that can help to preserve our environment.

The workshop attempts to harness the traditional knowledge bases of our First Peoples by providing them with concrete tools of law, in particular, intellectual property rights and environmental rights, to better protect and preserve their own interests and resources. The intellectual property dimension will address the ways in which the First Peoples can effectively protect and exploit their creations. This will involve explanations of copyright, trademark, patent, geographical indications and traditional knowledge laws. In addition, the national and international legal principles of environmental rights will be examined, both as stand-alone rights and to locate the natural connection with the intellectual property of the First Peoples, given the growing realization of the ways in which natural resources contribute to the economic, cultural and spiritual well-being of these communities. Other practical, complementary skills to facilitate the development of small enterprises will also be covered.

This workshop also hopes to reach broader stakeholders in order to deepen their understanding of issues pertaining to the intellectual property rights and environmental rights of indigenous groups, with the overall intention of supporting Trinidad and Tobago’s indigenous communities in their efforts to protect these rights and improve their quality of life.


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Importantly, the Workshop addresses the gap left from the inadequate effort placed on protecting and leveraging the intellectual property and environmental rights of the country’s indigenous peoples so that natural resources can contribute more meaningfully and sustainably, not only to their livelihoods and cultures, but also to the national landscape. It hopes to promote the ways in which the useful resources of the First Peoples can be utilized for the benefit of the country and the wider region.

WORKSHOP OBJECTIVES1. Raise awareness about the range of unique knowledge systems and practices

related to natural resource use and products developed by indigenous groups in T&T;

2. Bring a wide stakeholder group together focusing on indigenous rights;

3. Build capacity and awareness about the laws and rights associated with intellectual property and the environment, specifically as they relate to indigenous peoples;

4. Raise awareness about challenges, opportunities and best practices related to micro-enterprise development in Trinidad and Tobago for the benefit of First Peoples;

5. Promote dialogue and strengthen partnerships in support of the rights of indigenous peoples in Trinidad and Tobago; and

6. Stimulate continued innovation suitable for enterprise among the First Peoples community, particularly utilizing environmentally sensitive approaches.


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8:30 – 9:00 a.m. WORKSHOP REGISTRATION

9:00 – 9:15 a.m. Contextualising Rights to Promote Meaningful Change for Indigenous Peoples in Trinidad and Tobago

Professor Rose-Marie Belle Antoine: Dean of the Faculty of Law, UWI, St. Augustine & President and Former Rapporteur on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples Inter-American Commission on Human Rights, (IACHR) OAS, Washington

9:15 – 9:25 a.m. Remarks from the Minister of Labour and Small Enterprise Development

Senator the Honourable Jennifer Baptiste Primus

9:25 – 9:45 a.m. Remarks from Indigenous Peoples’ Communities in Trinidad and Tobago

• Chief Ricardo Hernandez – Chief, Santa Rosa First Peoples Community

• Mr. Roger Belix – President, Partners For First Peoples Development

9:45 – 10:30 a.m. Traditional Medicines, Products and Practices of the Indigenous Peoples of Trinidad and Tobago

• Presentation: Traditional Medicines and Products of the Santa Rosa First Peoples (Mr. Cristo Adonis, Santa Rosa First Peoples Community) [10 mins]

• Presentation: Traditions of the Warao Nation (Mr. Rabina Shar, Spokesperson and Grand Chief for the Warao Nation) [10 mins]

Facilitated Discussion: Other traditional medicines, products and practices in Trinidad and Tobago


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10:30 – 10:45 a.m. COFFEE BREAK

10: 45 – 12:30 p.m. PANEL 1Protecting the Intellectual Property Rights of Indigenous Peoples; and Creating Opportunities for Sustainable Livelihoods

• The Importance of Intellectual Property Rights for the First Peoples (Dr. Justin Koo, The Faculty of Law, UWI, St. Augustine) [15 mins]

• The Protection of Traditional Medicine (Dr. Sharon Le Gall, The Faculty of Law, UWI, St. Augustine) [15 mins]

• The National Intellectual Property System: Options for Genetic Resources, Traditional Knowledge and Folklore (Mr. Richard Aching, Manager, Technical Examination Intellectual Property Office, Ministry of the Attorney General and Legal Affairs) [15 mins]

• Microfinancing as an Engine for Development in Rural Communities (Dr. Roger Hosein & Ms. Rebecca Gookool, The Department of Economics, UWI, St. Augustine) [15 mins]

Q&A [45 mins]

12:30 – 1:15 p.m. LUNCH


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1:15 – 2:30 p.m. PANEL 2Indigenous Peoples and the Environment: Understanding the links

• The Wisdom of Environmental Democracy: Three Legal Tools to Implement Transparency, Inclusiveness and Accountability (Mr. John Knechtle, The Faculty of Law, UWI, St. Augustine) [15 mins]

• Cultural heritage and territory. Resignifying Indigenous Rights (Ms. Elsy Curihuinca, Indigenous Attorney at the Rapporteurship on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples of the IACHR) [20 mins]

Q&A [40 mins]

2:30 – 3:00 p.m. Insights, lessons learned and the way forward (Professor Rose-Marie Belle Antoine)

3:00 p.m. ADJOURN


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SENATOR THE HONOURABLEJENNIFER BAPTISTE PRIMUSMrs. Jennifer Baptiste Primus entered the Parliament as a People’s National Movement Senator and was appointed the first, female Minister of Labour and Small Enterprise Development on Friday, September 11, 2015. Mrs. Baptiste Primus brings to the Office of the Minister of Labour and Small Enterprise Development a wealth of experience in

industrial relations and labour related issues. As a retired President of the Public Services Association of Trinidad and Tobago (PSA), she was the longest serving elected officer (1985-2009) in the PSA, since the introduction of the one man one vote system in 1981. To her credit, she was the first and only female Executive President of the PSA when she was elected to the post in November 1999 and remains the only female to have occupied such a position within the Trade Union Movement. Her assumption of the role of President of the PSA was at a crucial time for the Union as she worked assiduously with her Executive to bring the PSA to a place where it was debt free and strategically sound.

Whilst at the PSA, Mrs. Baptiste Primus played a pivotal role in fostering change in the local, industrial relations climate. Notably, Mrs. Baptiste-Primus is recognized for her roles in lobbying the Government to retain Clause 4 in the Sexual Offences Bill, which addressed the taboo issue of rape in marriage; for the implementation of programmes for training members within the Union; for the creation of the Dr. Kenrick Rennie Bursary, which was available to students both at the University of the West Indies or other tertiary level institutions and the representation of many Public Officers before the disciplinary tribunals of the Public Service Commission.

With her training from the Cipriani College of Labour and Co-operative Studies in Labour Studies and the George Meany College (USA) in Industrial Relations, Leadership in Trade Unions, Trade Unions Organizing, Train the Trainers Programmes and Succession Planning, Mrs. Baptiste-Primus is excited to execute the Government’s policies and plans, in consultation with all stakeholders, to ensure a consistent and peaceful industrial relations climate.


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PROFESSOR ROSE-MARIEBELLE ANTOINEDean of the Faculty of Law, Professor Rose-Marie Belle Antoine, attorney-at law, holds the Chair as Professor of Labour Law & Offshore Financial Law. Her career has embodied wide and diverse scholarly activity, public service, international consultancy and activism. She holds a doctorate in law from Oxford University, the LLM

from Cambridge and the LL.B. from the UWI. In 2011, Professor Antoine was elected by OAS states as a Commissioner to the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights, (IACHR), Washington and in 2015 was elected President of the IACHR. She was appointed Rapporteur for Indigenous Peoples, OAS and was also the Rapporteur for Persons of African Descent and the inaugural head of the Economic, Social and Cultural Rights Unit, OAS. Previously, Antoine was employed as a legal officer at the International Labour Office (ILO) in Geneva. In addition to international awards for her scholarly work, Antoine created history by winning the Vice Chancellor’s Regional Award for Excellence’s twice, for Research and Public Service respectively. In 2008 she was named as one of the outstanding 60 under 60 Academics by the UWI and honoured again as a distinguished UWI alumni in 2018. Antoine was the Distinguished Jurist for the Trinidad and Tobago judiciary (JEI) in 2017 and has lectured and presented at universities worldwide, including at Harvard, Cambridge and Oxford.

Professor Antoine has served as Team Leader or Sole Consultant, to all of the governments of the Commonwealth Caribbean, to the UK, Venezuela, USA, Canada, and to several international and regional organisations. These include the EU, OAS, IADB, the World Bank, CARICOM, OECS, UNICEF, ILO, UNIFEM, PanCap and UNDCP. She authored influential Reports and drafted several important statutes on diverse areas of law including Discrimination, Constitutional Reform, Public Service, Police, Children’s’ Rights/ Juvenile Justice, Mutual Legal Assistance, Women’s Rights, Labour, Free Movement of Labour , HIV, Financial Law, Health and Anti-Corruption, the financial sector, education, human trafficking and trusts. Her CARICOM Harmonization in Labour Law Report 1992 was the blueprint and catalyst for labour law reform in the Commonwealth Caribbean, including reforms on equality of opportunity and industrial relations


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rights. She led a multi-national legal team in drafting and amending over 48 statutes which was credited as restoring constitutional democracy to the Turks and Caicos. She has therefore contributed an important share to the practical realisation of the aims of Caribbean legal development and policy. Consequently, she has been described as a ‘’change agent’’, the “foremost labour law expert in Labour Law in the region” and the “leading” expert in the region in Offshore Financial Law and the law on HIV.

Demonstrably, Antoine’s scholarly and public service work are informed by a human rights ethos and deep commitment to development. She has also been cited on several occasions by the courts of law and served as Expert Legal Witness in her areas of expertise in Canada and the region. Dean Antoine has written twelve books and several articles in international legal journals on a wide array of subjects. She is published by the prestigious Oxford University Press, with her texts described as ‘path-breaking’ and ‘amazing’ by international jurists. Professor Antoine was the Chair of the CARICOM Regional Commission on Marijuana and produced a Report to the Heads of Government which has recently stimulated law reform on cannabis in the region.

MS. ELSY CURIHUINCA NEIRAElsy Curihuinca Neira, Mapuche Lawyer. Has a Bachelor on Legal Sciences; Master on International Human Rights Law and Diploma on recognition and legal protection of indigenous children and adolescents rights. She is an interdisciplinary professional with experience in data collection and analysis of ethnographic information. She has been an academic and professor at various

universities in the areas of interculturalism and indigenous peoples’ rights, as well as the author of various publications. Furthermore, she has provided advisory services to national and international bodies, coordinating projects with social organizations within a culturally diverse context. She is currently in charge of the Rapporteurship on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples for the Inter-American Commission of Human Rights in Washington D.C.


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CHIEF RICARDO BHARATH HERNANDEZChief Ricardo Bharath Hernandez is the Chief and prime “gate keeper of the Santa Rosa First Peoples Community. He is a key figure responsible for the revival and resurgence of the First Peoples/Carib Community. He is deeply involved in the maintenance of the Santa Rosa Festival which is central to the life of the Community. He continues to advocate for all First Peoples of Trinidad and Tobago.

Chief Ricardo Bharath Hernandez is what some would term a “culture broker.” He is responsible for networking with a wide range of institutions and agents, for example, religious organisations, businesses, diplomats, government ministries, the mass media, other cultural groups and indigenous groups in the Caribbean and North America.

Chief Ricardo Bharath Hernandez served as a Councillor with the Arima Borough Corporation for a period of 18 years (1992-2010) six of which were in the capacity of Deputy Mayor. In 2017, Chief Ricardo Bharath Hernandez received a “Distinguished Fellow Award” from the University of Trinidad and Tobago.

MR. ROGER BELIXMr. Roger Belix is President of the Partners For First Peoples Development organisation. He started his business 45 years, while at the same time promoting the rights of indigenous peoples. He has made several significant contributions here Trinidad and Tobago. Among them, he was responsible for

initiating the construction of the statue of Hyarima, and he also played a role in advocating for a day of recognition for indigenous peoples in T&T. His efforts led to the introduction of the term ‘first people’ to describe persons who were here in Trinidad and Tobago before Colonial invasion in 1492.


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MR. CRISTO ADONISCristo is aptly named “Atekosang” – the Traveler”. He is the Pyai/Medicine Man of the Santa Rosa First Peoples Community. Familiarly known as Adonis, his spiritual gift manifested itself from his childhood, developing over the years as he has always “stirred it up”.

For more than 20 years, he is involved in teaching the indigenous culture, handicraft, spirituality and medicinal value of plants, through field trips, lectures to students and wider community, at home and abroad. This “Traveler loves hiking and is an honorary Game Warden. He is multilingual – fluent in Spanish and Kweyol. He also writes and arranges his own music and songs.

MR. RABINA SHARMr. Rabina Shar is the Grand Chief and spokesperson for the traditional Warao Nation, which is a registered NGO in T&T. Mr. Shar was the vice-president of Five Corporated and he has a national diploma in labour studies. He was a trade union activist and is passionate about fighting for his rights.

DR. JUSTIN KOODr Justin Koo joined the Faculty of Law at UWI, St Augustine in January 2017. Prior to joining UWI, Justin was a Visiting Lecturer at King’s College London and a Teaching Fellow at University College London (UCL). Justin obtained his LLB from the University of Kent in 2011. He then completed his LLM in Intellectual Property Law at King’s College London in 2012. Following this he

completed his PhD at King’s College London in 2016. The thesis comprised the title: ‘The proper scope of the communication to the public right in EU copyright law’. Justin’s primary research interest is focused on copyright law. Justin has teaching interests in intellectual property law, revenue law and legal methods and skills.


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DR. SHARON B. LE GALLSharon Le Gall is an Attorney-at-Law, former Deputy Dean (Student Matters) and Senior Lecturer at the Faculty of Law, University of the West Indies, St. Augustine, Trinidad and Tobago. She has over twenty years of professional experience which includes involvement in private legal practice, consulting for regional and

international organizations, and academia, in corporate and commercial law, including intellectual property law, and the protection of traditional knowledge.

She has been engaged as a Consultant by the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) and as a member of a Caribbean Community (CARICOM) Working Group to develop a legal framework of protection for Traditional Knowledge, Traditional Cultural Expressions and Genetic Resources in the Caribbean. She was also a Traditional Knowledge Consultant engaged by WIPO, with a team of international consultants to develop a WIPO Intellectual Property Strategies Framework for Developing Countries.

She has also been appointed as an Independent Senator by the President of the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago to serve temporarily as a member of the Senate of the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago.

MR. RICHARD H. ACHING Mr. Richard Aching is a national of Trinidad and Tobago and is currently the Manager, Technical Examination in the Intellectual Property Office (IPO) of Trinidad and Tobago. Mr. Aching holds a B.Sc. in Agriculture from the University of the West Indies. He has previously worked in the landscaping and golf course construction industry in addition to being a market analyst with a well-known market research

firm and as a technical cooperation assistant at the United Nations Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean.


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Mr. Aching joined the staff of the Intellectual Property Office (IPO) of Trinidad and Tobago as a Technical Information Specialist in 1999. His present responsibilities as Manager, Technical Examination include, among others, performing substantive examination on patents, utility certificates, industrial designs, new plant varieties and integrated circuits and advising the Controller on all technical issues relating to the grant of intellectual property rights.

He is one of the primary presenters of the IPO regarding public outreach and this extends to teaching IP in various IP Clinics and modules up to the MSc. level.

Mr. Aching also serves in the region as part of horizontal cooperation efforts assisting other CARICOM countries with patent and industrial design legislation and examination of backlogs of patent applications.

DR. ROGER HOSEINDr Roger Hosein is currently a senior lecturer and the coordinator of the Trade and Economic Development Unit at the Department of Economics, University of the West Indies, St Augustine. He has been a member of staff at the Department of Economics since 2000. His research in the last few years has included topical local and regional macroeconomic

issues of public spending, budgeting and fiscal responsibility. Dr. Hosein has worked with the Caricom Secretariat, the Caribbean Development Bank and the Office of Trade Negotiations (OTN) formally the Caribbean Regional Negotiating Machinery (CRNM), the Pan-American Health Organization (PAHO), the International Labor Organization (ILO), the World Trade Organization (WTO), the World Bank, and the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), UNECLAC, FAO and the UNDP. He has also worked with most of the multinational energy companies operating in Trinidad and Tobago including, bpTT, BGTT, Repsol, Atlantic, Talisman and Centrica. He has written 6 books either directly or with coauthors and has published over 45 peer reviewed papers and chapters in peer reviewed journals.


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Research at the regional level has included the impact of the CARIFORUM EU EPA on which he began publishing academic papers since 2008. He participated in consultancies which have evaluated the potential impact of the agreement on the region, focusing in particular on its welfare implications. He was also the lead consultant on behalf of the UNECLAC which undertook the first five year evaluation of the EPA in the period 2013/2014. Since then his research on the topic has been focused on applying specific trade techniques including innovation accounting, Trade Competitiveness of Nations analysis, trade indices and the gravity model to the discourse on the impact of the EPA on the CARIFORUM region.

MS. REBECCA GOOKOOL Ms. Gookool is currently a PhD student registered with the Department of Economics at the University of the West Indies, St Augustine. She currently holds a Bachelor of Science Degree with upper second class honours in Economics and an MPhil in Agricultural Economics. She has been a part time member of staff with the Department of Economics Department since 2004. Rebecca is also a researching Consultant with the Trade

and Economic Development Unit since 2010 and has participated in various capacities on research and implementation projects undertaken by the unit.

Her current research, and the focus of her PhD thesis, is evaluating the Economic Impact of the Economic Partnership Agreement on the CARICOM Economies and she has published several papers which address this issue. The methodologies applied in her research include, economic welfare analysis, innovation accounting (variance decomposition and impulse response), gravity modelling, Trade Competitiveness Analysis of Nations and trade indicator analysis.


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MR. JOHN KNECHTLE Mr John Knechtle is a senior lecturer at the Faculty of Law, UWI. Senior Lecturer, Faculty of Law

Among other courses, John Knechtle teaches Caribbean Environmental Law and International Environmental Law at the UWI Faculty of Law, St. Augustine.

Mr. Knechtle has worked with governments, bar and judges’ associations, and NGOs in Europe and Asia in drafting environmental legislation in the following areas: access to environmental information, umbrella environmental protection laws, air law, non-governmental organization law, food law, nature preserves, waste law, natural resource law, and public expropriation of real property.

Mr. Knechtle has worked with regional organizations, governments and NGOs in the Caribbean in drafting climate change, environmental management, forestry, pollution, protected areas, and biodiversity legislation, regulations and policies.

After conducting numerous stakeholder meetings, Mr. Knechtle drafted the Organization of East Caribbean States (OECS) Protected Areas Policy and Model Law as part of the OECS Protected Areas and Associated Sustainable Livelihoods Project (OPAAL). He advised the OECS on the development of marine and land protected areas. At the request of government agencies and funders, Mr. Knechtle has also served as a peer reviewer of consultants’ reports on environmental law.

From 2015 to 2018, he served as a member of the Caribbean Working Group that advised the member states of the UN Economic Commission for Latin American and Caribbean (ECLAC) drafting the Regional Agreement on Access to Information, Participation, and Justice in Environmental Matters in Latin America and the Caribbean (Escazu Agreement). Between 1993 and 2010, he served on ECOFORUM, an NGO advisory group working with the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe’s Convention on Access to Information, Public Participation in Decision-making and Access to Justice in Environmental Matters (Aarhus Convention).


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Mr. Knechtle helped create environmental advocacy centers and a network of environmental lawyers in Eastern Europe and the former Soviet Union and seeks to do the same in the Caribbean.

Funders for Mr. Knechtle’s work include the United Nations Environmental Program (UNEP), Global Environmental Facility (GEF) of the World Bank, European Union (EU), Organization of American States (OAS), Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA), Fonds Francais de l’Environment Mondial (FFEM), the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), and the American Bar Association (ABA).


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ABOUT THE EDF HUMAN RIGHTS PROJECTThe Faculty of Law, University of the West Indies St. Augustine is currently implementing a 2-year project entitled Strengthening

Trinidad and Tobago’s Human Rights Capacity through Innovative Legal Education Delivery. This project is funded by the European Development Fund (EDF), and administered by the Ministry of Education, Trinidad and Tobago. The subject areas of the project

include the rights of Indigenous Peoples, Children’s Rights, Gender and the Rights of Migrants, Refugees and Persons Deprived of

Liberty. The project’s core objective is to develop the capacity of the Faculty’s newly instituted International Human Rights Clinic to

address human rights issues in Trinidad and Tobago and the wider region through a dynamic legal education and outreach model that prioritizes empirical research, activist lawyering and collaboration

with practicing attorneys and NGOs.

FOR MORE INFORMATION ON THE PROJECT‘Strengthening Trinidad and Tobago’s Human Rights Capacity

through Innovative Legal Education Delivery’,Contact the Project Manager,

Ms. Keisha Garcia at [email protected]

This workshop is being hosted under the auspices of the project:

‘Strengthening Trinidad and Tobago’s Human RightsCapacity through Innovative Legal Education Delivery’

A project implemented by the Faculty of Law,University of the West Indies, St. Augustine Campus;

and funded through the Ministry of Educationunder the European Development Fund

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