**4. Indigenous peoples and local communities biodiversity conservation and traditional ecological customary law**

Indigenous peoples and local communities are frequently the world's most prosperous regions in terms of biodiversity and genetic resources. Each person has a close relationship with the genetic resources of biodiversity, having developed unique traditional knowledge, innovation, and customary law systems. Today, this knowledge is considered a critical resource for commercial and industrial research and development in various fields, including pharmaceuticals, agriculture, veterinary medicine, jewelry, fashion, and cosmetics, and is gradually demonstrating significant commercial value and non-monetary benefits. This has, however, resulted in the reckless use of genetic resources and related traditional knowledge. Numerous incidents demonstrate that industrialized countries rely on their superior biotechnology advantages without the authorization or consent of resource owners, disregarding the possession and conservation of natural resources.

Bio-piracy has led to the leakage of indigenous peoples' and local communities' genetic resources and the loss of traditional knowledge, jeopardizing indigenous peoples' and local communities' bio-security and sustainable development. The complexity of protecting genetic resources and related traditional knowledge under the rule of law requires not only statutory law but also the mutual support of statutory and customary law, particularly where bio-piracy occurs among indigenous peoples and local communities with abundant biodiversity. Therefore, traditional ecological customary law plays a significant role and has enormous potential value.

As a result of the previous, it is necessary to explore unique paths and specialized systems of the rule of law for the conservation of biodiversity genetic resources and related traditional knowledge based on indigenous peoples' and local communities' traditional ecological customary laws within the framework of the Convention on Biological Diversity. In the process of developing the rule of law and enacting legislation to protect biological diversity genetic resources and related traditional knowledge, indigenous peoples and local communities' traditional ecological customary

### *Traditional Ecological Customary Law for Conservation and Sustainability in Biodiversity DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.105918*

laws should be respected, as these traditional ecological customary laws reflect the perspectives of various ethnic groups on genetic resources and related traditions. While the perspectives and stances of knowledge conservation are not legally binding, they frequently exert significant influence and act as a deterrent. As a result, the incorporation, reference, and recognition of traditional ecological customary law in the legislative process are critical for protecting and utilizing biological diversity genetic resources and associated traditional knowledge and serving as the primary manifestation of their value.

### **4.1 Customary law in the convention on biological diversity**

Among the subjects on traditional knowledge in the Convention on Biological Diversity, customary rules relating to the conservation of biological species resources and their associated traditional knowledge have been mentioned numerous times. Particularly at the Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity's eighth, ninth, and tenth meetings, the distinctive systems, including traditional and customary laws, have become discussion issues and were highly regarded by the parties. Under relevant articles and issues of the Convention on Biological Diversity, traditional national societies have the right to own, utilize, and access genetic resources and associated traditional knowledge. Thus, parties may consider protecting genetic resources and associated traditional knowledge in accordance with traditional customary law. Conventional wisdom, relevant CBD rulings, interventions, and submissions to the Working Group's negotiations illustrate that customary law can contribute significantly to the effectiveness of access and benefit sharing measures. In this vein, the work program under Article 8(j) of the CBD, dealing with the safeguarding of traditional knowledge, calls for "a holistic approach that is consistent with the spiritual and cultural values and customs of indigenous peoples and local communities" [25]. The preamble to the Convention on Biological Diversity's terms VI/10 formally recognizes that indigenous peoples and local communities have their own mechanisms for protecting and disseminating traditional knowledge as part of their customary law. Notably, VI/10 asks Parties and governments to "create and execute policies for the conservation of traditional knowledge, innovations, and practices, using suitable techniques and adhering to customary law" [26]. Biological Diversity Convention Articles 8(j) and 10(c) call on Parties to "protect and promote traditional cultural uses of biological resources." When acquiring appropriate knowledge, it is necessary to adhere to the traditional and customary laws set by the local community.

In October 2002, the Ad Hoc Open-ended Working Group reached an agreement on Bonn Guidelines on Access to Genetic Resources and Fair and Equitable Sharing of the Benefits Arising out of Their Utilization, the Bonn Guidelines. After that, COP 6 convened in The Hague, Netherlands in April 2002. The Bonn Guidelines state that prior informed consent shall in accordance with the traditional practices of indigenous and local communities," which includes customary law [27]. In October 2010, the Working Group on ABS drew The Protocol on access to genetic resources and benefit sharing, also known as the Nagoya Protocol, on the COP 10 held in Nagoya, Japan. Article 12 of the Nagoya Protocol formally recognizes traditional customary law directly in the text and clearly states that full recognition of customary law is critical issue that parties need to pay attention to [28].

The definition of customary law in the articles mentioned above, guidelines and protocols of the Convention on Biological Diversity provides a legislative basis for

indigenous peoples and local communities to formulate regulations and systems for biodiversity conservation and utilization based on traditional ecological customary law in the future.
