|
|||
About the Book THIS paper critically examines the growing pressure on Southeast Asian (SEA) countries to adopt the rigid 1991 Convention of the International Union for the Protection of New Varieties of Plants (UPOV 1991) designed for the commercialized farming structures of industrialized nations. It reveals how the East Asia Plant Variety Protection Forum, initiated by Japan under the guise of cooperation, has evolved into a key platform for aggressively promoting UPOV 1991 standards, sidelining national agricultural priorities and farmers’ rights. Through detailed analysis, the paper exposes the commercial motivations driving this agenda and the pivotal role of developed countries and their allied entities, who stand as the primary beneficiaries of the UPOV system and regional harmonization based on it. It highlights how the Forum’s pro-UPOV activities threaten to erode national sovereignty, undermine food security, and entrench a rigid, inappropriate plant variety protection (PVP) system across the region – one designed to serve the commercial interests of Japan and other developed nations, particularly the Netherlands, Germany, France and the United States. It calls on SEA countries to critically reassess their participation in the Forum, advocate for meaningful reforms to safeguard their policy space, and, if necessary, withdraw to protect their national interests and ensure implementation of a PVP system that is aligned with domestic agricultural needs and that safeguards the interests of farmers and food sovereignty. About the author SANGEETA SHASHIKANT is a Legal Advisor to the Third World Network and Coordinator of its Development and Intellectual Property Programme. Contents Executive Summary I. Introduction II. The EAPVP Forum, Its Set-Up and Objectives 1. Secretariat of the Forum 2. Towards Harmonization: The EAPVP Forum’s Pilot Project (e-PVP Asia) III. Influence of Japan, Foreign Governments and Entities in the EAPVP Forum 1. Influence of Japan 2. Influence of Other Foreign Governments and Entities 3. Economic Interests of Japan, Foreign Governments and Entities IV. EAPVP Forum: A Ground for UPOV Propaganda V. Concerns for Seed Systems in the Southeast Asian Region 1. Undermining National Democratic Decision-Making Processes 2. Effects and Beneficiaries of Regional Harmonization (e-PVP Asia) VI. Conclusion
|
|||
