THE CATCH: Perspectives in Benefit Sharing Edited by Beth Burrows Published by The Edmonds Institute in cooperation with Third World Network Year: 2008 (Second printing)   No. of pages: 296 Postage cost inclusive of handling charges is USD10.00 per copy by airmail to all parts of the world.

ABOUT THE BOOK

Originally debuted to a packed side event at the first Access and Benefit Sharing (ABS) negotiation of the Convention on Biological Diversity, the book examines the possibility of benefit sharing as an antidote to biopiracy and the book's authors come to different
conclusions.  Some think an ABS regime is impossible and even undesirable; others remain hopeful that it can be achieved.  Some find benefit sharing to be part of an old paradigm steeped in injustice and destruction; others see it as our last opportunity to create a better
future.

The Catch is edited and comes with a preface by Beth Burrows (director of the Edmonds Institute). It features chapters by:

* Tewolde Berhan Gebre Egziabher (Ethiopian scientist and diplomat, winner of the Right Livelihood Award, and one of the architects of the Cartagena Biosafety Protocol)

* Ossama M. El-Tayeb (Egyptian scientist and diplomat, Professor Emeritus of Microbiology and Immunology, and Director of the Microbial Biotechnology Center at the Faculty of Pharmacy, Cairo University)

* Michael Frein (senior policy advisor on trade and WTO issues at Evangelischer Entwicklungsdient, EED, Bonn, Germany)

* Debra Harry (Northern Paiute from Pyramid Lake in Nevada and Executive Director of the Indigenous Peoples Council on Biocolonialism)

* Le'a Malia Kanehe (Kanaka Maoli from Honolulu, Hawai'i and indigenous rights attorney with the Indigenous Peoples Council on Biocolonialism)

* Harmut Meyer (scientist and coordinator of the Working Group on Biodversity of the NGO Forum on Environment and Development, Braunschweig, Germany)

* Elpidio V. Peria (legal advisor to the Philippine delegation to the Convention on Biological Diversity and NGO advocacy officer)

* Silvia Ribeiro (researcher and program manager with ETC Group, currently based in Mexico)

* Devinder Sharma (New Delhi based food and trade policy analyst and journalist)

* Vandana Shiva (author/scientist/activist/director of the Research Foundation for Science, Technology, and Ecology in New Delhi and Director of Navdanya in Dehra Dun, India)

Contents

1.         Preface           

2.         Selling Biodiversity: Benefit sharing is a dead concept

3.         Bioprospecting as sophisticated biopiracy

4.         The traps of “benefit sharing”

5.         The BS in Access and Benefit Sharing (ABS): Critical questions for Indigenous Peoples

6.         The concept of benefit-sharing: A step forward or backward?

7.         Benefit sharing from the use of genetic resources: Real myths or mythical realities?

8.         Benefit sharing

9.         Technical questions in the sharing of benefits of a complex technology

10.        About the Contributors

How to obtain the Book

For a complimentary copy of the book, please contact:

Third World Network

131 Jalan Macalister,

10400 Penang, Malaysia

Tel: 604 2266159

Fax: 604 2264505

Email: twnet@po.jaring.my