Sustainable Management of Eritrean Traditional Medicinal Knowledge: Commitments Under the Convention on Biological Diversity

On 21 March 1996, Eritrea acceded to the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD). The Eritrean Department of the Environment has prepared a number of documents as part of implementing the CBD, particularly Articles 6, 7 and 26 thereof. Visibly underemphasized or often absent in these documents, however, is the preservation of traditional knowledge of the Eritrean community. Traditional medicine is a centuries-old practice in Eritrea and there are thousands of traditional medicinal practitioners. Nevertheless, Eritrean traditional medicinal knowledge has not yet been the subject of national policy/legal instruments or programs. This book discusses whether the existing national laws, policies and related instruments and institutions in Eritrea have provisions and implementing tools necessary for protecting the nation’s wealth of indigenous medicinal knowledge. It attempts to analyze the legal and institutional issues with regards to the protection of indigenous medicinal wisdom. It recommends steps that need to be taken to fulfill Eritrea’s commitments under the CBD with regards to the sustainable management of traditional medicinal knowledge.