The World Indigenous Network : Rio 20, Intellectual Property, Sustainable Development, and the Future We Want

The United Nations Rio 20 summit has raised a number of difficult questions about law, culture and technology: what is the relationship between intellectual property, the environment and climate change? What role does intellectual property play in sustainable development? Who will own and control the Green Economy? What is the best way to encourage the transfer of environmentally sound technologies? What are the respective roles of the public sector and the private sector in green innovation? How should biodiversity, traditional knowledge and Indigenous intellectual property be protected? Should there be due acknowledgment of the position of small island states, particularly those situated in the Pacific?