Abstract

The need to protect and preserve traditional knowledge for the present and future generations has gained growing importance in the international fora ever since the adaptation of the Convention on Biological Diversity, in 1992. Since then, the protection of TK has been actively on the agenda of different inter-governmental bodies, including the human rights bodies, viz, the World Trade Organization and its Council for TRIPS, the World Intellectual Property Organization, the United Nations Environment Programme/CBD, the Food and Agriculture Organization, the World Health Organization, the International Labour Organisation, the United Nations Human Rights Commission and the UN Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues. This article tries to analyse the pertaining international measures to protect traditional knowledge.

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