Hawaiians, environmentalists protest native species study
By Vicki Viotti
Advertiser Staff Writer
Native Hawaiian and environmental groups are pressing state lawmakers to put a hold on research based on Hawai'i endemic species until it is decided how to regulate such research and how to share any profit that discoveries might produce.
Two bills — one originating in the Senate last session and one introduced this year in the House — are aimed at establishing a moratorium on what has been dubbed "bioprospecting."
The term refers to scientific research aimed at finding a useful and profitable application for a process or product in nature.
The way research has been conducted and how proceeds from the work will be distributed have become concerns among native groups here and on the Mainland in recent years. The belief that the research will produce profits for industry with no benefit to native communities where research is done has driven some Indian tribes to pass laws banning the harvesting of living things on their property.
Hawaiian civic organizations, legal advocacy groups and the Office of Hawaiian Affairs have joined the movement. Yesterday, attorney Le'a Malia Kanehe of the Native Hawaiian Legal Corp., testified that the state's "ceded lands" — property of the kingdom overthrown more than a century ago — comprise a public land trust with resources the state must manage.
"The state is in immediate need of legislation that explicitly reserves the state's rights, interest and title to biogenetic resources as the University (of Hawai'i) enters into material transfer agreements," Kanehe said.
Kanehe was referring to a contract struck two years ago between the UH Marine Bioproducts Engineering Center and a San Diego biotech company called Diversa, in which the center would share in the profits of Diversa research here.
Kanehe yesterday repeated an allegation made by various Hawaiian groups in recent weeks that in the contract the University of Hawai'i gave Diversa exclusive rights to the discoveries based on research on environmental samples collected "from Hawai'i's ocean resources."
State Rep. Ezra Kanoho, D-15th (Lihu'e, Koloa), chairs the committee on water, land and Hawaiian affairs that was airing the moratorium proposal. He restated the allegations that UH conveyed "patents on 100 species" to Diversa. Jim Gaines, interim vice president for research at UH, said he is "not aware" that UH struck such a deal.
Gaines said UH prefers the Senate version of the bill, which would exempt UH from a moratorium.
Others testifying, including the Hawai'i Audubon Society and the Office of Hawaiian Affairs, oppose exemptions for any state agency.
Among the elements to be ironed out in the coming weeks is the composition of the commission that would examine bioprospecting.
Diane Ley, deputy director of the state Department of Agriculture, said the agriculture agency should be represented on the commission. Ley added her concern that the proposals as written might endanger agricultural biotechnology research into ways of controlling pests and invasive species.
Ted Liu, who directs the state Department of Business, Economic Development and Tourism, said the best approach may be to form the commission and let it spend time discussing how bioprospecting should be regulated.
"I'm concerned that rushing into this thing could have unintended consequences," he said.
Reach Vicki Viotti at vviotti@honoluluadvertiser.com or 525-8053.
