Beyond the material: knowledge aspects in seed commoning
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Beyond the material: knowledge aspects in seed commoning Stefanie Sievers‑Glotzbach1 · Johannes Euler2 · Christine Frison3 · Nina Gmeiner1 · Lea Kliem1,4 · Armelle Mazé5 · Julia Tschersich1 Accepted: 6 October 2020 © The Author(s) 2020
Abstract Core sustainability issues concerning the governance of seeds revolve around knowledge aspects, such as intellectual property rights over genetic information or the role of traditional knowledge in plant breeding, seed production and seed use. While the importance of knowledge management for efficient and equitable seed governance has been emphasized in the scientific discourse on Seed Commons, knowledge aspects have not yet been comprehensively studied. With this paper, we aim to (i) to analyze the governance of knowledge aspects in both global and local/regional Seed Commons, (ii) to highlight disconnections in knowledge governance between the local Seed Commons and global governance of plant genetic resources, and (iii) to investigate the contribution of knowledge commoning to environmentally sustainable and culturally adapted food systems. For this purpose, we will analyze knowledge governance by the International Seed Treaty (ITPGRFA) and by two local Seed Commons, a Philippine farmer-led network and a German organic-breeding association. We take the analytical lens of commoning, focusing on social practices rather than specific resources. The main challenges include finding institutional arrangements, which fruitfully integrate aspects from both traditional and scientific knowledge systems, taking into account the complex interrelation between knowledge-related, material and cultural aspects of seeds. Keywords Seed commons · Knowledge governance · Case studies · Plant genetic resources for food and agriculture · Commoning
Introduction Seeds inevitably combine material and immaterial aspects, such as knowledge and culture (Frison 2016, 2018; Dedeurwaerdere 2012; Halewood 2013). Knowledge aspects – specifically local and practical knowledge held by communities – have always played a major role in the management of seeds (Demeulenaere 2005, 2014; Girard 2018). Core sustainability issues concerning the governance of seeds, * Stefanie Sievers‑Glotzbach stefanie.sievers‑[email protected] 1
Department of Business Administration, Economics and Law, University of Oldenburg, Oldenburg, Germany
2
Alanus University of Arts and Social Sciences, Alfter, Germany
3
Government & Law Research Group, Faculty of Law, University of Antwerp, Antwerp, Belgium
4
Institute for Ecological Economy Research, Berlin, Germany
5
Université Paris Saclay, INRA SADAPT, AgroParisTech, Paris, France
including agrobiodiversity conservation and food sovereignty, revolve around knowledge aspects, such as intellectual property rights over genetic information (Frison 2018) or the role of traditional knowledge in plant breeding, seed production and seed use. Variety development and maintenance by farmers depend on the preservation, sharing and intergenerational t
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