Wednesday, April 3rd, 2024 from 12:00-1:30pm PST

In this forum we will explore the geopolitics behind access and benefit sharing within the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) and the Nagoya Protocol. Discover the crucial role of Indigenous peoples and local communities, their rights enshrined in Brazilian legislation, and the challenges they face in protecting genetic resources for psychedelic use. We will delve into this complex terrain navigating the intersection of policy, Indigenous knowledge, and the psychedelic renaissance. Join us in this conversation with speakers Maira Smith, who is a biologist and General Coordinator for Access and Traceability at the Brazilian Department of Genetic Heritage of the Ministry of the Environment, Ana Luiza Arraes de Alencar Assis, who is biologist and has a master’s at Plant Genetic Resources from Santa Catarina´s Federal University, and Chris Byrnes, who is a registered patent attorney at Calyx Law.

Maira Smith is a biologist (University of São Paulo – USP), with a master’s in Ecology (National Institute for Amazonian Research – INPA) and a doctorate in Sustainable Development from the University of Brasilia (UnB). She has academic experience in the area of ethnobotany and in her doctorate researched the interface between plant genetics and Indigenous culture through an ethnobotanical study of the domestication process of a Brazilian fruit tree (pequi) among the Kuikuro of the Upper Xingu. She has worked at the National Indigenous Peoples Foundation (FUNAI) in Brasília since 2012, was an advisor to the Genetic Heritage Management Council for Funai between 2012 and 2015 and for the Ministry of Justice between 2016 and 2019. She currently works as the General Coordinator for Access and Traceability at the Department of Genetic Heritage of the Ministry of the Environment.

Ana Luiza Arraes de Alencar Assis has graduation degree in Biological Sciences (2008) and master’s at Plant Genetic Reseources from from Santa Catarina´s Federal University (2011). Has experience, traditional knoledge (TK), Genetic Reseources (GR) and Access and Benefit Sharing.

Chris Byrnes is a registered patent attorney at Calyx Law, intellectual property risk advisor, and folk artist at Performing Pro Arts Commons. He has worked at the intersection of intellectual property, international trade, and public policy for Fortune 500 companies, non-profit organizations, and artists for over 15 years, focusing on patent litigation, licensing, and IP commoning. He has a JD from Georgetown Law, a Master’s of Theological Studies from Harvard Divinity School, a Creative Commons Certificate for educators, and undergraduate studies in Physics, Astronomy, and World Religions at Denison University.

Psychedelics, Nagoya Protocol & Indigenous and Local Communities Rights: A Brazilian Perspective