The WA Biodiscovery Bill (the Bill) will help to ensure all Western Australians benefit from biodiscovery activities using WA’s native plants and animals. The Bill will ensure the State shares in commercial and other benefits and promote the development of a biodiscovery industry in WA.
Aboriginal people
The Bill will ensure that Aboriginal people and communities will share in commercial and other benefits when traditional knowledge has been shared and used for biodiscovery activities. Benefits also include:
- Control over the use of their own traditional knowledge.
- Opportunities to directly participate in biodiscovery activities.
- New economic development opportunities.
Biodiscovery industry
The Bill will promote the development of a biodiscovery industry in WA, by:
- Promoting WA as a biodiscovery hotspot, with the added benefit of extensive traditional knowledge.
- Providing certainty to global investors who want to conduct biodiscovery in WA.
- Boosting research opportunities and helping to establish research industries.
- Increasing the understanding and value of WA’s native biological resources.
- Enabling commercialisation of new technologies and discoveries.
Researchers
The proposed model includes a certificate for researchers who have taken all required steps, to demonstrate their environmental, social and governance credentials and consistence with the principles of the Nagoya Protocol. This will help them to attract funding for further biodiscovery activities.
