WIPO/GRTKF/IC/16/INF/8 Annex, page 2 (ii) Plant Variety and Seeds Act Cap 236 of 1995: This Act is also administered by the Ministry of Agriculture and Cooperatives through the Seed Control and Certification Institute (SCCI) to deal with regulation and control of the production, sale, and import of seed for sowing and export. The Act also deals with testing of seed for minimum standards for germination and purity. The Act does not refer to intellectual property vis-a-vis plant varieties and seeds. 3. International Conventions (a) UPOV Convention Protection of genetic resources is also provided for under the UPOV Convention but since Zambia is not a member, it has not benefitted from the provisions under this convention. UPOV deals with the protection of new plant varieties internationally. If a state so wishes, it can use the UPOV Convention for the protection of traditional knowledge though the convention itself is silent on this aspect. (b) Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) Zambia is party to this Convention which provides for the protection of genetic resources. The CBD has the objectives of “the conservation of biological diversity, the sustainable use of its components and fair and equitable sharing of the benefits arising out of the utilization of genetic resources”. The CBD also has important provisions concerning “knowledge, innovations and practices of indigenous and local communities embodying traditional lifestyles relevant to the conservation and sustainable use of biological diversity” The CBD provides the issue of disclosure obligations as it is essential to disclose in the patent system the information that is specifically required about genetic resources or traditional knowledge used in the claimed invention. The CBD also adopts the dual goals of conserving biodiversity and promoting sustainable use of its components, and specifies that benefits arising out of the utilization. This convention is administered by the ministry of Tourism, Environment and Natural Resources through the Forestry Department and the Environmental Council of Zambia. Forests and other genetic resources have successfully been protected under the provisions of the CBD and Forestry Act. Additional protection measures for genetic resources have been made through the Environmental Protection and Pollution Control Act administered by the Environmental Council of Zambia. Again, very little has been addressed in relation to intellectual property rights. 4. The Zambian Draft Ip Policy Many countries in the region of southern Africa do not have intellectual property policies. However, Zambia has completed formulation of the policy document which has since been submitted to Government for approval. It was observed over the years that, as a country, Zambia had not utilized the full potential of Intellectual Property as a tool for social and economic development although intellectual property legislation has been in existence dating back to the pre-independence days. It was also observed that, Zambia, despite having an abundance of Genetic Resources, Folklore and Traditional Knowledge whose intellectual property rights can significantly contribute to the social and economic development of the country if properly and effectively harnessed, nothing much was being done to tap this potential.