“traditional method or process” means discoveries, innovations, practices and technologies made or used by a traditional community, individual or group which are usually not recorded in written form or otherwise and transmitted orally from one generation to another;

Article 14

(1) Traditional knowledge shall be protected in accordance with this Act if it fulfils the following conditions:

(a) it is generated, preserved and transmitted in a traditional and intergenerational context;

(b) it is distinctively associated with a traditional community, individual or group;
Subject Matter of Protection(c) it is integral to the cultural identity of a traditional community that is recognised as holding the knowledge through a form of custodianship, guardianship or collective and cultural ownership or responsibility, whether formally or informally, by customary laws and practices.

Article 46

The following protections shall apply to expressions of folklore, irrespective of the mode or form of expression:

(b) characteristics of a traditional community’s cultural identity and traditional heritage which has been developed, maintained or used by the community in accordance with customary laws and practices.

Beneficiaries or Rightholders

Genetic Resources: all biological material that contains genetic information of value or of real or potential use.

Native, Afro-American or Local Community: a human group whose social, cultural and
economic conditions distinguish it from other sectors of the national community, that is
 “ holder ” means a traditional community, an individual or a group, irrespective of the pattern of ownership, and who is the owner of the traditional knowledge, genetic resource or expression of folklore in a traditional and intergenerational context who has a right over or to whom traditional knowledge, a genetic resource or expression of folklore belongs to, in accordance with customary laws and practices;

governed totally or partially by its own customs or traditions or by special legislation and that,

irrespective of its legal status, conserves its own social, economic, cultural and political
institutions or a part of them.“ traditional community ” means a human population living in a distinct geographical area in Zambia which is the creator or recognised, according to customary laws and practices, as the creator and custodian of a traditional knowledge, genetic resource or expression of folklore and the words “community” and “local community” shall be construed accordingly;

Beneficiaries or Rightholders

Article 5

The Member Countries exercise sovereignty over their genetic resources and their
by-products and consequently determine the conditions for access to them, pursuant to the
provisions of this Decision.
The conservation and sustainable use of the genetic resources and their by-products are
regulated by each Member Country in keeping with the principles and provisions of the
Biological Diversity Agreement and of this Decision.

Article 6

The genetic resources and their by-products which originated in the Member
Countries are goods belonging to or the heritage of the Nation or of the State in each Member
Country, as stipulated in their respective national legislation.
Those resources are inalienable, not subject to prescription and not subject to seizure or
similar measures, without detriment to the property regimes applicable to the biological
resources that contain those genetic resources, the land on which they are located or the
associated intangible component.

Article 7

The Member Countries, in keeping with this Decision and their complementary
national legislation, recognize and value the rights and the authority of the native, Afro-
American and local communities to decide about their Know-How, innovations and
traditional practices associated with genetic resources and their by-products.

Scope of Protection

Article 3

This Decision is applicable to genetic resources for which is the Member Countries
are the countries of origin, to their by-products, to their intangible components and to the
genetic resources of the migratory species that for natural reasons are found in the territories
of the Member Countries.

Exceptions and Limitations

Article 4

The following are excluded from the scope of this Decision:
(a) Human genetic resources and their by-products; and
(b) The exchange of genetic resources, their by-products, the biological resources
containing them, or their associated intangible components among native, Afro-American and
local communities of the Member Countries for their own consumption, based on their
customary practices.