One eye on the game, the other on the jambu.

We tried, at the Ministry of Culture (MinC), to pass legislation to defend our traditional knowledge. But there was no understanding of the importance of the gesture. To many, it seemed like a manifestation of irresponsible culturalism.

There were over a hundred (and today there must be even more) Brazilian traditional knowledge products patented by large laboratories and companies from various countries. Food, medicine, cosmetics.

They come in here freely. They bring a small piece of the plant, an animal sample, a recipe. Then, if the therapeutic, nutritional, or cosmetic properties are confirmed, they simply patent it and acquire the rights to that knowledge. Simple as that, without any effort, without any expense.

This is called biopiracy.

Even the teas our grandmothers used to make to cure our illnesses are now patented.

We need to reverse this. We can reverse it.

First, it is necessary to understand the cultural, environmental, therapeutic, and economic value of traditional knowledge and Brazilian biodiversity. To understand it as an important asset for our development.

While we discriminate, prisoners of a pedantic concept of knowledge, cutting-edge capitalism, which deals with the most advanced scientific knowledge, gracefully appropriates our wealth, without concern and without being bothered.

It is necessary to value, protect, and sustainably manage these resources and recognize them as the property of the peoples and communities who possess this knowledge. Their use should result in benefits for them.

Our universities need to value traditional knowledge and take the lead in scientific research. They must abandon once and for all the elitist and academically-centric stance towards traditional knowledge.

There are some very good research projects, but they are absolutely insufficient for a country with the greatest biodiversity in the world.

We are mega-biodiverse and, at the same time, we don't know how to transform these riches into assets for our development. Destroying and deforesting, besides being a crime against life, signifies a very low level of civilizational development.

Any national development project must address this issue with seriousness, environmental and cultural awareness, and the certainty that it can become a powerful economic asset.

Brazil has everything it takes to be a leading nation in the new 21st-century economy.

The decision needs to be made now. A large-scale popular mobilization is needed to defend our cultural heritage.