Sustainable Geographical Indications as an Important Intellectual Property: A Holistic and Integrated Framework

Abstract

When properly implemented and overseen, Geographical Indications (GIs) have the potential to be powerful instruments for promoting sustainability (The Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations—FAO, 2009; 2017). GI producer’s contributions to many aspects of sustainable development may be maximized by including them in a sustainability plan. There may not always be consensus in the research about the benefits of GIs across all sustainability aspects, including social, economic, and environmental. In order to assist GI producers and their organisations in using a place-based and participatory approach to yield tangible outcomes, FAO and oriGIn created the sustainability strategy for GI (SSGI). Original research for a database and methodology to identify and apply appropriate sustainability indicators for GIs is presented in this study. Several SSGI principles have served as a roadmap for the work as we've reviewed, selected, and improved pertinent indicators creatively; the Sustainability Assessment of Food and Agriculture (SAFA) has given us the framework to align with the SDGs and other well-known sustainability frameworks. This study characterised 372 strong sustainability indicators pertinent to GIs and created a database to make their usage easier for practitioners. The place-based approach and its participatory, inclusive process are emphasised as crucial to empowerment and the capacity to form coalitions in the conversation. Action is also emphasised, along with the requirement of enhancing communication inside and beyond the organisation.