A meeting was convened at 10.00 AM on 2nd December 2011 in the chamber of the Director General, Dept. of Medical Services to review the Terms of Reference (ToR) of the MSP RF Board. The meeting was chaired by Dr. Dorji Wangchuk, the Offtg. Secretary of Health and attended by RF Board members and relevant MSP officials. The meeting reviewed the ToR of the RF Board to streamline MSP's working system under the Board and DMS. The revised ToR will be presented to the next Board meeting for approval and implementation. The meeting was very useful in creating a clear working system for the Board while at the same time conforming to the existing government policies. The new ToR is expected to enhance the performance of both the MSP and the Board.

Two officials from MSP attended the Workshop on Genetic Resources (GR) & Traditional Knowledge (TK) and Intellectual Property Rights on 30th November 2011 at Namgay Heritage, Thimphu. The workshop was organized by the National Biodiversity Centre under Ministry of Agriculture & Forests with support from the WIPO. The workshop was attended by participants from various stakeholder agencies. The workshop was very useful in creating awareness and understanding of the various international and national efforts towards regulating the issues related to IP, TK and GR. It is felt that the TK hidden in the remote communities of Bhutan is a treasure and must be protected while cautiously and consciously harnessing the immense benefits from such knowledge. Any benefits accrued from such knowledge must be shared with the communities who are the ultimate owners of the TK. As TK is a very vast area and complex matter, adequate systems should be built to effectively regulate and monitor the activities. The effective implementation of TK-related regulatory system will also require a concerted effort from all stakeholder agencies. 

MSP is planning to send a team in the first week of December for conducting training of farmers on identification and collection of medicinal plants. The training will be conducted for the farmers of Ada Rukha under Wandue Phodrang Dzongkhag and around 80 farmers are expected to attend the training. The training is expected to create awareness and knowledge of the participants on the importance of medicinal plants as a rich natural resource and to garner support in the collection of medicinal plants. The training will also promote sustainable harvesting practices for the long-term sustainability. Ada Rukha is selected as a training site to promote income generating opportunities for the low income community there.