indigenous cultural property rights is becoming more and more urgent

Indigenous peoples, worldwide, are facing complex threats to their survival as distinct peoples. Not only are they confronted with dispossession of their lands and resources, and physical persecution, but they are also faced with the appropriation of their collective knowledge developed through the ages. Traditional knowledge of medicinal plants and crops is being taken by multinational companies, while traditional songs and designs are being commercialized for the tourism industry. The issue of indigenous cultural property rights is becoming more and more urgent for indigenous peoples.