Who gains from saving nature
Ledger 1 : 33 — For each dollar financing nature-based solutions in 2023, about $33 financed activities harmful to nature. (UNEP)
Cases / Genetic resources and benefit-sharing · Indonesia · 2014–2025

Shiseido withdrew a jamu patent after NGO pressure; kratom patents were contested

Short record: the main facts, with sources. A full case file has not been prepared.

Nature's voice · report
No measurement of the harm done to me here is on record.
Did nature suffer? Not measured.
Not on record
  • The record does not name which of my species, waters, soils or forests were harmed.
What the record lacks: 2 none on record · 1 not measured See the gaps

Shiseido withdrew a patent on compounds from jamu, an Indonesian herbal medicine, after pressure from an Indonesian NGO. Patents on Thailand's kratom plant, held by Japanese universities, were challenged by BioThai.

What?
Patents on traditional plant knowledge in Indonesia (jamu) and Thailand (kratom) were withdrawn or challenged Preprints.org
Where?
Indonesia (jamu patent); Thailand (kratom plant); Japan (patent holders) Preprints.org
When?
Shiseido withdrawal reported for 2025; kratom challenge covers 2014 to 2019
Who?
Gained
  • Shiseido — held a patent on 11 active compounds from jamu until its withdrawal Preprints.org
  • Chiba and Josai universities — held kratom patents that BioThai challenged Bangkok Post
Lost
None on record
Harmed
None on record
Why?
Not stated in the sources reviewed.
How?
Shiseido withdrew its patent after NGO pressure; BioThai filed objections against kratom patents held by Japanese universities Preprints.org
6 of 6 questions answered from the record

What happened

The record, in order.

A 2025 preprint on Indonesian biopiracy reports that Shiseido withdrew its patent on 11 active compounds from jamu after pressure from an Indonesian NGO.

BioThai objected to kratom patents held by Chiba and Josai universities, and four patents were still registered in 2019, Bangkok Post reported.

ANTARA reported that Indonesia's Environment Ministry was still preparing the implementing regulation for the Nagoya Protocol in 2025.

    In court and with insurers

    Every proceeding and every insurer decision on record.

    Lawsuits and rulings

    No court case on record. No court has ruled on this case.

    Insurers

    No insurer decision on record.

    What we don't know

    Undisclosed, unproven, untried: recorded as data.

    Nature

    • Not measured Harm to nature: The record holds no measurement of harm to nature.

    Record

    • None on record Not stated in the sources reviewed: whether any benefit-sharing payment followed from the jamu or kratom patents.
    • None on record Not stated in the sources reviewed: the outcome of the kratom patent objections after 2019.

    Did the harm stop?

    Not stated in the sources reviewed.

    Who paid?

    Not stated in the sources reviewed.

    Sources

    Voices on record: — Company or project— Government and regulators— Courts✓ Press and investigations— Communities and civil society✓ Researchers

    Press and investigations

    Researchers

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