Conceptualizing GIs as a pathway to sustainable development in Jamaica

*Image credit: World Intellectual Property Organisation

In recent times, the synergistic connections between Geographical Indications (GIs) and sustainable development have become a focal point of discussions around the global developmental agenda. Indeed, this is to be expected in an era where intellectual property (IP) is increasingly becoming recognised as the “oil of the 21st century”. As such, there has been a proliferation of studies exploring (both directly and indirectly) the connections between GIs and sustainable development, particularly in the developing world. In particular, they have asseverated, inter alia, that when leveraged with strategic intentionality, GIs can promote environmental, economic, socio-cultural, and, by extension, sustainable development (see, for example, here and here).

According to Article 22(1) of the Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights 1994 (as amended), GIs denote those ‘indications which identify a good as originating in the territory of a [WTO] Member, or region or locality in that territory, where a given quality, reputation or other characteristic of the good is essentially attributable to its geographical origin.’ Put simply, GIs designate a good as originating from a specific geographical region with the quality and given reputation of the good being necessarily attributable to its geographical origin. According to the World Trade Organization, GIs are considered intellectual property rights (IPRs) that confer an IPR upon the country or geographical region from which the GI-designated product originates and therefore implies the existence of some unique quality or reputation belonging to the product which is attributable to the country or geographical region from which the good originates. However—despite having an “identification function”— GIs are not to be confused with trademarks since ‘unlike trademarks, which distinguish the goods of one enterprise from those of another, GIs identify the location from…[which]…the good originates’.

Background to the registration of GIs in Jamaica

Presently, Jamaica leads the Caribbean with three registered GIs. The registration of Jamaica’s first GI was preceded by the signing of a memorandum of understanding between the Jamaica Intellectual Property Office and the Swiss Federal Institute of Intellectual Property in 2008. This was intended to pave the way for the “Geographical Indications (Technical Cooperation) Project”, which was to be implemented between July 2008 to June 2010 with the aim of helping Jamaica to ‘…establish a functional and effective protection system for Geographical Indications to better position Jamaican quality products on national and international markets, using distinctive signs’ The primary products identified by its organizers for protected GI status were “Jamaica Jerk, Jamaica Rum and Blue Mountain Coffee”. On September 30, 2015, the Jamaica Jerk Producers Association registered Jamaica’s first GI, the “Jamaica Jerk”. The “Jamaica Rum” GI was subsequently registered by the Spirits Pool Association Limited on December 1, 2016.

GIs as a pathway to sustainable development in Jamaica

With the catapulting of “Brand Jamaica” to astronomical heights of renown— a feat attributable, in large measure, to the vaunted exploits of Jamaica’s talented people, dynamic culture, and unique cuisine—it has never been more important to prioritize the development, protection and effective administration of local GIs as pathway to promoting sustainable development in Jamaica. Moreover, given Jamaica’s expressed commitment to accomplishing the United Nations (UN) sustainable development goals by the year 2030, discussions about the role of GIs as a potential pathway to sustainable development in Jamaica are particularly timely, and especially relevant.

The United Nations’ Brundlandt Commission Report 1987 defines “sustainable development” as "development which meets the need of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs". The United Nations has deduced that the world’s ever-growing population is projected to reach 9.8 billion by 2050. Given the myriad resultant implications which touch and concern, inter alia, quantity and quality of available food, use of water and the overall impact on the environment, “ensuring sustainability is more than just a ‘moral’ obligation”.

In light of the documented nexus between GIs and environmental protection in “valuing local knowledge and preserving traditional production systems, dynamizing the territory and stimulating tourist activity knowledge...[and] preserving landscapes and biodiversity”, it is submitted GIs can advance the ambitious goal of fostering sustainable development in Jamaica consequential ways, including but not limited to: i. creating jobs connected to those local industries in which GIs are being leveraged as developmentally-oriented tools thereby augmenting the local GDP; ii. catalysing increased tourist activity through experiential tourism centring Blue Mountain Coffee thereby bolstering the viability and profitability of the local tourism industry; and iii. marketing and brand protection.

i.  Job creation

Barbara Pick, an international consultant on intellectual property and development,  the greater the appeal of GI designated products to consumers, the greater demand there will be for them, which will necessitate increased human resources to manufacture them. Since GIs can help consumers around the world to identify the origin, quality and reputation of designated products, they have been shown to influence consumers to pay higher premiums for designated products due to their belief that they will be receiving authentic products from originating countries.

In less developed countries such as Vietnam, GIs have demonstrated their capacity to advance the goal of sustainable development through job creation. An important case study in this regard is that of the “conical hat from Huế” GI designation that applies to conical hats produced in the Thừa Thiên-Huế Province, and which has the distinction of being the first-ever GI handicraft product in Vietnam in 2010. Prior to the designation of that GI, the handicraft industry had experienced an economic slowdown that threatened its viability, and threatened job stability. However, following the development and designation of the GI, it was leveraged “to create stable jobs, increase producers’ incomes and promote the role of women producers”. In the French village of Laguiole village, the tourism sector has benefitted from leveraging GIs  to attract people to its unique products like the “Laguiole cheese”, the “Aligot”, and animals, specifically its “Aubrac” breed of cows, which is renowned for its “organoleptic quality”. Moreover, ‘…studies have shown that GIs can enhance the income of small-scale farmers and artisans in developing countries. In the case of products like Champagne or Parmigiano-Reggiano, the reputation and exclusivity conferred by GIs translate into higher market value and increased export potential. This economic growth has a ripple effect on local communities, boosting employment and fostering entrepreneurship’.

Local GIs could therefore increase consumer demand for GI-designated products. This increased consumer demand will likely catalyse greater levels of production of GI-designated products thereby prompting an increased need for human resources in the form of labour. This is especially true in relation to the tourism industry given its status “…as a great contributor in job creation". Certainly, “[i]n many cases, the reputation of the GI product enhances the attractivity of the territory for tourism and gastronomy, creating new jobs and promoting investments”.

ii. Catalysing increased tourist activity via experiential tourism

Experiential tourism has been described as “…the opposite of mass tourism that traditionally focused on package tours and vacations with low levels of personal involvement…” In practice, ‘[e]xperiential tourism shows rather than describes…[and] encourages visitors to actively participate in the experience and promotes activities that draw people outdoors, and into cultures and communities…’ (Andra Joefield, A Guide to Experiential Tourism). The development and promotion of experiential tourism within the Caribbean has been important to the region because of its potential to:

1.     Diversify from the softening Sun, Sand and Sea market’

2.     Respond to market trends;

3.     [Provide a] Competitive Advantage;

4.     Attract more high end, educated, socially, culturally and environmentally conscious travelers;

5.     Increased length of stay and spending;

6.     Word of mouth and repeat business;

7.     Promotes low volume, high value tourism.

(Judy Karwacki, ‘Haven’t Been Three Done That: How Experiential Tourism is Transforming the Travel Experience’ (2011) as seen in A Guide to Experiential Tourism).

As one of three registered GIs in Jamaica, the Blue Mountain Coffee is quite a specimen. Indeed, it is quickly becoming renowned not only for its rich, authentic taste but also for its mass appeal which transcends local and even regional contexts. Such is the magnitude of that appeal that the Government of Jamaica has itself touted the potential of what has been termed “coffee tourism”, with Blue Mountain Coffee being featured as the central attraction. In support of the thrust towards promoting this “coffee tourism”, the Tourism Linkages Network division of the Ministry of Tourism launched the Jamaica Blue Mountain Coffee Festival in 2018, with its inaugural staging attracting approximately 1100 patrons, and later being lauded by Jamaica’s Tourism Minister, Edmund Bartlett, for its potential to attract more tourists to Jamaica as well as to “create a value chain to bring jobs and more economic well-being to a larger number of…Jamaican people". 

Thus, it is submitted that GIs, and the Blue Mountain Coffee GI in particular, can promote sustainable development in Jamaica by catalysing increased tourist activity through the strategic leveraging of the reputational appeal of Blue Mountain Coffee products. To be sure, utilizing the vehicle of experiential tourism which centres Blue Mountain Coffee will only enhance the viability and therefore profitability of Jamaica’s tourism industry and, in turn, advance the goal of securing sustainable development for Jamaica. It is noteworthy that the Jamaica Tourist Board (JBT) has already registered “Jamaica” as a trademark in Jamaica. That registration provides an additional layer of protection for “Brand Jamaica”, both from a tourism standpoint and more generally, which should bode well for the visibility, viability and profitability of “Brand Jamaica” within regional and global markets.

Still, the registration of “Jamaica” as a trademark, coupled with the additional layer of branding to be accomplished by leveraging the Blue Mountain Coffee GI to bolster Jamaica’s tourism industry will only augment the commercial viability and by extension profitability of “Brand Jamaica”. Relatedly, this enhanced commercial viability and profitability, through the leveraging of the Blue Mountain Coffee GI, would necessarily promote sustainable development in Jamaica as GIs have been found to catalyse “the economic development of regions associated with specific products”, and economic development is indispensable to sustainable development.

iii. Marketing and brand protection 

With respect to marketing and brand development, it has been observed that ‘[a] geographical indication can be used by producers in a specific geographical area as a tool to achieve a competitive advantage in the market...[as]… its use signals to consumers that the product is unique based on one or several characteristics that links that product to its geographical origin’.

In particular, the “Jamaican Jerk” GI can promote sustainable development in Jamaica through the avenue of marketing and brand protection by helping to distinguish “Brand Jamaica” as a unique and distinct brand that is associated with high-quality jerk and jerk-related products, which enjoys global appeal, commands international respect, and consequently generates considerable profit. Through effective marketing and brand development, the premium rate ensured by the “Jamaican Jerk” GI as well as “Jamaican Jerk” designated products will only compound and generate increased sales value over time. One potential resultant outcome is that the demand of consumers for authentic products representing Jamaican culture and the embodiment of the Jamaican spirit will enhance the capacity of “Jamaican Jerk” GI to promote sustainable development in Jamaica when marketed and branded effectively as well as complemented by a strategic leveraging of the resultant impact both regionally and globally.

The Upshot

Notwithstanding the capacity of local GIs to promote sustainable development through the avenues highlighted above, care must be taken by the relevant stakeholders to avoid what I am terming “GI registration-induced complacency” since ‘[r]egistration…without strategic commercializing initiatives, and a broad-based interest in developing the socio-economic interest of key stakeholders, will likely not produce beneficial results’. As such, the importance of investing additional resources (material, technological, and technical) in marketing and product development for GI-designated products in Jamaica cannot be overstated. Strengthening GI protection mechanisms in Jamaica must also be prioritised since the effective protection of GIs will invariably advance sustainable developmental goals.

Equally important is the need to bolster the existing institutional architecture for maintaining the quality of GI designated products in Jamaica through an investment of technological and scientific resources aimed at enhancing the efficacy of testing, certification and other processes relevant to the administration of local GIs. Without question, “[t]he credibility of a GI system also depends on controls, which must ensure the promise made to consumers is respected and the product’s authenticity guaranteed”.