Indigenous knowledge working group meets in Suva

PIRT's Indigenous Knowledge Working Group convened its second plenary meeting of the year in Suva last month, bringing together 28 knowledge holders, researchers, and conservation practitioners from 11 Pacific Island Countries and Territories. The meeting focused on developing the implementation framework for the Traditional Knowledge chapter of the Pacific Biodiversity Strategy 2026–2030, endorsed at the regional assembly in March.

The core output of the meeting was agreement on a set of Pacific Traditional Knowledge Protocols — a framework governing how traditional ecological knowledge is documented, used, attributed, and protected within regional biodiversity programmes. The protocols draw on customary law principles from participating communities and are designed to complement, rather than replace, national intellectual property frameworks. They establish requirements for free, prior, and informed consent, benefit-sharing arrangements, and community veto rights over the commercial application of their traditional knowledge.

Joe Vakatale, Chair of the working group, described the protocols as the most significant output in the group's history. "We have been told for years that traditional knowledge is valuable, but the systems around us were not built to protect it or to compensate the people who hold it," he said at the closing session. "These protocols change that — they create enforceable expectations, not just aspirational language."

The working group also agreed to establish a Pacific Traditional Knowledge Registry, to be hosted by the University of the South Pacific and governed by a board of indigenous knowledge holders. Development of the registry is expected to begin in the third quarter of 2026, with the first community documentation cohort enrolling in early 2027. PIRT member organisations working on traditional knowledge documentation are invited to apply to participate in the pilot cohort.