KNOWLEDGE shared at a regional conference in Fiji will sustain the livelihoods of Pacific people.
The generational knowledge has connected people to natural resources, said Solomon Islander Trevor Maeda at the workshop on marine genetic resources.
This regional event discusses the Biodiversity Beyond National Jurisdiction Agreement adopted by the United Nations in 2023.
The BBNJ Agreement—governing the 60 per cent of ocean beyond national borders—entered force in 2026, with its first major meeting scheduled for January 2027. Central to the treaty is how nations share benefits from marine genetic resources.
The importance of these resources is becoming ever more apparent, as they hold potential in fields as diverse as cancer research and cosmetics.
But Pacific representatives warned that Western science cannot operate alone. There is a big concern around so-called “helicopter research”—outsiders collecting samples and data while local communities receive no credit or benefit.
“We want to be part of the knowledge generation,” said Dr Katy Soapi, a scientist who specializes in the chemistry of ocean organisms.
“We don’t want to be observers anymore. We want to be partners.”
Unlike the older Nagoya Protocol, which covers resources within national waters, the BBNJ treaty applies to the high seas. Both require Free, Prior, and Informed Consent when traditional knowledge is used, but it is the implementation aspect that can be a sticking point
While governments hold sovereign rights over resources, communities hold customary ownership of traditional knowledge about those resources, thus it becomes important to make a clear distinction between ownership and knowledge.
Timelines for drug discovery for instance can stretch 20 to 30 years, but benefits to people on the ground can and should start much sooner through training, data access, and publication credits.
“It’s not good enough just to say, ‘I acknowledge you,’” Dr Soapi said.
“And If we really want to build capacity, we need to include young people as well”
The region is pushing for a unified strategy rather than 14 separate national approaches. As preparations accelerate for the 2027 BBNJ COP, the Pacific’s message is clear: traditional knowledge can’t be something in the margins.
“Pacific Island scientists are really important because they help to contextualize the research,” said Joape Ginigini, a biotech researcher at the University of the South Pacific (USP).
