---
title: "Traditional knowledge"
chunk: 4/4
source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Traditional_knowledge"
category: "reference"
tags: "science, encyclopedia"
date_saved: "2026-05-05T03:40:50.574157+00:00"
instance: "kb-cron"
---

The interpretation of these provisions has been elaborated through decisions by the parties (ratifiers of the Convention) (see the Convention on Biological Diversity Handbook, available free in digital format from the Secretariat). Nevertheless, the provisions regarding Access and Benefit Sharing contained in the Convention on Biological Diversity never achieved consensus and soon the authority over these questions fell back to WIPO.
At the Convention on Biological Diversity meeting, in Buenos Aires, in 1996, emphasis was put on local knowledge. Key players, such as local communities and indigenous peoples, should be recognized by States, and have their sovereignty recognised over the biodiversity of their territories, so that they can continue protecting it.
The parties to the Convention set a 2010 target to negotiate an international legally binding regime on access and benefit sharing (ABS) at the Eighth meeting (COP8), 20–31 March 2006 in Curitiba, Brazil. This target was met in October 2010 in Nagoya, Japan, by conclusion of the Nagoya Protocol to the CBD. The agreement is now open for ratification, and will come into force when 50 signatories have ratified it. It entered into force on 12 October 2014. As of August 2020, 128 nations ratified the Nagoya Protocol. The Protocol treats of inter-governmental obligations related to genetic resources, and includes measures related to the rights of indigenous and local communities to control access to and derive benefits from the use of genetic resources and associated traditional knowledge.

== By region ==

=== Africa ===
A decolonial outlook is present in African epistemology. Grounded in African ontology, it emphasizes the interconnectedness of reality as a continuum between knowing subject and known object. It understands knowledge as a holistic phenomenon that includes sensory, emotional, intuitive, and rational aspects, extending beyond the limits of the physical domain. Diminishment of traditional knowledge systems as 'myths' stems from Western academia historically dismissing African knowledge systems as superstition by portraying Africa as a "dark continent" – a place without history, culture or intellectual depth. There has been a favoring of a Eurocentric educational system in postcolonial times.

=== Australia ===
In September 2020, the government of Queensland introduced the Biodiscovery and Other Legislation Amendment Act 2020, which introduced protections for accessing and using First Nations peoples' traditional knowledge in biodiscovery.

=== India ===

In 2001, the Government of India set up the Traditional Knowledge Digital Library (TKDL) as repository of 1200 formulations of various systems of Indian medicine, such as Ayurveda, Unani and Siddha and 1500 Yoga postures (asanas), translated into five languages – English, German, French, Spanish and Japanese. India has also signed agreements with the European Patent Office (EPO), United Kingdom Intellectual Property Office (UKIPO) and the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) to prevent the grant of invalid patents by giving patent examiners at International Patent Offices access to the TKDL database for patent search and examination.
Some of the legislative measures to protect TK are The Biological Diversity Act (2002), The Protection of Plant Varieties and Farmers' Rights Act (2001) and The Geographical Indication of Goods (Registration And Protection) Act, 1999.
The Intellectual Property Rights Policy for Kerala released in 2008 proposes adoption of the concepts 'knowledge commons' and 'commons licence' for the protection of traditional knowledge. The policy, largely created by Prabhat Patnaik and R.S. Praveen Raj, seeks to put all traditional knowledge into the realm of "knowledge commons", distinguishing this from the public domain. Raj has argued that TKDL cannot at the same time be kept confidential and treated as prior art.
In 2016, Shashi Tharoor, Member of Parliament from Thiruvananthapuram introduced a Private Bill (the Protection of Traditional Knowledge Bill, 2016) codifying the "protection, preservation and promotion" of traditional knowledge system in India. However the bill was criticised for failing to address the real concern of traditional knowledge.

== In science and education ==
How, if at all, to include indigenous knowledge in education and in relation to science has been controversial. It has been argued that indigenous knowledge can be complementary to science and includes empirical information, even encoded in mythological narratives, and that it holds equal educational value to science like the arts and humanities. Proponents also argue that its inclusion combats disillusionment among indigenous groups with the education system and helps to preserve their cultural identity. Studies indicate that if the introduction of TK into educational curriculums is to succeed, it would need to taught from the perspective of the relevant worldview, involve community participation, and have a bridge built between the national/dominant language and the indigenous one.
Efforts to include it in education have been criticized on the grounds that it is inseparable from spiritual and religious beliefs; that it is not possible to reconcile contradictions between science and TK; that time spent on it comes at the cost of time delivering curricula that meets international academic standards; that policies granting science and indigenous knowledge equal status are based on relativism and inhibit science from questioning claims made by indigenous knowledge systems; and that some proponents of indigenous knowledge engage in ideological antiscience rhetoric.
Traditional knowledge has been introduced into the curriculums in Zambia and Ethiopia among others. In countries like Angola, Ethiopia and Uganda there has been a renewed movement to indigenize African education. Scholars and educators have begun to appreciate the literacy and use of oral history to rebuild cultural identities. However even in these areas Indigenous knowledge, particularly about local plants and community practices, are often ignored in African science classrooms. Many teachers undervalue the cultural knowledge that students bring, reinforcing the divide between traditional and formal education. In New Zealand, an indigenous vitalist concept (mauri) was introduced into the national chemistry curriculum citing an 'equal status' policy, amid objections from science teachers. It was later removed from exam objectives after 18 months of controversy, though it still appeared in some materials afterwards.

== See also ==

== Notes ==

== References ==

== External links ==
CBD Article 8(j): TradItional Knowledge, Innovations and Practices
WTO: TRIPs Article 27.3b, traditional knowledge, biodiversity
Statement by the Tulalip Tribes of Washington on Folklore, Indigenous Knowledge, and the Public Domain, July 09, 2003
Intellectual Property Rights, Open Source Methods and Traditional Knowledge in Developing Countries
Anti-colonial discourse and indigenous knowledges
Traditional ecological knowledge handbook : a training manual and reference guide for designing, conducting, and participating in research projects using traditional ecological knowledge / prepared by Rita A. Miraglia. Hosted by Alaska State Publications Program.
Research article by Terra Nuova on "Preservation and maintenance of biological diversity related knowledge of indigenous diversity and local communities with traditional lifestyles Bony Forest, Ijara District"