Foreign researchers accused of ‘poaching’ indigenous knowledge

Foreign researchers have been coming into Fiji and taking indigenous and local knowledge for their own benefit, the Higher Education Commission (HEC) Director Eci Naisele told Parliament yesterday.

Mr Naisele made the comments while presenting the Commission’s submission on the Fiji-Australia Vuvale Union and the Ocean of Peace Alliance, also known as the Veitacini Treaty, before the Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs and Defence.

“Because of what has happened in the past, people just come and I would say poach whatever that was rightly ours,” Mr Naisele said.

He said foreign authors had published research conducted in Fiji without properly recognising the owners of that knowledge.

“There have been numerous publications that are written in Fiji by foreign authors but definitely they are not the information owners,” he said.

“The owners of the information are actually the wisdom holder of the people of the vanua.”

Mr Naisele said researchers wanting to work in villages must now go through the Ministry of iTaukei Affairs, while education-related research must also be cleared by the Ministry of Education.

Committee chairperson and Assistant Minister for Foreign Affairs Lenora Qereqeretabua asked whether the treaty could limit Fiji’s ability to approve research partnerships with institutions from China or other non-Western countries.

Mr Naisele said such partnerships were being scrutinised more closely by a newly established Research Council to ensure “proper procedural protocol” before any research was approved.

HEC manager communications Epi Rawalai said Australian-supported training must remain aligned with Fiji’s own quality standards and avoid duplicating programmes that already exist locally.

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