Indigenous Science

Indigenious peoples conceive and manage their livelihoods in harmony with nature and in accordance with agro-ecological conservation, natural resources sustainable management, climate change adaptation, and mitigation practices. It’s a value system on behalf of the land, for the people. That’s just the way things go—but is not recognised by western science. Let’s get into the wackness. 

Nauru is the smallest state in the South Pacific, and third-smallest state by area (21km) in the world. It’s home to the 12 tribes of Naruans, which you can be born into from your mother’s side. Each tribe has a chief and the nation has had an independent government since 1968. 

For the last thousand years or so, birds have flown over the island, migrating south and excreting little dimes of phosphate. When annexed by Germany in the 19th century, the nation was converted to a strip mine, to unearth all that phosphate goodness.

Phosphate mining in Nauru involves scraping off the surface soil and removing phosphate from the walls and columns of ancient coral. Nauru’s surface is now a terrain of coral mountains, scattered with pits that were dug for mining equipment. 80% of Nauru is uninhabitable, and its population of 10,000 or so is confined to the contaminated coast, where silt and phosphate runoff contaminate the waters. 

Phosphate is a mineral our bodies need to maintain healthy teeth, bones, heart, function, muscles, and blood vessels. It’s found in genetic material such as DNA and RNA, adenosine triphosphate (ATP), whilst playing a major role in nucleotides and attachments which form our membrane. Phosphates activate protein and act as a buffer, keeping the pH of a substance neutral. Overall, it’s naturally occurring. Phosphate also helps plankton and plants to grow, which are at the bottom of most food chains, and eventually this phosphate climbs up the chain to humans. 

Human interactions with the ecosystem, such as wastewater treatment, industrial discharge, fertilisers, and agriculture, lead to increases of phosphate within the water. This limits other nutrients in the moana, as oxygen depletes and leads to eutrophication, killing aquatic animals. And what is Aotearoa’s investment in Nauru? Agricultural products—the same ones which add more pollution into the waterways, including phosphate.

Colonialism has buffered Naruans ability to culturally transmit traditional knowledge for governance over the ecosystem they call home. This knowledge system is deep, distilled from generations of work anchored in the community over time. It is different to the western system of empirical lab-based science, but is equally valid and efficacious. It reflects an intimate understanding of the symbiotic nature of life and centres it as a priority in the motu. Naruan experts need to be brought together to assure the correct delivery of knowledge for decision-making for the future.

International attention to indigenious knowledge and science encourages hope for the future. Peter Thomson, a Fijian diplomat and the UN’s special envoy for the Ocean, said, “Holders of diverse knowledge systems, including indigenious and local holders will be essential to the success of this decade.” But they haven’t caught up yet, and while they do, the land and people continue to pay the price.

When the land dies, there is no greater crime, as the land is innocent. The land only ever cared for us. Indigenious science doesn’t just require validation, it needs more from you now. It needs you to take action.