Landscape and law: territoriality and rights in knowledge

Much of the debate on the protection of Indigenous peoples’ knowledge is highly reductive, focusing on intellectual property rights. This means that much is left out of the conversation that might ensure that legal and policy responses to the lack of protection are realistic, feasible, and in line with Indigenous peoples’ own perspectives. One of the major obstacles to progress in this regard is the legacy of ignorance about how Indigenous peoples relate to the living world and have radically transformed it through practices that imbue their own lifeworlds. The latter differ markedly from Western naturalism. The privileging of naturalism that informs not just scientific practice but also law and policy, including through colonialism, has been extremely harmful. This Article seeks to make an alternative case for the protection of Indigenous knowledge by fusing Western property theory that justifies natural rights in land and knowledge with an enhanced understanding of the landscape domestication practices of Indigenous peoples and a better appreciation of Indigenous lifeworlds. Whilst acknowledging that this is likely to encounter opposition from those who consider the universalization of naturalism to be essential for the future of humankind, this Article asserts that a process of dialogue that enhances mutual understanding and identifies ways forward is a necessary starting point. Given that we are seeing a modest increase in appreciation for the value of collaborations based on ontological pluralism, such dialogues could turn out to be fruitful.