1. Definition and Scope

Indigenous and Traditional Knowledge (ITK) refers to knowledge, practices, beliefs, oral traditions, skills, innovations, and expressions developed, sustained, and transmitted across generations by specific communities in connection with their cultural, ecological, or social environment. This includes traditional ecological knowledge, customary law, oral literature, healing practices, agricultural knowledge, ceremonial practices, and community narratives.

2. Free, Prior and Informed Consent (FPIC)

Research involving the documentation, recording, analysis, or application of ITK must be conducted with the Free, Prior and Informed Consent (FPIC) of the relevant knowledge-holding community, as established by the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP) and the Nagoya Protocol on Access and Benefit-Sharing. Authors must:

• Obtain FPIC before commencing research, not merely before publication.
• Describe the FPIC process in the Methods section, including who was consulted, in what capacity, and through what mechanisms consent was recorded.
• Provide evidence of community approval upon request by the Editor or reviewers.
• Where community structures do not align with formal IRB frameworks, work with local leaders, community representatives, or cultural authorities as appropriate.

3. Attribution and Community Co-Authorship

Communities and knowledge custodians who contribute substantially to the research must be acknowledged appropriately. Authors are encouraged to consider community co-authorship, co-researcher attribution, or formal acknowledgement as determined through the FPIC process. Generic phrases such as 'local informants provided information' are insufficient.

4. Benefit-Sharing

Where research commercially exploits, patents, or otherwise monetizes ITK, authors must disclose the benefit-sharing arrangements made with the source community. Research that appropriates ITK for commercial benefit without community consent and equitable benefit-sharing will not be published.

5. Responsible Representation

Authors must take care not to misrepresent, decontextualize, or trivialize ITK. Comparative analyses that position ITK as inferior or 'pre-scientific' are discouraged. Authors are expected to engage with ITK on its own epistemological terms and situate it within its cultural and historical context.

6. Data Sovereignty

Wherever possible, research data consisting of ITK should be stored in repositories governed or co-governed by the source community. Authors must consult with the community on whether data should be open-access or restricted. The journal supports community requests for data embargo or restricted access and will reflect these requirements in the Data Availability Statement.