MBCN participates in the Inaugural Pacific Academy of Sciences Congress

In February 2026, the Pacific Academy of Sciences (PAS) held its inaugural Congress, "Harnessing the Knowledge of the Pacific," in Apia, Samoa. Over three days, from 16–18 February, more than 250 academics, government leaders, researchers, practitioners, and emerging scientists gathered in Apia to strengthen the region's scientific capacity. The Melanesia Bio‑Cultural Network (MBCN) was privileged to represent its member community organisations across Melanesia in supporting Pacific Science and Indigenous Knowledge.

That message found an early echo in the opening address. Reflecting on the long distance between Western science and Indigenous knowledge, speakers likened the two to the twin hulls of an alia — the Pacific's double‑hulled canoe — each made stronger by the presence of the other. It is a picture that sits at the very heart of MBCN's founding belief: that traditional ecological knowledge (TEK) and scientific research are complementary ways of knowing, strengthened through mutual learning and ethical collaboration.

MBCN brought that belief into a panel of its own, "Weaving Worlds: Biocultural Knowledge, Local Contexts, and the Future of Science in the Pacific," featuring two of the Network's members.

Dr Jeff Noro, Research Fellow and Coordinator of MBCN at the University of Melbourne's Oceania Institute, made the case for a regional, Indigenous‑led platform for TEK. The Pacific, he noted, is one of Earth's richest biocultural regions, with 90–95% of land and sea still under customary tenure — yet knowledge held in stewardship, customary governance, language, and lineage is under growing pressure from fragmentation, climate impacts, changing economies, and short‑term, donor‑driven funding. The formation of the MBCN was driven by the need for coordinated efforts across Melanesia to ensure that science is grounded in culture and serves the interests of tribal peoples across the region. It is a network of community actors and practitioners that work to protect their TEK, providing culturally informed advice on ethical research protocols and data governance, supporting the co-production of science, and ensuring reciprocal linkages between communities, universities and policymakers.

Ms Yolarnie Amepou, Director of the Piku Biodiversity Network, grounded that vision in community perspective. Bioculture, she explained, is the living relationship between people and nature — the recognition that biodiversity and culture are one system. Drawing on the guardianship principles of relationships, reciprocity, responsibility, and respect, she described the work of the Piku Biodiversity Network in the Kikori River Delta of Papua New Guinea, where communities do not simply take part in conservation — they lead it. Regional platforms matter, she argued, because they connect science with lived realities, work with existing knowledge and governance systems, and support self‑determination and sovereignty.

Together, the two presentations advanced several of MBCN's core objectives: amplifying Melanesian voices in regional and global forums, strengthening knowledge systems and research collaboration, and using storytelling to educate and advocate.