Petition to the Department of Science, Technology and Innovation (DSTI) 

Indigenous Knowledge is South Africa's living heritage. It belongs to the communities that have protected, practised and passed it from generation to generation. Regulations that will shape its future must be developed with those communities—not without them.

The Department of Science, Technology and Innovation (DSTI), published the Draft Indigenous Knowledge Systems (IKS) Regulations for public comment on the 04 June 2026 with a deadline set for 04 August 2026. indigenous-knowledge-draft-regulations-out-for-comment

These regulations will influence how Indigenous Knowledge is recognised, protected, documented, accessed and governed in South Africa. They affect Indigenous medicine, agriculture, biodiversity, food systems, languages, arts, culture, spirituality, environmental stewardship, education, innovation and countless other aspects of Indigenous life.

Yet many of the people whose knowledge these regulations seek to govern have not had a genuine opportunity to participate in the consultation process.

The draft regulations were made available primarily through digital platforms and in English. For many Indigenous communities, particularly rural communities, elders and traditional knowledge custodians, these barriers have meant that they were either unaware of the regulations or unable to engage with them meaningfully before the consultation period closed.

A consultation process cannot be considered meaningful if the people most affected are unable to understand the proposals or access the information needed to respond.

Recognising these concerns, representatives of IPROSA, Indigenous Knowledge Holders and Lekgotla Labelaphi Bendabuko recently met with officials from DSTI and NIKSO. During this engagement, we respectfully requested that the Department:

1. Pause the current consultation process;
2. Translate the draft regulations into all official South African languages;
3. Extend the consultation period; and
4. Conduct meaningful, community-based consultations with Indigenous Knowledge Holders across the country.

We welcomed the opportunity for dialogue and appreciate the Department's willingness to listen. We now invite the people of South Africa to add their voices in support of these reasonable and necessary requests.

This petition is not an attempt to stop the development of the regulations.

It is a call to strengthen them by ensuring that every Indigenous community has a fair opportunity to understand, discuss and contribute before the regulations are finalised.

A stronger consultation process will produce stronger regulations. It will build public trust, improve implementation and honour the constitutional principles of dignity, equality, transparency and meaningful public participation.

We therefore call upon DSTI  to:

• Immediately pause the current public consultation process on the Draft Indigenous Knowledge Systems Regulations.
• Translate the draft regulations into all official South African languages and make them available in accessible formats.
• Extend the consultation period to allow sufficient time for communities to study, discuss and respond to the regulations.
• Conduct community-based consultations in partnership with Indigenous Knowledge Holders, traditional leaders, community organisations and other custodians of Indigenous Knowledge in every province before finalising the regulations.
• South Africa's Indigenous Knowledge is a national treasure. It has survived colonisation, dispossession and generations of marginalisation because communities protected it. Those same communities deserve the opportunity to shape the laws and regulations that will govern its future.

We therefore call on all South Africans—whether you are an Indigenous Knowledge Holder, a community member, a researcher, a student, a farmer, an artist, a health practitioner or simply someone who believes in ISINTU—to stand with us.

Sign this petition and help ensure that the future of Indigenous Knowledge is shaped through meaningful participation, informed consent and respect for the people who continue to keep this knowledge alive.

Pause the process. Translate the regulations. Extend the consultation. Let every community have a voice.