COMMUNITY IN CONSERVATION

OCEANIA

GENERAL AGRICULTURE FOREST TENURE MARINE PROTECTED AREA

GENERAL

Baines, G (1989). Traditional resource management in the Melanesian South Pacific: a development dilemma. in Common Property Resources: Ecology and Community Based Sustainable Development. F Berkes, Ed. London, Bellhaven: 273-295.

Burt, B and C Clerk, Eds. (1997). Environment and development in the Pacific Islands. National Centre for Development Studies Pacific Policy Paper, no. 25. Canberra, National Centre for Development Studies, Research School of Pacific and Asian Studies, Australian National University.

Twelve papers, most resulting from a conference organized in 1995 by the Pacific Islands Society of the United Kingdom and Ireland, and the United Kingdom Foundation for the South Pacific, address issues of environment and development in the South Pacific. Papers discuss harmonizing resources for sustainable economic development in the Pacific Islands context (Sitiveni Halapua); who controls development (Suliana Siwatibau); logging, community forestry, and the future of the forests in Papua New Guinea (Max Henderson); international trade for local development in the western Solomon Islands (Jaap Schep); the Melanesian way of menacing the mining industry (Colin Filer); fisheries and coastal resources in the Pacific Islands (Edvard Hviding); alternative futures for Pacific Islands agriculture (Tim Bayliss-Smith); building upon local culture for community development (Hugh Govan); ecotourism and national development in the Pacific (Peter Burns); public policy for a healthier population in the South Pacific (John Cameron); changes in the global environment and the uncertain prospects for the Pacific (Tom Spencer); and Pacific-Europe links for sustainable development and environmental management (Akuila Yabaki). Burt is with the British Museum, London. Clerk is at the Open University, London. (OVID)

Delacy, T (1994). “The Uluru-Kakadu model- Ananagu- Tjukurrpa - 50,000 years of Aboriginal law and land management changing and concept of national-parks in Australia.” Society and Natural Resources 7(5): 479-498.

In 1978 the first Australian Aboriginal-owned and jointly managed national park, Kakadu, was established in the Northern Territory. Since that time the Aboriginalization of national parks has gathered pace in the Northern Territory and an Uluru/Kakadu model of park management has evolved, which in recent times has spread to parks under state jurisdiction. One estimation is there will be upward of 30 Aboriginal-owned and jointly managed national parks by 1995. A number of policy issues are foremost in this process, including subsistence, ecotourism, ethnoecology, and employment and training. Should these changes continue then they will have a profound impact on the culture and nature of protected area management in Australia. They could also contribute to achieving social justice for Aboriginal people. (Source)

Meagher, SJ and WDL Ride (1979). Use of natural resources by the Aborigines of south-western Australia. in Aborigines of the WestEd. Nedlands, Western Australia, University of Western Australia Press: 66-80.

Rappaport, R (1967). “Ritual regulation of environmental relations among a New Guinea people.” Ethnology 6: 17-30.

In this classic of human ecology, Rappaport argues against those who say ritual only serves the purpose of providing group solidarity to a culture. He says instead that ritual can have a practical effect on culture if it plays a part in regulating the relationships of groups and their environments. He argues that rituals in New Guinea serve to “maintain the biotic communities existing within their territories, redistributes land among people and people over land, and limits the frequency of fighting.” These rituals are used to limit the number of pigs that exist within the groups territory. By slaughtering pigs every ritual cycle, the Tsembaga balance the ecological carrying capacity of their land. Too many pigs would invade swidden gardens and eat human crops. Just a small number of pigs is sufficient to keep residential areas clean, to suppress unwanted secondary growth in swiddens and to soften the soil. Thus ritual has developed to provide a way to keep the environment in balance with the human and pig populations. An all too pat analysis of ecological regulation, one that assumes correlation is causality between culture and the environment. (P. McElwee)

Russell-Smith, J, D Lucas, et al. (1997). “Aboriginal resource utilization and fire management practice in western Arnhem Land, monsoonal northern Australia: notes for prehistory, lessons for the future.” Human Ecology 25(2): 159-195.

This paper considers traditional resources and pre management practices of Aboriginal people living in a near-coastal region of western Arnhem Land monsoonal northern Australia. The data illustrate that before the arrival of Europeans freshwater floodplains and riverine habitats provided the major proportion of food resources over much of the seasonal cycle. By contrast, the extensive lowland woodlands and open forests, the sparser. vegetation of the Arnhem Land escarpment and plateau, and the generally small patches, of rain forest (''jungle''), provided relatively few resources although jungle yams were of critical importance through the relatively lean wet season. The paper then considers burning as a management tool through the seasonal cycle. In broad terms burning commenced in the early dry season and was applied systematically and purposefully over the landscape. Burning in the late dry season was undertaken with care, and resumed in earnest with the onset of the first storms of the new wet season, particularly on floodplains. These general patterns of resource use and fire management are shown to have applied widely over much of near-coastal northern Australia. The implications of these data for prehistory and for contemporary land management practices in the region, are considered. It is suggested that pre-European patterns of fire management in the region are likely to have been practiced only over the past few thousand years, given the development of abundant food resources in the late Holocene. It is shown that traditional burning practice offers a generally useful, conservative model for living in and managing a highly fire-prone savanna environment. (SSCI)

Tacconi, L (1997). “Property rights and participatory biodiversity conservation: lessons from Malekula Island, Vanuatu.” Land Use Policy 14(2): 151-161.

The implementation of the biologically-focused and/or legally-focused approaches to conservation has contributed to the cultural and socioeconomic marginalization of many people living within or close to protected areas (PAs). As a result, many PAs suffer from encroachment by the people living near them. The paper shows how the establishment of conservation initiatives may benefit from: (i) a participatory identification, assessment and establishment process that accounts for existing property rights, local people's needs and wants; and (ii) legislation that recognizes and strengthens customary property rights. The paper considers the lessons derived from experience on the island of Malekula,Vanuatu. (Source)

Taiepa, T, P Lyver, et al. (1997). “Co-management of New-Zealand's conservation estate by Maori and Pakeha: a review.” Environmental Conservation 24(3): 236-250.

AGRICULTURE:

Clarke, WC (1966). “From extensive to intensive shifting cultivation: a succession from New Guinea.” Ethnology 5: 347-359.

FOREST:

Clarke, WC (1966). “From extensive to intensive shifting cultivation: a succession from New Guinea.” Ethnology 5: 347-359.

Cook, C (1996). The divided island of New Guinea: people, development and deforestation. in Tropical Deforestation: The Human Dimension. LE Sponsel, TN Headland and RC Bailey, Ed. New York, Columbia University Press: 253-271.

Cortez, F (1986). Community forestry in customary lands: lessons from Papua New Guinea. in Community forestry: Lessons from case studies in Asia and the Pacific region. YS Rao, Ed. Bangkok, FAO.

Cox, P and T Elmqvist (1997). “Ecocolonialism and indigenous-controlled rainforest preserves in Samoa.” Ambio 26(2): 84-89.

Several village-based preserves have been established in Western Samoa that are owned, controlled and managed by the villagers. Although these preserves appear to be a robust approach to rainforest conservation, their establishment resulted in significant conflicts between the villagers and the Western NGOs that assisted in raising funds for the preserves. The principles of indigenous control were unexpectedly difficult to accept by western conservation organizations who, ultimately, were unwilling to cede decision-making authority to indigenous peoples. Conversely, ecocolonialism, the imposition of western conservation paradigms and power structures on indigenous peoples, proved to be incompatible with indigenous concepts of conservation and human dignity. Even well-intentioned conservation efforts by NGOs may fail if there is an unwitting disparagement of the traditional knowledge, culture, political systems, and integrity of indigenous peoples. Similar conflicts may occur in other areas with traditional land-tenure systems and strategies are needed to avoid such problems in the future. (Authors)

Devoe, NN (1994). “Mangrove exploitation and conservation in the Federated States of Micronesia.” Isla: a Journal of Micronesian Studies 2(1): 67-82.

Kirsch, S (1997). “Regional dynamics and conservation in Papua New Guinea: the Lakekamu River Basin Project.” Contemporary Pacific 9(1): 97-120.

Can integrated conservation and development programs, which combine commercial ventures with conservation initiatives, help to preserve the forests of Melanesia? Can conservation and development programs enable rural communities to better manage their land and resources in the face of rapid economic change! This paper explores these questions through discussion of an integrated conservation and development project sponsored by Conservation International in the Lakekamu River Basin of southeastern Papua New Guinea. The project encompasses land and resources belonging to four different cultural groups, a situation not uncommon in Melanesia, and the pager analyzes how regional histories and contemporary political relations have affected its implementation. The paper also responds to several critical assessments of integrated conservation and development programs by considering the ways in which the project may affect the people of the Lakekamu River Basin. (Anthrolit)

Lousman, B (1992). Management systems for community forestry based on sustainable land use in Papua New Guinea. in Sustainable and Effective Management Systems for Community Forestry: Proceedings of a workshop Jan. 15-17, 1992. H Wood and WHH Mellick, Ed. Bangkok, Regional Community Forestry Training Center.

Meilleur, BA (1996). Forests and Polynesian adaptations. in Tropical Deforestation: The Human Dimension. LE Sponsel, TN Headland and RC Bailey, Ed. New York, Columbia University Press: 74-96.

Mullins, M and L Flaherty (1995). “Customary landowner involvement in the Kumil Timber Project, Papua-New-Guinea.” Geoforum 26(1): 89-105.

The Kumil timber project in Papua New Guinea represents one of the earliest attempts by the State to directly involve customary landowners in large-scale timber harvesting. A unique aspect of this project was that a local landowners' company was established to manage the logging and initiate development activities so that customary landowners would retain a greater share of the benefits. This paper examines the experience of customary landowners with the Kumil project. The social structures applying to land tenure are examined, as well as the impact that logging has had on village stability and prosperity. Finally, the role of the landowners' company as a vehicle for meaningful villager participation in large-scale forest harvesting is assessed. (SSCI)

Olsson, G (1991). “The socio-economic importance of non-timber forest products in the South Pacific: focus on Vanuatu.” Unasylva 42(165): 24-30.

Paulson, D (1994). “Understanding tropical deforestation - the case of Western Samoa.” Environmental Conservation 21(4): 326- 332.

The case of Western Samoa is used to challenge the tendency in the recent literature to polarize the issue of tropical deforestation as caused by either political economic forces or increasing human demands. While it is recognized that political economic forces must be changed in many cases to make just and sustainable use of the forest possible, the case of Western Samoa is used to highlight the difficult challenge of conserving tropical forests and their biodiversity even under customary land-tenure and local control of forest resources. In Western Samoa, much of the forest has been converted to agricultural uses over the last 40 to 50 years. The conversion of forest has taken place under the traditional tenure system, which has changed informally to accommodate the desire of individuals for opportunities to expand agricultural lands. Agricultural expansion has been driven by population growth and voluntary participation in cash-crop production and hence in the global economy. The pressures of growing populations and increasing aspirations, as well as political economic forces of deforestation, must be addressed. A customary tenure system and strong local control of resources, while often assumed to favour improvement in management of forest resources, can present their own challenges to conservation of forest ecosystems. In Western Samoa the intricate political system, in which families vie for status and power, is tightly woven with a flexible customary land-tenure system. Cooperative efforts that are necessary for local forest conservation are not favoured by the competitive aspect of the local system. However, conservation efforts might build on another side of the Western Samoans' social system, namely their strong sense of social cohesion and responsibility. Forest conservation will not take place unless local leaders and land managers perceive the forest to have more value when kept intact than when converted. The potential economic value of forest varies geographically: thus where forests are rich in products and soils are difficult to manage for permanent agriculture, uses of forests that are left intact may have far more economic value over the long-term than the same areas if converted to agriculture. However, where forests are not especially rich in timber or non-timber products, and soils are suitable for permanent agriculture, as in Western Samoa, the conversion of tropical forests to agriculture may be a sound decision from a purely utilitarian viewpoint. Conservation of forests in places such as Western Samoa may thus depend ultimately on the recognition of the existence-value of the forest. (Source)

Raynor, B (1994). “Resource management in upland forests of Pohnpei: past practices and future possibilities.” ISLA: Journal of Micronesian Studies 2( 1): 47-66.

Forest resources on the Micronesian island of Pohnpei are abundant & diverse because of ample rainfall, rich volcanic soils, & a strong traditional respect for the forest. Lately, however, a rapidly growing population & a need for increasing amounts of cash have been associated with unsustainable deforestation & other forest resource extraction. Here, the cultural ecology of the traditional management system for Pohnpei's forests is described, & a case study of the recent development of a community management scheme - based on traditional island institutions & practices - for the island's remaining forest resources is presented. (Copyright 1994, Sociological Abstracts, Inc., all rights reserved.)

Tilling, AJ (1994). “Realising the potential of non-timber forest products: the predicament of West Coast indigenous forest-based users in the South Island, New Zealand.” Journal of World Forest Management 7(2): 129.

LAND TENURE/PROPERTY RIGHTS/COMMONS:

Hviding, E (1993). “Indigenous essentialism: simplifying customary land ownership in New-Georgia, Solomon Islands.” Bijdragen Tot De Taal- Land- En Volkenkunde 149(4): 802-824.

MARINE/FISHERIES:

Devoe, NN (1994). “Mangrove exploitation and conservation in the Federated States of Micronesia.” Isla: a Journal of Micronesian Studies 2(1): 67-82.

Hviding, E (1998). “Contextual flexibility: present status and future of customary marine tenure in Solomon Islands.” Ocean and Coastal Management 40(2-3): 253-269.

In this paper I discuss some long-term continuities in the socio-political dynamics of customary marine tenure in the Melanesian South Pacific. Building on field research material from Solomon Islands, and paying close attention to the pan-Melanesian concept of kastom, I exemplify how customary marine tenure and its social contexts are challenged and transformed by external economic and political pressures. These challenges and transformations are discussed with reference to the emerging legislative contexts of customary tenure rights. General trends are identified for Solomon Islands, particularly regarding the management potential of customary marine tenure. It is argued that the relationship between external challenges and local transformations is not one-sided. Certain modern pressures may lead to organizational innovation and reinforce the political base of customary control over marine resources, as expressed by present systems of customary marine tenure. (C) 1998 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.

Hviding, E and G Baines (1994). “Community-based fisheries management, tradition and the challenges of development in Marovo, Solomon Islands.” Development and Change 25(1): 13-39.

This study examines traditional fisheries-related resource management through a case in which local communities, from a basis of customary, 'common property' control over the sea and its resources, handle a multitude of development issues. Presenting first some important issues relating to people's role in fisheries management and to the 'common property' debate, the article then describes a traditional system for management of land and sea resources in a Pacific Islands society; that of Marovo Lagoon, Solomon Islands. Emphasis is given to fisheries resources, with a view to explain in practical terms how a system of customary marine tenure operates under the wider social, political, economic and ecological circumstances of change arising from development pressures. Against this background, assessments are made of the viability of this traditional fisheries management system under present conditions of state control and of both external and internal pressures for large-scale resource development enterprises. (OVID)

Pannell, S (1996). “Homo nullius or 'where have all the people gone'? Refiguring marine management and conservation approaches.” Australian Journal of Anthropology 7(1): 21-42.

PROTECTED AREA:

Carew-Reid, J (1990). “Conservation and protected areas in South-Pacific islands: the importance of tradition.” Environmental Conservation 17(1): 29-38.

Gilman, E (1997). “Community based and multiple purpose protected areas: a model to select and manage protected areas with lessons from the Pacific Islands.” Coastal-Management 25: 59-91.

Hill, MA (1983). “Kakadu National Park and the aboriginals: partners in protection.” Ambio 12(3-4): 158-167.

Hill, MA and AJ Press (1994). Kakadu National Park: an Australian experience in co-management. in Natural Connections: Perspectives in Community-based Conservation. D Western and RM Wright, Ed. Washington DC, Island Press.

Hviding, E (1993). “Indigenous essentialism: Simplifying customary land ownership in New-Georgia, Solomon Islands.” Bijdragen Tot De Taal- Land- En Volkenkunde 149(4): 802-824.

Pearl, M (1994). Local initiatives and the rewards for biodiversity conservation: Crater Mountain Wildlife Management Area, Papua New Guinea. in Natural Connections: Perspectives in Community-based Conservation. D Western and RM Wright, Ed. Washington DC, Island Press.

Pouliquen-Young, O (1997). “Evolution of the system of protected areas in Western Australia.” Environmental Conservation 24(2): 168-181.

The Western Australian system of protected areas (PAs) covers more than 15 million ha and is the second largest conservation estate of the Australian continent. An analysis of the history of the creation of PAs in Western Australia shows that the concept of nature conservation through reserves was slow to emerge. During the early decades of the century, reserves were mainly created for their recreation values. The lack of governmental interest in nature conservation led to a belated development of reserve coverage up to the 1950s, while vast areas of land were opened to farming and pastoralism. Following two scientifically-based reviews of the PA system, the number and coverage of PAs increased dramatically up to the late 1970s. The rationalization of the vesting and managerial responsibilities for PAs was only finalized in the 1980s. Since then, there has not been any large increase in PA area but a consolidation of the PA coverage. The development of the system of PAs has been impeded by the belated response of Western Australian governments to conservation concerns and a 'worthless' land approach to conservation as a land use. While large-scale land alienation for agriculture has now stopped, other types of land uses such as mining and other aspirations over land management and vesting, such as Aboriginal land claims and forestry are now constraining any large expansion of the BA system. Only an approach embracing the whole landscape can overcome the political and social limitations of the concept of PAs and the further degradation of developed land in Western Australia. (SSCI)

Tacconi, L and J Bennett (1995). “Biodiversity conservation: the process of economic-assessment and establishment of a protected area in Vanuatu.” Development and Change 26(1): 89-110.

This article describes the framework adopted for the socio-economic assessment of protected areas intended to safeguard biodiversity. This framework, which can be described as a three-tiered approach to conservation, is applied to the process of assessment and establishment of a protected area (PA) in Vanuatu. The potential benefits that the landowners of the PA could derive from logging activities, and the subsistence values derived from the PA are considered. It appears that if the PA was to be established without the payment of any compensation, the landowners would face substantial net costs. During the research process, it was suggested that the Government of Vanuatu could take up a lease on the land to compensate the landowners for the loss of potential logging royalties. When the benefits accruing to the landowners from a lease agreement are compared with the foregone logging royalties, it is found that the net present value of a seventy-five year lease agreement is approximately equivalent to the net present value of logging royalties. (Source)

Tacconi, L and J Bennett (1995). “Economic implications of intergenerational equity for biodiversity conservation.” Ecological Economics 12(3): 209-223.

The rights of future generations to enjoy sustainable development have been formally recognised internationally. This has important implications for the economic analysis of biological diversity, which, as an integral attribute of natural capital, is of critical importance to both current and future generations. The dominant economic paradigm involves no explicit recognition of the rights of future generations. Thus, it can give rise to outcomes of dubious intergenerational equity merit. Rawls' contractarian theory attributes intrinsic value to rights and is considered here in relation to the intergenerational distribution of natural resources. Some problems of theoretical and practical character for the implementation of the Rawlsian approach are noted. An incremental and adaptive learning process in the use and distribution of natural resources is recommended in order to ensure the well-being of future generations. Three degrees of intergenerational equity are derived: (i) extensive; (ii) intermediate; and (iii) minimal. In terms of biodiversity conservation, this implies an ethical base for countries to at least fund the establishment of protected area (PA) systems. Therefore, economic analysis should not be used at this conceptual level to decide if PA systems should or should not be established. This question would necessarily be answered in the affirmative on the basis of the interests of future generations. At the practical level of deciding which specific ecosystems should make up particular PA systems, economic analysis should: (a) contribute to a holistic approach to the identification of the areas to be protected; (b) investigate the most cost-effective way of carrying out the initiative; (c) assess of the intragenerational equity outcomes; and (d) consider the institutional features relevant to the successful implementation of the conservation initiative. (Source)