[ANU Pacific.Institute] [SIDS Discussion Group] Next Meeting - Thurs., Aug. 27, 2015

[Nicholas Mortimer]

The Small Island Developing States (SIDS) Discussion Group

When: 4- 5 pm Thursday, August 27, 2015
Where: Fenner Seminar Room, Frank Fenner Building #141, Linnaeus Way, ANU

Topic: The interpretation of indigenous ecological knowledge in different spheres of context in the Marshall Islands (see abstract below)
Presenter: Ms Ingrid Ahlgren, PhD Candidate, Resources, Environment and Development (READ), Crawford School of Public Policy

Abstract:
Throughout the Pacific, the concepts of tapu/tambu/tabu in relation to conservation has been well documented.  The Marshall Islands is one of the more recent entities to become an internationally-recognized member of the club of societies with a traditional conservation ethic.  When pursuing its national biodiversity planning, as mandated by the UN’s Convention on Biological Diversity, the Marshallese concept of mo was invoked and embraced, therein defined as “the traditional system to designate parts of land, a whole island, or a reef area, as a restricted site.”

Many other Pacific nations have similarly implemented no-take zones under a titular umbrella of traditional practices, with varying success and popularity.  Indeed, programs in Fiji and Samoa have been used in many of the workshop blueprints for exemplary management plans.  In the RMI, with mo as a guiding principle, biodiversity hotspots have been identified, with input from western consulting scientists, as potential areas for the creation of Locally Managed Marine Areas (LMMAs). These sites, however, are often conflated (and confused) with conservation areas, ignoring a complex, dynamic, and broad range of spiritually and politically imbued sites.
So how have institutionalized forms of knowledge interacted and morphed to meet a desired set of goals within their situated cultural contexts (whether it be a Pacific Island nation or an international political entity)? Are these activities empowering tradition and revitalization, or palatable guises for political or economic gain?  Through ethnographic research and case studies of mo as part of my ongoing doctoral research, I hope to engage in a deeper review of how traditional knowledge is conceived of, held, and allowed (or dis-allowed) to interpretation in other spheres of knowledge for a variety of reasons, and to various ends.

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