Conference: Marine Environmental Politics in the 21st Century: MacArthur Program on Multilateral Governance, Institute of International Studies, UC Berkeley
Paper Abstracts:
Donald Schug
Western Pacific Fishery Management Council
The 1979 treaty between Australia and Papua New Guinea that established the common border of these two states also created the Torres Strait Protected Zone, a marine area intended to protect both the marine environment and the traditional way of life and livelihood of the Strait's indigenous inhabitants. At its inception this unique border regime was hailed by its architects as an innovative exercise in diplomacy. Yet, over the past several years the Protected Zone has become a highly contested marine space in which various ethnic groups in the region as well as outside parties are vying with one another for control over limited marine resources.
Drawing on information gathered from an ethnographic study conducted in communities bordering the Torres Strait and from historical documents reviewed in archives in Papua New Guinea and Australia, this paper places the marine resource use conflicts occurring in the strait in the context of current debates regarding the nature of customary marine tenure, conceptions of tradition and representations of the indigenous viewpoint. Study findings indicate that the interests of fishing communities in their marine environment extend far beyond the boundaries of "home reefs" or even distant fishing grounds. Such connections and claims to marine areas may be overlooked or under emphasized by researchers as they can not be easily delimited and mapped. Secondly, the paper examines competing meanings of the term "traditional" and emphasizes the importance of applying a historical approach to the study of human-environment relations. Finally, the study suggests that policy makers and scholars should exercise caution in treating indigenous populations as homogenous groups. A more effective and equitable course is to seek out multiple viewpoints regarding the use, value and meaning of the sea and its resources. In short, the paper points to the advantages of adopting a broad spatial, temporal and social perspective when defining and clarifying a people's relation to the marine environment.
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Next abstract:
Philip Steinberg: Fish or Foul? Marine Stewardship Council
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