Traditional Practices

Textile work in Madang, Papua New Guinea depicts traditional fishing practices. 

Photo by Daisy Flores-Salgado

Pacific island communities have long practiced traditional management systems such as seasonal bans and temporary no-take areas that can be adapted for modern use.  The peoples throughout the Pacific Islands used customary practices of marine protection in line with traditional spiritual beliefs in order to counter marine resource depletions.  Most Pacific islands still have some form of community marine tenure either legally enshrined or informally recognized.  Such systems help ensure that benefits from marine conservation efforts will accrue to the local community.  Today, many Pacific Islands people still practice these traditions despite the presence of Western influences. 

In using an LMMA approach, some coastal communities are reviving methods that have been used traditionally as part of their culture for many generations, sometimes blending them with modern techniques for best results.  Different countries have different traditions for such marine protection.  In Fiji there is the tabu area; in Indonesia there is sasisen; in Papua New Guinea there is masalai.   Read on for more about each.

FIJI

In Fiji, a coastal area belonging to certain community or clan is called a qoliqoli (pronounced

'go-ling go-lee').  Qoliqolis are traditionally-owned fishing grounds that are passed down from generation to generation.  Traditionally, when the chief of a village dies, a portion of the community’s fishing ground is set aside as no-take, or tabu (pronounced ‘tam-boo’) area as a token of respect for the chief.  After 100 days, the area is re-opened and the community harvests fish to hold a feast to end the mourning.  The supernatural power of the chief is usually measured by the abundance and size of the catch. 

                                Funeral procession in Fiji.                                                 Fish harvest, Kadavu, Fiji.       

        Photo courtesy of InFocus Productions                                Photo by Alifereti Tawake                      

This type of temporary tabu typically results in increased harvest at the end of the closed period.  However, to maximize the beneficial effects of a tabu area, recent studies indicate that longer or permanently closed areas are best.  LMMA work in Fiji focuses on reviving this traditional practice with tested variations in length of closure time needed to allow for spillover and seeding effects.  For example, monitoring in some communities’ fishing grounds that have opened their tabu areas for short periods of time has found that short-term benefits of an increased harvest are less than the seeding and spillover benefits of long-term closure. 

Children gather round the LMMA protected area sign in Ucunivanua Village, Fiji. Photos by Toni Parras

Today, tabu areas in Fiji are being set up with the joint agreement of the chiefs and the people, unlike in the old days when a chief dies.  The tabu applies to only a portion of the fishing ground (about 10-20%), leaving the rest for community members to harvest for their livelihood, with the objective of enhancing the productivity of the open harvest areas.  The tabu imposed after the death of a chief now serves to reinforce the modern tabu area.  The creation of marine protected areas (MPAs) – a modern version of the tabu system – has followed the traditional rites, with formal declaration and ceremonies performed, traditional marking of the closed area, and notification of neighboring users.

For more information on Fiji LMMA activities, see Where we Work.

INDONESIA

Signboard indicating protected area at Ohoiren Village,

Kei Island, Southeast Moluccas. 

Photo by Cliff Marlessy

In Eastern Indonesia, the practice of placing seasonal or temporary restrictions to regulate the use of a specific natural resource is known as Sasisen - or Sasi for short.  The basic concept of sasi is to close the area for several months and then open it for harvesting.  Traditionally, sasisen had been implemented for land use, such as coconut and betel nuts plantations.

However, not all community members respect the tradition.  Clemens Iraria, Head of the Community Council in Saba Village, 50 kilometers east of Biak, explains why.  “Local institutions have lost power and authority.  Since the enforcement of national law on village government, the practice of sasisen has increasingly lost its ability to aid conservation.  Even when it is practiced, sasi is now mostly regarded as a cultural ceremonial event; few use sasi as a tool for improving ecological conditions and/or increasing the income of the community."

Despite the difficulties, sasi systems do allow for sustainable use of resources, and the challenge now is to modernize it into a present-day conservation system.  Given modern threats such as bomb fishing and cyanide use, it is difficult for communities to benefit by continuing with the original concept of short-term closure.  To gain benefit from the Sasi system today, sites should be closed for a long period of time, at least 1 or 2 years.  

Announcing the hawear, or sasi area at Ohoiren Village, Kei Island,

Southeast Moluccas, Indonesia.  Photo by Cliff Marlessy

When LMMA work started in Eastern Indonesia, this traditional tool was used to develop the closed areas within the LMMAs.  Throughout Eastern Indonesia, sasi has different local names.  For example, in the villages of Demoikisi, Tablanusu, and Tablasupa in the Depapre Bay-Jayapura Focal Area, it is called tyaitekete, while it is called Hawear in Ohoiren Village on Kei Island in the Southeast Moluccas, Yot in Big Kei Island, and Yutut in Small Kei Island.

For more information on Indonesia LMMA activities, see Where we Work.

PAPUA NEW GUINEA

 
Depictions of traditional life in Papua New Guinea at Madang airport.  Photos by Toni Parras

Papua New Guinea has a unique land tenure and ownership system based on clan groups.  Except for land that has been acquired through the National Land Act of 1981 for government purposes and land that has been acquired by commercial business enterprises, virtually the whole country is under traditional land tenure systems.  In certain island and coastal communities where large fringing reefs occur, these reefs are considered to be extensions of the land and are claimed as customary land.  The Wildlife Management Area (WMA) concept (the rough equivalent of an LMMA in PNG) recognizes customary land ownership, places landowners in direct control of resources, and is the primary form of legally protected areas in Papua New Guinea.

In Papua New Guinea, coastal communities practice a wide range of traditional land ownership customs and systems of natural resource use.  These traditional practices and knowledge are passed on from generation to generation through oral traditions.  Many of the underlying systems of traditional management are imbedded in local folklore about the area.  In almost every natural system in Papua New Guinea, it is believed that there are associated Masalai (spirits) that serve as natural protectors of particular areas. These masalai can have various temperaments and personalities and can interact in both helpful and harmful ways with local resource owners.

Signage announcing the Sinub Island Marine WMA.  Photo by Daisy Flores-Salgado

Areas that are particularly dangerous or are difficult to access are often considered masalai areas.  In the context of marine areas they are often areas of unpredictable, strong currents, or the windward sides of islands with high breaking waves and rocky coastline often adjacent to steep dropoffs.  It is likely that the evolution of this folklore was a mechanism for parents to keep their children out of harm’s way.

During the establishment of modern protected areas in Madang Lagoon, LMMA partner organization Wetlands International-Oceania paid careful attention to the local masalai stories associated with each area.  These areas and the stories associated with them are included in each management plan as traditional management tools. 

Data shows that at least ninety percent of the masalai areas in Madang Lagoon are also the areas of highest diversity and abundance of fishes with the highest percentage of live coral cover.  They are also areas that often include spawning aggregations, areas of upwelling, and nursery areas – all global priorities for marine conservation.  These areas have already been receiving a type of de-facto protection for thousands of years based on a rich history of traditional practices.

Cruising the waters of Madang Lagoon.              Carved wooden totem, Madang. 

    Photo by Michael Guilbeaux                        Photo by Toni Parras

The traditional systems, while still in place, are weakening as modern values and Western religious beliefs brand the masalai stories and other traditions as bogus and useless to the modern human condition.  LMMA work in Papua New Guinea seeks to support, promote and re-enforce the masalai story as part of a system of management that integrates traditional with modern management efforts.  It is quite clear that biological and cultural conservation are mutually supportive in this context.  The traditional knowledge and customary management practices of indigenous peoples, which have been part of the natural system for thousands of years, have much to contribute to the modern practice of marine protected area development.

For more information on PNG LMMA activities, see Where we Work.

Sources:  Bill Aalbersberg (Fiji), Cliff Marlessy (Indonesia), Aaron Jenkins (Papua New Guinea)

For more stories from specific LMMA sites, see Stories from the Field .