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Changing Customs
Turtle meat is still traditional at feasts, like this funeral (above left), where 12 turtles and plenty of fish were harvested outside the protected area. Still, the Arnavons project is having an impact: Lucy Bako, a new queen on Isabel, clings to shell ring relics (above right) that signify land rights but has ambivalence about the turtles killed for her mother’s funeral.
Trochus Shells
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Evans Zama
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The Tide Turns
Trochus shells (above), a source for buttons, is an important export commodity. The once-abundant snails have been heavily depleted and now thrive only in the reserve. Evans Zama (above, with hand-written history book) “talks story” — explaining the history of the community and recalling days of plenty.
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Mayer describes the local approach to decision making as “circling to reach consensus.” Take, for example, discussion of a limit on catching sharks. It launched with stories on hunting exploits and shark totems, veered off to the economic importance of sharks, then looped into constraints: Was it practical to impose limits on creatures that swim in and out of the conservation area? Rounding every base on the issue, the committee finally honed in on consensus: Shark catches could and should be limited.
Mayer emphasizes the value of consensus among the communities: “In a democracy, a decision can be made when 49 percent of the people say no and 51 percent say yes. In a traditional village setting, if there’s consensus, people go forward; if there’s not consensus, no action will be taken.” From matters big to small, the management committee developed and invested itself in solutions that could never be second-guessed by a top-down approach. When committee members wanted three conservation officers to man the new Arnavons field station, the consultants questioned if there would be enough work to keep that many people busy. But the communities’ priority was that jobs would be shared equally among residents of Choiseul, Isabel and Waghena.
After two years of work, on August 22, 1995, the marine protected area opened.
The protected area appears to be doing its job.
A two-month survey during peak hawksbill nesting season in 1991 revealed just 29 nests on Arnavons beaches. By 2000, the annual count was up to 785 nests, and by 2006 it reached 1,862. Today the project has become a model for other initiatives in the Solomons. Since 2004, with Conservancy support, five more community-run marine protected areas have been launched. And more communities are queuing up.
As for the three communities on Choiseul, Isabel and Waghena, disputes over the Arnavons may never be fully resolved. But leaders of all three communities seem willing to look beyond those differences for the good of the whole.
“Though we have different kastoms,” says Bako, “we now know who are these people from Choiseul, who are these people from Waghena, and they know us. We already know the differences between us, and we already forget about the other things, to come up with one mind to look after the project for our people.”
Tobire agrees: “We actually create something that I think maybe throughout the world it’s very hard to have—three different races or backgrounds of people to come together for one common interest of conservation.”
What is a Marine Protected Area?
Just as parcels of land have long been protected as reserves or national parks, the world’s oceans are slowly coming under similar protections. These areas, too, have a variety of names and uses. “Marine protected area” (MPA) is an umbrella term intended to cover the gamut.
Most MPAs are designed to contain zones with different uses that preserve and enhance recreational, commercial, scientific, cultural and conservation goals. Often, their main purpose is to reduce or eliminate harmful extractive activities, such as overfishing.
Scientific evidence shows that MPAs can help preserve and increase the overall diversity and abundance of marine species. By creating networks of MPAs, the Conservancy aims to ensure that ocean and coastal habitats have a better chance of surviving catastrophic events, such as warming waters that bleach corals.
The Conservancy is working to transform the way MPA networks are created, managed and financed. The goal is to protect and restore the most resilient examples of ocean and coastal ecosystems to the benefit of marine life and local communities.
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Nature picture credits: All photos © Djuna Ivereigh
