Community Conservation Research Network |

Limpopo District, Mozambique

CCRN — Wed, 28 Oct 2020 15:34:55 +0000

View the CCRN’s Mozambique Community Story as a PDF

KEY MESSAGES

People who practice traditional ceremonies of evocation of ancestral spirits inhabit rural communities in the Limpopo district in Mozambique
Places where the residences of the founders of the communities were once located, currently host traditional ceremonies – i.e., these are sacred natural sites or sacred forests
The sacred forests are important for the local way of life, however, conflicting use of land and resources are negatively affecting their maintenance

(1) Marta da Graça Z. Simbine (2) Cristiana S. Seixas
(1) Licungo University, Mozambique (2) University of Campinas
Key contact:mart.simbine@gmail.com

Community Introduction

Chilaulene, Chirindzene Sede and Zongoene Sede are three rural communities of Machangana people, a part of the Tsonga ethnic group. These communities are in rural areas characterised by a matrix of agricultural crops, forest fragments, patches of vegetation and non-urban housing areas at the Limpopo district in Gaza Province, southern Mozambique (Figure 1). The Machangana communities’ way of life includes traditional rites of worshiping ancestor’s spirits, locally called kuphalha. Such ancestors are the founders or old heroes of the community. In Chilaulene, Chirindzene Sede and Zongoene Sede there is a sacred natural site, also known as the sacred forest, where ancestors lived, and where local communities evoke ancestral spirits in cases of drought, crop pests, good agricultural productivity, and other relevant occasions in their life.

In all three communities, there are people who have embraced the responsibility of taking care of the sacred forests for many years. These are the custodians or guardians of spiritual, cultural, and biological values, and they are descendants of the founders of the respective localities. The sacred site of Chilaulene (0.6 ha), includes mostly herbaceous vegetation, with a few shrubs and sparse trees, and a marsh, whose custodians are the members of the Chilaule (Sigode) family. The sacred forest of Chirindzenehas (60.5 ha) has a water spring and a stream running through it, and it is guarded by the Matavel family members. Until the construction of a memorial to national heroes in the community in the 2010’s, the sacred forest of Chirindzene was also used to host community celebrations and cultural festivities.

Figure 1: The Gaza province in the southern Mozambique (A); The Limpopo district in Gaza’s coastal zone (B); The location of the sacred forests in Chilaulene, Chirindzene Sede and Zongoene Sede communities in the Limpopo district (C).

Nowadays, it is strictly used for traditional ceremonies. The sacred forest of Zongoene (7.0 ha), also known as sacred forest of Xirhaminhane Mhula, is guarded by the Mhula (Michavo) family members. Small-scale agriculture is the main source of livelihood for the three communities, followed by small-scale livestock rearing, artisanal fishing and charcoal production.

Conservation Challenges

The view of nature conservation of the rural Machangana communities of Limpopo district resembles the conservation vision of the environmental sciences, since it also seeks to safeguard a given ecosystem due to its intrinsic value. However, the main motivation for conservation for the rural communities of Limpopo district is its symbolic value. Thus, the criteria of evaluation of the conservation status of the sacred natural sites takes into account the biophysical factors (e.g. fragment size, tree density and size, vegetation biodiversity) and also social factors (cleanliness of the main entrance, existence of constructions and artefacts that symbolize the sacredness, respect for institutions, engagement of the local community in traditional ceremonies, and frequency of visitors). Below, we present the challenges for conservation of each of these sacred natural sites by considering these factors.

In all the communities, the spiritual invocation ceremonies tend to be modified from the traditional ways, due to the lack of financial means to cater for the expenses that a traditional ceremony entails or to facilitate the presence of visitors. There is also less adherence by local people to the ceremonies due to changes in the spiritual values of the members of the communities. This is caused mainly by the emergence of new religious sects or governance dynamics imposed by the formal governance. Another challenge is that all sacred natural sites have vestiges of uses not allowed by local institutions, probably caused by inhabitants who are unaware of the sacredness or do not share belief in the sacredness of these sites.

Challenges for conserving the sacred site of Chilaulene

One of the major challenges for the preservation of the sacred forest of Chilaulene relates to small-scale livestock farming. The lack of a properly organized cattle-drinking system forces herdsmen to lead their cattle to the pond that is part of the sacred site, causing its degradation. In doing so, they contribute to the weakening of the sacred vision that the community members have had over that natural monument, as it represents a non-spiritual use and therefore not accepted by local institutions. Watering the cattle at the sacred site pond has led to the decreasing conservation status, and consequent diminishing local community awareness of the sacredness.

Another challenge emerged in the mid-1970s, when part of the sacred site was converted into a cemetery for the burial of community members. Moreover, not all the Chilaulene community members are aware of the existence of a sacred site adjacent to the community cemetery. This may be associated with a lack of artifacts that would signalize the sacredness of the place. Therefore, part of the portion that remained for ceremonies of evocation of the ancestral spirits nowadays holds graves of other people.

Challenges for conserving the sacred forest of Chirindzene

Many members of the Chirindzene Sede community claim that the sacred forest guarantees water in the village and without it they would die of thirst. This conviction arises from the fact that the creek that emerges in the forest has been the main source of water up until 10 years ago when the government started drilling boreholes in the community. Prior to this, the management of the stream and its banks sought to ensure that the water remained sufficiently clean for human consumption. However, after the drill of boreholes, only a small fraction of the community uses the stream (to wash clothes and watering the cattle). This has led to poor management and reduction of the water quality.

The community is also facing a reduction in actions that promotes the visibility of the sacred forest, both inside and outside the village, threatening the perpetuation of local community lifestyles. This situation arises from two main reasons: (1) the numbers of visits by national and foreign people and (2) the celebrations of national commemorative dates or local festivities are diminishing.

Challenges for conserving sacred forest of Zongoene

After the Mozambique civil war (from the 1970s to the early 1990s), many non-natives migrated to the residential areas of Zogoene Sede. As they needed land for agriculture, they converted part of the sacred forest into fields, reducing its area. Additionally, the newcomers settle their housing close to center of the neighbourhoods and far away from the forest. The distance among residential neighbourhoods and disputes among local leaders of each neighbourhood contribute to a significant part of the residents not engaging in traditional ceremonies of the sacred forest of Zongoene.

Community Initiatives

Despite the reported challenges, community members have been engaging in some initiatives to minimize them and to maintain their traditional ceremonies, which for a long time have constituted their way of life.

The traditional leaders of the Chilaulene community are taking the lead in the efforts of preventing the conversion of the entire area of the sacred site into a cemetery. In effect, the custodians of the sacred site have sought to avoid that new graves are established in the remaining portion of the sacred site, in addition to the appeals for the exhumation of the bodies buried in the portion already transformed into a cemetery.

In Chirindzene Sede, between 2002 and 2005, the local community, supported by the Community Association for Health and Development (Associação Comunitária para Saúde e Desenvolvimento – ACOSADE), implemented an initiative for conservation of the sacred forest of Chirindzene. This initiative resulted in the delimitation of that sacred forest, placement of plates inscribing local rules (prohibitions) related to the forest (Figure 2), as well as the construction of huts at the entrance of forest. These actions have had a positive impact, since the whole community now knows the significance of this place. Under the same project, honeybee hives were built for honey production and generation of alternative income for community members, but the lack of technical assistance led to failure of this activity.

In the beginning of the 2000s, the community of Zongoene Sede joined efforts to build a hut with cement and other more resistant materials replacing the previous one built with local material. In addition, in 2012 the community, in collaboration with the environmental authorities of Gaza Province, reforested with Eucalyptus sp (an exotic species) at least ¼ the forest area previously deforested.

Figure 2: Prohibitions related to the sacred forest of Chirindzene written in xichangana: “It is forbidden to cut tree branches, to practice agriculture, to burn, to build housing, to clear path/short cuts and to heard animals”. (A) and the traditional ceremony in the sacred forest of Zongoene (B).

Practical Outcomes

The Limpopo district belongs to the Maputaland centre of endemism, an ecoregion of global interest for the conservation of biodiversity. By conserving their sacred natural sites, the communities of Chilaulene, Chirindzene Sede and Zongoene Sede are contributing for conserving the biodiversity of the Maputaland forest mosaic, including endemic species of trees and, probably of other groups of living beings as well.

In addition to the immaterial benefit of spiritual use (which contributes to strengthening the identity of local communities), the three communities also get other benefits from their sacred natural sites. These benefits include other immaterial benefits (e.g., sense of place, leisure and learning), material benefits (such as food and medicinal resources), and regulating benefits (such as regulation of the quantity and quality of freshwater and the microclimate regulation).

The above context described here has resulted from the attempt to register the institutions and context underlining natural sacred natural sites in Mozambique (Simbine, 2020) – a country with deficiency in several ecological, social and anthropological data sets. Through this research, we found that most of the challenges to the conservation of the sacred natural sites are potentially minimized by raising awareness of the existence and importance of sacred natural sites among all community members and empowering the local communities, and in particularly the custodians, to deal with pressures posed by government. We understand that this research is an important step towards increasing awareness on sacred natural sites, and we hope that this contact with custodians of sacred natural sites, may reverberate in future collaboration with external actors.

Acknowledgements

We thank the population of Chilaulene, Chirindzene Sede and Zongoene Sede for their availability to contribute to our research. We also thank the São Paulo Funding Agency (FAPESP grant 15/19439-8) and SSHRC/CCRN for supporting field research and the Coordination for the Improvement of Higher Education Personnel (CAPES) for M.G.Z.S. Ph.D. Scholarship.

References

Simbine, M.G.Z. (2020). ‘Instituições Informais e Contribuições da Natureza para as Pessoas: Subsídios para a Conservação das Florestas Sagradas em Moçambique’ (Informal Institutions and Nature’s Contributions to People: Guidance for Conserving Sacred Forests in Mozambique). Ph.D. Dissertation in Ecology, University of Campinas, Brasil.

Innu Nation, Labrador, Canada

CCRN — Mon, 14 Sep 2020 15:28:11 +0000

Key Message

Innu of all ages are concerned with preserving their culture and language – inseparable from Innu identity. However many Innu youth are less immersed in their culture and language as they face pressures to seek “…work opportunities, often outside of their communities.”
Innu are shaping their future in a broad range of ways: participating in local, regional, national and Indigenous-specific meetings about “resources” (e.g. caribou); land use (e.g. Mealy Mountain National Park); co-creating a film that illuminates their perspective on their land and way of being: “Nakatuenita: Respect”
Innu Guardians have an increasingly important and recognized role in observing, monitoring, and communicating about the animals, plants, rivers and lakes on Innu lands

(1) Libby Dean, (2) Richard Nuna and (3) Trudy Sable
(1) CCRN, (2) Richard Nuna, Innu Nation, (3) Trudy Sable, Saint Mary’s University, Nova Scotia, Canada
Key contact: trudy.sable@smu.ca

Community Introduction

After approximately 8,000 years of living within their ancestral lands, Nitassinan, the Innu word for their customary lands and waters, the Innu of (what is now called) Labrador, Canada, were “settled” in communities in the 1960s following the entrance of Newfoundland/Labrador into confederation in 1949.

Prior to this, the Innu, formerly called the Montagnais-Naskapi, lived across a wide range of territory which straddled the border of present-day Labrador and Quebec. Throughout this landscape, they followed the seasonal migrations of caribou, their most important sustenance physically and spiritually, as well as seasonal migrations of birds and fish. With settlement into two communities –Sheshatshiu and Davis Inlet, which was later relocated to Natuashish – came various government institutions to deal with the consequences of cultural change, including what many Innu perceive as a “foreign” educational system, initially missionary led. The Innu were finally recognized as First Nations under the Indian Act of Canada in 2002 (Sheshatshiu) and 2005 (Natuashish), having not been recognized and granted First Nations status earlier, and having never signed any treaties.

Innu communities in Labrador, Canada

The Innu Nation of Labrador has been in the negotiation process with the federal government of Canada for their Land Claim since 1977. Land Claim settlements in Canada consist of agreements between the federal government and Indigenous groups (e.g. First Nations, Inuit, and Métis) regarding specified territory and set the terms for a wide range of related land-use rights. These may include financial recompense for land already being used, for example. One of the most valued aspects of a Land Claim agreement for Indigenous groups is having an undisputed “voice” about what happens on their land, as well as reaping benefits from activities that occur on that land (e.g. financial benefit from resource development or tourism). The impact of many of these activities have occurred for centuries – with huge financial gain for outside entities – without recompense to the Innu and other Indigenous communities who live in this region. A similar history exists around the entire globe.

Filming Nakatuenita [photo: Trudy Sable]

Sheshatshiu and Natuashish are considered to be “reserves” under the Indian Act. Sheshatshiu is a thirty-minute drive from Goose Bay, Labrador, which grew around the creation of a NATO air force base during World War II. Natuashish is only accessible by plane and snowmobile, or by boat when the ice breaks up. The land of the Innu includes tundra and boreal forest, which they use for cultural and livelihood purposes, as well as spiritual sustenance. Many of the Innu, particularly the older generations and Tshishennuat (Elders) spend long periods of time at traditional camping areas in nutshimit, the country, where they live directly off the land from hunting animals, fishing, and gathering various berries and medicines. With the arrival of development projects, an increasing number of Innu find work in the forestry and fisheries industries and, more recently, the Muskrat Falls hydro-electric development project. Some of this work is specifically stipulated to be “for Innu” in Income Benefit Agreements (IBAs) negotiated between the Innu and developers, however the work usually has requirements that do not fit with Innu customs, such as living on the land periodically. It is unknown what work opportunities there will be for Innu in the newly created Mealy Mountains National Park, adjacent to and encompassing their customary land.

Being Innu

The Innu have experienced rapid change since settlement in communities in the 1960s. Lifestyles have changed dramatically since then, and many of the social plagues of colonization have accompanied the Innu communities. Many of the Innu, particularly the Tshishennuat (Elders), are concerned about the youth and the passing on of their culture. Many younger Innu are speaking English instead of their language, Innu Aimun. Fewer youth live off the land as the Tshishennuat once had, and many have never been “in the bush” at all. Tshishennuat grew up living off the land and speaking only Innu Aimun. The Innu Aimun word, nutshimit encompasses all aspects of living on the land.

Innu Camp [photo: Trudy Sable]

Innu Elders are concerned that their language and knowledge of the land will be lost. Many Elders and other community members have long emphasized the importance of being connected to the land and experiencing the intergenerational learning by living together in nutshimit as integral to remaining rooted in the inherent environmental, social and cultural values, as well as critical life skills that are part of what it means to be Innu. Language is considered inseparable from Innu identity and the conservation of the land. The language holds the knowledge of the land and its many features.

The time spent by Innu camping and hunting within their traditional camping areas has become dramatically reduced, and the youth are increasingly speaking English, a foreign language. The Elders talked about the land as their life, as their source of food and medicine, and who they are as Innu (Sable et. al. 2006). Many say they get sick when they are not able to go on the land. A select group of Tshishennuat participate as advisors to the Land Claim process, but as many of the Tshishennuat are dying, much of the language of the land goes with them.

The middle-aged generation grew up spending time on the land and following their traditional practices and beliefs, but also living in the communities and attending mostly the lower grades (up to Grade 8) of Western education. Though still retaining their language and holding much of the knowledge of the land, many are also victims of the diseases of colonization – diabetes, cancer, heart problems, alcoholism, etc.

The youth are a rapidly increasing demographic in Innu communities, as is true in other Indigenous groups. Youth are generally spending less time on the land than their parents did, and some of them have never been on nutshimit. However, there is quite a bit of variability between the two communities of Sheshatshiu and Natuashish, Natuashish being more remote. More and more of the Innu youth are attending their community schools, while some opt to attend the provincial schools. Gradually, the rate of high school graduation is increasing, and a number of graduates are finding employment within their community or with new development projects. Though many still speak Innu Aimun as their first language, the younger children are learning English as their first language, while re-learning Innu Aimun at their school where efforts are being made to develop culturally relevant content.

Youth research participants, Sheshatshiu [photo: Libby Dean]

It is worth noting that while this article is mostly about “conservation and livelihoods”, Innu communities are simultaneously working on other pressing issues related to health, education, culture, governance, transportation and infrastructure, to name a few that require a huge amount of time, resources and effort, at times by the same small pool of people.

Innu Conservation and Livelihoods – Challenges & Opportunities

The Innu Nation is currently in the process of Land Claim settlements, an arduous, multi-year process. This includes developing a “land use” plan for designating different levels of land use and management practices for both the tundra and boreal forest environments they inhabit, e.g., those for cultural use, those for economic development, those for recreation, etc., once the land claims are settled. The Innu are, and have been for years, involved in numerous negotiations concerning resource development projects within Nitassinan, as well as with provincial and federal government agencies to deal with multiple levels of land-use, e.g. forestry, fishery, caribou and migratory bird management.

Specific to the resource development projects, such as the Voisey’s Bay nickel mine and the current Muskrat Falls hydro-electric development project, the Innu have negotiated Economic Impact Benefit Agreements ensuring training and jobs, as part of their settlement agreements with the corporations. These agreements can bring employment to the communities and provide training and jobs with attractive salaries (e.g. heavy equipment operation, catering, maintenance, environmental monitoring). Economic incentives are part of a larger debate around the benefits of relatively short-term and commonly (but not exclusively) lower skill / lower salary jobs, versus long-term sustainable development and conservation of ancestral lands. As with any community experiencing the possibility of resource development in their homeland, not all Innu share the same views on how to move forward – and often the discussion comes down to a development vs. tradition polarity which neither acknowledges the full complexity of the issues nor suggests a clear path forward.

Community Initiatives

Innu continue their efforts to protect their ancestral lands and way of life, as well as to balance their livelihood needs and engage with resource development in their homelands. Currently, the Innu are continuing to bring the issue of caribou populations and harvest restrictions to the fore. There have been decades of discussions already, and recently there have been some strides in helping non-Innu start to understand that the Innu relationship with atik (caribou) is much more than numbers. Innu are in the process of developing their own environmental policy, an effort the Community Conservation Research Network supported.

With limited resources, Innu are working at many levels to gain traction on the issues that are most urgently arising in their communities. These are some of the environmental and conservation initiatives Innu are currently working on:

Developing Innu-based environmental standards and land management regulations that are based on Innu cultural values
Communicating with the people Innu interact with—and the Innu—so they understand why the Innu need Innu-based policies, and what these policies are and mean
Helping the Innu understand the overall relationship between the Innu and the provincial and federal government – and what the impact is of policies regarding Innu management of their own land and Innu policies for their own land
Understanding what Innu want to see on the ground once the land claims are settled

Research, Capacity-Building and Consultation

The Innu have a decades-long relationship with researchers from universities, including Dr. Trudy Sable from Saint Mary’s University (SMU) in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada, which partners with the Innu Nation Environment Department. The Innu also partner with NGOs, researchers and consultants who continue to work closely with them, as they traverse the many layers of negotiations and development planning – and getting their voice heard more widely. The Innu have a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with Saint Mary’s University, which demonstrates mutual benefit and has resulted in the Innu Nation’s participation within the Community Conservation Research Network. With support from CCRN, the Innu did a number of things to support the development of their environmental policy. As part of this work, the Innu and invited researchers conducted interviews and focus groups with Sheshatshiu community members (including youth and elders) to better understand what conservation means to them and its connection to restoring, protecting and maintaining their traditional lifestyle.

In addition, a member of the Innu Nation environment department staff, Helen Andrew, came to Saint Mary’s University for three weeks to gain practical skills training (e.g. report writing, project management, and negotiation skills) and attend classes, lectures and public talks on environmental issues and policy, resulting in two certificates from the university.

Helen Andrew, Innu Researcher, receiving certificates for Saint Mary’s University [photo courtesy of Libby Dean]

In Sheshatshiu, a multi-day workshop developed and coordinated by Richard Nuna and Trudy Sable was held to discuss the development of environmental policy based on the views of the Innu. It was held at the school and included Innu elders, guardians, staff of the environment department from Natuashish and Sheshatshiu, the Saint Mary’s University project lead, one SMU researcher, the CCRN director, Environment Canada regional staff, and some members of the community. In order to gain a greater understanding of the environmental issues in the region, of the implementation and development process of an environmental policy, on the impacts and benefits of an environmental policy, and on how the Innu can benefit from and be involved in the policy process, Innu representatives, along with CCRN researchers, met with provincial and federal governments. Though the Newfoundland provincial government plays a larger role in the various Innu Land Claims processes than the Federal government, Environment Canada does play a significant role. In meeting the Senior Aboriginal Consultant to Environment Canada, a number of useful points were raised in how the Innu could negotiate land claims up front that would benefit their needs once claims are settled. Meetings such as this are places where Innu are increasingly participating as partners – rather than recipients of one-way information – in discussing the future of their land, and the policies that relate to it.

Practical Outcomes

Understanding, Developing and Participating in Policy

Innu are becoming stronger participants in the decisions which affect their future – especially in regard to conservation and livelihoods. The Innu Guardians are gaining skills and take a “stronger place at the table” now in discussions on caribou, land use, and more. Innu have a more respected “voice” in these discussions. In 2018, the film, ‘Nakatuenita: Respect’ was screened in Halifax, Nova Scotia with the Grand Chief, Gregory Rich and three Innu Guardians present. The film was a co-production between the Innu Nation’s environment director, Richard Nuna, and Dr. Trudy Sable of SMU/CCRN. The film, approximately one hour long, includes unique footage of Innu ancestral lands and features in-depth interviews with many community members to document and communicate the connection they have with the land – and the interconnected environmental, social and cultural values.

Nakatuenita film crew on the land [photo: Kent Martin]

Living and Communicating About Nakatuenita

As Innu travel their time-worn paths they are simultaneously creating new ways of being in the world, and of showing that Nakatuenita (Respect), is an inextricable part of being Innu. People who are working with Innu and who are doing anything on or in Innu ancestral lands and waters are expected to meet them along these physical and metaphorical pathways and to travel, listen and learn side-by-side with respect. The Innu are developing the means to demand this respect. There is no other way forward into the unknown future.

View Nakatuenita Respect - click here

Watch the Nakatuenita: Respect Trailer

References

Ashini, Daniel. “David Confronts Goliath: the Innu of Ungava versus the NATO Alliance”. In Drumbeat: Anger and Renewal in Indian Country. Boyce Richardson, ed. Summerhill Press, The Assembly of First Nations.

Loring, Stephen: Princes and Princesses of ragged fame: Innu archaeology and ethnohistory in Labrador. https://scholarworks.umass.edu/dissertations/AAI9233093/

Nakatuenita: Respect. A film produced by Trudy Sable and Richard Nuna. Director, Cinematographer, Editor: Kent Martin. Funded through the CCRN with additional support from the Innu Nation of Labrador, 2019

Pepamuteiati Nitassinat Website: innuplaces.ca

Sable, Trudy with Geoff Howell, Dave Wilson, and Peter Penashue. “The Ashkui Project: Linking Western Science and Innu Environmental Knowledge.” Local Science vs. Global Science: Approaches to Indigenous Knowledge in International Development, ed. by Paul Sillitoe, Ph.D. New York: Berghahn Books (Oxford). August 2006.

Trant, Andrew, John D. Jacobs, Trudy Sable. “Teaching and learning about climate change with Innu Environmental Guardians.” In, Polar Geography, Vol. 35, Issue 3-4, 2012

Acknowledgements

Gratitude to Nitassinan, and all that it is and has been to the Innu.
Special thanks to Helen Andrew for her work on this project.
Thanks to Patrick Larter (CCRN) for work on an earlier draft of this community story.
Our deep appreciation to:
Grand Chief Gregory Rich
Deputy Grand Chief, Etienne Rich
Manager, Environment: Richard Nuna
Fishery Guardian: Sebastien Piwas
Fishery Guardian: Hank Rich
CCRN Innu Researcher: Helen Andrew
CCRN / SMU Research Assistant: Libby Dean
Land Claims Negotiator: Sylvester Antoine
Translator and Production Assistant and Film participant: Basile Penashue
Film Participants: Mikau Andrew and Shipu Penashue
Film participants: Christine and Prote Poker
Film Participants: Snowden Piwas and Antonia Jacobish
Film Participant: Kathleen Nuna
Film Participant: Mary Adele Penashue
Film Participant: Chief, Eugene Hart
Film Participant: Raphael Gregoire
Film Participant: Joseph Mark
Grand Chief’s Communication Officer: Donna Paddon
Innu Nation staff, all those who assisted with the film
David Hart: Musician
Ravin Wick and Lynda Pokue: Innu Nation Finance Office
Tony Charles, PhD, Director of the Community Conservation Research Network, Saint Mary’s University, Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada

São Luiz do Paraitinga and Catuçaba, Brazil

CCRN — Mon, 17 Jul 2017 18:20:17 +0000

View the complete CCRN’s São Luiz Community Story as a PDF

Camila A. Islas, Alice R. de Moraes, Juliana S. African & Cristiana S. Seixas

Key Messages

Severe land degradation and environmental disasters can act as triggers to new community conservation and development initiatives and as stimulus to existing ones.
Bridging organizations can foster community initiatives through projects addressing environmental conservation and restoration in parallel to local capacity building and community development.
Cultural identity plays a central role in engaging communities in projects of nature conservation.

Community Profile

São Luiz do Paraitinga (hereafter São Luiz) is a municipality with about 10,000 inhabitants, located in Eastern São Paulo State of Brazil, near the Atlantic coast (Figure 1). The municipality is situated within the Paraíba Valley, which links the two largest metropolitan areas in Brazil (São Paulo and Rio de Janeiro). Out of the ~730 km² of the municipality’s area, 10% are encompassed by Serra do Mar State Park, a protected area, and 13% are in its buffer zone. The main land uses/cover are pasture (53%) and fragmented forests (37%), while cattle breeding for dairy, forestry and agriculture are the main economic activities⁽²⁾. The municipality is also embedded in the Atlantic Forest biome – a hotspot for biodiversity conservation, i.e. one of the highly threatened biomes in the world⁽⁵⁾.

Figure 1. A) The State of São Paulo highlighted in the Brazilian map. B) São Luíz do Paraitinga Municipality highlighted in the State of São Paulo map.

The landscape of São Luiz has been shaped by specific material and immaterial cultural features that were strongly influenced by coffee plantations from the early 20^th century and by the Caipira way of life, a local designation to a rural livelihood which involves typical food, music, tales, dances and festivities (see Figure 2).

The city’s architectural ensemble is the largest historical collection of the State’s architectural heritage, and its population proudly keeps alive several displays of immaterial culture⁽³⁾. The local economy currently depends on public services, and the Human Development Index (HDI = 0.690) is among the lowest of the State’s municipalities. In this context, cultural tourism and eco-tourism are promising alternatives for economic development.

Rural communities in Brazil are important SES, specifically in south-eastern states such as São Paulo, where landscapes are highly fragmented and urbanised. Landscapes there sometimes have patches of native vegetation that are especially important to wild animals, serving as habitat and ‘stepping-stones’, which generate various ecosystem services and are also home to human communities and their livelihoods⁽³⁾. The vast majority of rural properties (96%) in the municipality of São Liuz are owned by smallholders⁽²⁾.

In this context lies Catuçaba, a rural district in São Luiz comprising a village with around 1,000 inhabitants and its surrounding rural neighbourhoods. Most inhabitants make their living from small-scale animal husbandry and other smallholding activities⁽³⁾.

Figure 2: Traditional dance presentation at the central square, in front of the main church, during the festivity of the Holy Spirit in São Luiz do Paraitinga, 2016.

Until a few decades ago, the village was partially isolated from the urban center due to poor road access. However, the road connecting the village to downtown was paved by the year 2000, facilitating outsiders’ access and products transportation, and improving the access of villagers and rural inhabitants to infrastructure, education and health. Tourism-related activities have been modestly flourishing in the territory, supported by its beautiful landscape, pleasant climate and historical farms.

Conservation and Livelihood Challenges

Land degradation is longstanding in the region. Agriculture has been practiced since the settlement of the first colonisers in the late 17^th century, in spite of the hilly landscape and low nutrient availability and permeability of the soil⁽²⁾. Economic cycles (cotton, coffee, agriculture and cattle), along with poor soil management techniques, contributed to land degradation, impoverishing the soil, and most recently covering the land with Brachiaria, an invasive exotic grass that feeds the cattle and worsens soil permeability. As a result, cattle productivity has declined and many landowners fell back on other activities to complete their income.

Meanwhile, due to the promises of better job and education opportunities in urban centres, rural out-migration hampered the availability of rural workers and lowered social cohesion. Currently, land degradation in such social context threaten most of the traditional livelihoods.

On January 1st, 2010, São Luiz suffered from a flood of great magnitude, when the river crossing the downtown area raised over 11 meters above its regular level in a matter of hours, largely damaging the historical buildings and affecting the whole population, both urban and rural. Fortunately, there were no fatalities. Other than the high precipitation registered in end-2009, this flood was caused by factors linked to land degradation in rural areas, such as soil compaction in degraded and poorly managed pastures, fires commonly used to clear land, scarcity of forests near watercourses, and human occupation of floodplains.

Community Initiatives^*

In the face of the disaster’s intensity and tremendous material losses, the population of São Luiz showed a remarkable capacity to self-organize in order to cope with the emergency situation and, later, to rebuild and restore the functioning of the city⁽⁵⁾. Since the floods, the territory as a whole has been targeted by diverse projects focusing on forest restoration, agro-ecological production and capacity building.

The 2010 disaster stimulated new and ongoing community initiatives, mostly with the help of local and regional NGOs and government organizations. During the post-disaster reorganization phase, the community actively participated in decisions regarding the reconstruction of historical buildings and other issues. In addition to engineering work conducted at the government initiative, most post-disaster initiatives focused on keeping the vibrancy of local cultural manifestations⁽⁵⁾.

Figure 3: The scenic landscape around Catuçaba district: degraded pastures and patches of biodiversity-rich Atlantic forest covering its hills and valleys.

The community also showed a remarkable sense of place and attachment to both São Luiz, similarly to Catuçaba and its surrounding area (Figure 3). The tragedy seems to have reinforced this sense of place and local people’s capacities of coping and recovering their community life with their own hands, and at the same time acknowledging and being grateful for all the solidarity and help they received from external people and institutions⁽⁵⁾.

One of these community initiatives working to improve conservation and livelihoods was the Comunidade da Vila (Village Community). In 2012, the Learning Community initiative began in Catuçaba. The main goal of the project was to promote an environment for reflection about nature conservation and local development, and to facilitate the planning of collective actions^(1,3). Together with local people, the initiative planned and organised several cultural events and community actions over three years⁽¹⁾. Although the project ended in 2015, the community continued to meet until 2017, focusing on a street market with local products, tourism-related activities and festivities ^(3).

A local NGO, Akarui, has been developing projects for nature conservation integrated with socio-economic development in the region since 2003. After the 2010 flood, their prominence increased as Akarui members’ attachment to and knowledge about the territory, in addition to their technical expertise, led efforts to sustainable development of rural areas of the municipality. Akarui has carried out projects regarding socio-environmental characterisation, forest restoration, agro-ecological transition, pasture management and improvement of farmers’ income. The NGO is still working in the territory, currently expanding their initiatives to encompass environmental education and food security and sovereignty.

After the extreme events of 2010 (flood) and 2013/2014 (severe drought), more community members got interested in taking part in restoration projects, and a growing number are willing to adopt agro-ecological principles to their production chain. An Agenda 21 plan, built through participatory methods for the watershed, including guidelines for its sustainable development, is a featured product of Akuri. The NGO acknowledges rural communities as their main partners⁽²⁾.

Finally, another initiative named Rede para o Desenvolvimento Sustentável do Alto Paraíba (Upper Paraíba River Sustainable Development Network), or REDESUAPA, began their work after the 2010 floods. The network encompasses diverse stakeholders including local leaders, local and state government, local and regional NGOs and researchers, who met voluntarily in the municipality. In addition to project development, REDESUAPA created synergies among ongoing efforts and aimed at influencing public policy based on a systemic view of the territory, promoting ecological restoration, sustainable farming and community-based tourism. For instance, in 2016, REDESUAPA wrote an open letter addressed to the candidates running for Mayor asking for their commitment to priority guidelines for urban and rural sustainable development in the municipality. The network played a key role in the efforts to bring investments of a big project to the region, which is funded by the Global Environment Facility (GEF). The Recovery and protection of climate and biodiversity services in the Paraíba do Sul Basin of the Atlantic Forest of Brazil project is based on Payments for Environmental Services (PES) and other incentives for sustainable land management and conservation in private lands. The members of REDESUAPA are still in touch with each other, but the network itself is on ‘standby mode’. However, the synergies created by REDESUAPA are reflected in a number of other initiatives concerning local development, conservation and ecological restoration.

^*The data and analysis on the social-ecological system of São Luiz and Catuçaba refer to the period 2012-2017. The authors acknowledge that changes have occurred in the system since then. Although they are not analysed here, we have added some information about the current situation, based on non-systematic observation.

Practical Outcomes

The development of initiatives is neither easy nor fast, but they have certainly been flourishing and creating arenas for community learning, empowerment, and development in São Luiz do Paraitinga (including Catuçaba). Although the 2010 flood was an important trigger to various initiatives, it is still unclear how successful they will be in terms of self-maintenance and mitigating the risk of floods in the future.

These bottom-up initiatives have valorized rural livelihoods and fostered opportunities for people to remain in rural areas. Inhabitants have been self-organizing to strengthen the Caipira identity, preserve local traditions (e.g., festivities and foods), and promote local development, with an overall understanding that their good quality of life depends on nature conservation⁽³⁾. Small, low-cost initiatives triggered improvements in the community capacity to organize and act collectively for a common goal⁽⁴⁾, although leadership and broader participation of community members in such initiatives remains a challenge.

Bridging organizations, such as NGOs and university teams, play a crucial role in linking local stakeholders with one another and with outside institutions (i.e. State Environmental authorities and funding agencies), facilitating learning opportunities, fundraising and providing access to technical advisory⁽¹⁾. In the course of creating environments where diverse local and outside stakeholders can interact and collaborate (Figure 4), the initiatives have generated a feedback loop, which is attracting more and more initiatives.

Figure 4: Caipira meeting in January 2017, where members of Catuçaba community and their external supporters discussed local development, nature and culture.

Until 2017, several stakeholders were joining efforts to work synergistically, for instance through REDESUAPA, to positively transform the region’s landscape at the watershed level. The efforts were benefitting from both bottom-up and top-down initiatives, taking into account both local knowledge and technical/scientific expertise, and involving stakeholders with different levels of political power. Above all, these efforts involve a diverse array of individuals who believe in a more sustainable and just society, and struggle year after year to accomplish their vision.

In face of socio-ecological change over the last decade, various community initiatives towards conservation and social development have emerged in São Luiz do Paraitinga^{(3, 4)}. Many tourism-related activities have been developing, especially those regarding ecotourism (e.g., farm hotels and rafting) and cultural tourism (e.g., religious, art and local food festivities). More recently, other community initiatives were established as local markets of agro-ecological products and craft fairs. After the 2010 floods, the municipality drew the attention of many governmental and non-governmental organizations (NGOs) favouring the emergence of new environmental and social initiatives. The success of these initiatives has depended on population engagement and participation, as well as aligning to local demands and inherent dynamics of the local SES. The question ahead may be if and how these initiatives will thrive or perish in the long term, and which factors will determine their course.

References

Araujo, L.G., Dias, A.C.E., Prado, D.S., De Freitas, R.R., Seixas, C.S. (eds.) (2017). Caiçaras e caipiras: uma prosa sobre natureza, desenvolvimento e cultura (Caiçaras and caipiras: a prose on nature, development and culture). Campinas, São Paolo, Brasil: Grupo de Pesquisa em Conservação e Gestão de Recursos Naturais de Uso Comum (CGCommons), Núcleo de Estudos e Pesquisas Ambientais (NEPAM), Universidade Estadual de Campinas (UNICAMP). Available at: https://30c07274-acac-4851- aca1-731321759162.filesusr.com/ugd/b6df3d_b0a9d63e5d bf4b83b117aba0d4ad4ab0.pdf
Akarui (2017). Subsídios para um plano de restauração florestal da bacia do Chapéu, São Luiz do Paraitinga, SP (Recommendations for a forest restoration plan for the Chapéu river basin. São Luiz do Paraitinga, SP). São Luiz do Paraitinga, Akarui. Available at: https://6a9df363-4618- 4222-848e-c4ccd9c9a57f.filesusr.com/ugd/596978_ c7d96ee7ec924ff393dfff32f68bee64.pdf
Moraes, A.R. (2019). ‘Ecosystem services in a hilly rural landscape: contributions for resilience-based management’. Doctoral thesis (Ecology). University of Campinas, Brazil. Available at: http://repositorio.unicamp.br/jspui/handle/ REPOSIP/338484
Moraes, A.R., Islas, C.A. (2020). ‘Community responses to historical land degradation: Lessons from São Luiz do Paraitinga, Brazil’. In: M. Arce-Ibarra, M.R.B. Vázquez, E.B. Baltazar and L.G. Araujo (eds.), Socio-environmental regimes and local visions. Transdisciplinary experiences from Latin America, pp. 363–379. Cham, Switzerland: Springer.
Myers, N., Mittermeier, R.A., Mittermeier, C.G., da Fonseca, G.A.B., and Kent, J. (2000). ‘Biodiversity hotspots for conservation priorities’. Nature 403: 854–858. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1038/35002501

Acknowledgements

We thank the population of São Luiz do Paraitinga and, in particular, of Catuçaba community, the NGO Akarui, and REDESUAPA for their commitment and availability for our projects. We also thank SSHRC/CCRN, CAPES, CNPq, PREAC/UNICAMP and FAPESP for funding. The project also received a strong support from our entire CGCommons Team (The Commons Conservation and Management group at University of Campinas, Brazil).

Haruku Village, Maluku Province, Indonesia

CCRN — Wed, 12 Jul 2017 16:32:49 +0000

View the complete CCRN’s Haruku Village Community Story as a PDF

Ahmad Mony and Arif Satria

Key Messages

• Haruku village is a coastal community that uses sasi laut a local knowledge and culture-based practice of coastal resource conservation.
• Sasi laut was weakened in the 1980s and the early part of the 2000s, due to a lack of government concern about destructive fishing activities as well as the Maluku conflict in 1999-2002. Subsequently, starting in early 2004, through the cooperation of multiple stakeholders, the sasi laut system has strengthened, helping local fishing communities to consider global issues related to conservation practices.
• Cooperation of multiple parties at multiple levels is the best approach for sustainable sasi laut practices.

Community Profile

Haruku Village is located in the island of the same name, in Malaku Province, Indonesia (Figure 1). Most of the island is hilly terrain and nearly all of the population is along the coast. The island consists of four Muslim villages and seven Christian villages ⁽¹⁾. The people of Haruku Island depend on the plantation sector as their main livelihood. Marine resources are not yet used as the main support system for livelihoods due to limitations on local utilisation of fishery commodities.

In the island, an indigenous practice of coastal resource protection, called sasi laut, has been used for hundreds of years. Sasi laut is a form of traditional institution regulating the management of coastal resources based on the knowledge, norms and value systems of the Indigenous people of Maluku.

Figure 1: Location of Haruku Island

This system regulates the rights and obligations of the indigenous peoples in utilizing and protecting coastal resources. As defined by Harkes and Novaczek (2000, pp.1-3), sasi laut “…prohibits the use of destructive and intensive gear (poisonous plants and chemicals, explosives, small mesh lift-nets), but also defines seasonal rules of entry, harvest and activities allowed in specific parts of the sea. The regulations are guarded and enforced by an institution known as the kewang, which functions as a local police force. Their legitimacy, as well as that of the sasi institution itself, is based on adat or customary law”.

Sasi laut has been implemented by the Harukunese for over 400 years. This practice is related to the establishment of Haruku Village and their motivation to save lompa fish (Thrissima balema), a sacred fish species relating to the history of the founding of the village (Figure 2) ⁽⁴⁾.

Figure 2: Harvesting Lompa Fish

Climate change in these coastal areas, which is characterised by ecological and seasonal changes, has provided an understanding for indigenous peoples about the importance of maintaining sasi laut as a local institution to protect coastal areas. Maintaining sasi laut, amidst the impacts of climate change and social transformation, will have an important impact on the preservation of coastal and inland resources, the preservation of culture, and ensuring the availability of fish in the waters.

Conservation and Livelihood Challenges

Recently, the practices of sasi laut has weakened due to the external and internal pressures of the actors involved. The external factors that threatened the existence of the legal practice of sasi laut were modernisation and commercialisation, which resulted in the erosion of traditional values⁽²⁾. Within the Haruku society, sasi laut practices were faced with challenges, such as internal political conflicts, competition in the local economy, regeneration of kewang, and the power of outsiders who did not consider the social and cultural conditions of the indigenous community. In addition, locals spoke of such factors as access to fishery commodity markets, capital limitation, and lack of human resources as the main constraints to switch the orientation of their livelihood income from the plantation to fishery systems (i.e., fishing/aquaculture).

The actors involved in the development of sasi laut had three main interests, economic, ecological and cultural. The economic interests were normally represented by communities, businesses, and local governments. The ecological interests were represented by the traditional leaders, NGOs, universities, donor agencies, environmentalists and researchers. Meanwhile, cultural interests were represented by the indigenous communities, universities, and government. This mixture of interests in the region created uncertainty about the implementation of sasi laut, as kewang were unsure of which motivations to follow, thus weakening sasi laut practices.

Community Initiative

The indigenous community of Haruku, which had been more moderate and adaptive to the issues of coastal resource management, drew on cooperation among actors to further develop sasi laut. Advocacy of relationships with outside parties aroused a new awareness to expand the scope of sasi laut, and the adaptation of new values in sasi laut gained the support of the community. Furthermore, the people were actively involved in such programmes as a mangrove nursery and rehabilitation of mangrove areas in the estuary of the Learisa Kayeli River, one of the lompa fish habitats. The importance of mangrove rehabilitation had been increasingly recognized after the occurrence of coastal erosion in the last few years, which directly threatens human settlements and other public infrastructure.

Practical Outcomes

Due to both external and internal pressures, changes in the political, governance, natural resources and societal livelihood systems have affected the orientation of the sasi laut management system in Maluku, resulting in some positive and negative changes:

First, there has been an increasing awareness of efforts to protect coastal areas and the natural resources therein. This awareness encouraged the emergence of the kewang, assisted by outside parties, such as NGOs and donor agencies, to widen the area protection of the sasi laut system on other resources.

Figure 3: Village Leaders of Haruku

Second, the emergence of gender awareness has encouraged women’s involvement in the sasi laut institution. The involvement of women in the institution was based on the consideration that one of the dimensions of indigenous sasi is female, providing a certain space for the presence of women in the sasi institution pertaining to the processes of law enforcement against woman offenders on sasi.

Third, as a social institution, sasi is vulnerable to family economic problems during its implementation. To overcome this problem, kewang have been provided a business unit in the form of economic management of marine tourism. Kewang have some guest houses with some units rented to researchers and tourists (local and foreign) visiting the Haruku Island, thereby providing additional income locally.

Figure 4: Gosong Bird Conservation

Fourth, there has been a decline in involvement in kewang that is needed to perform surveillance on resources. Some NGOs and donors have noticed problems of kewang regeneration through education and training.

Fifth, the rise of awareness of kewang, and their experience in dealing with outside parties (NGOs, universities and donors) has encouraged kewang empowerment. Kewang of Negeri Haruku have established the Foundation of Haru-Ukui Kalesang to empower kewang in Maluku and coordinate implementation of inter-kewang of sasi laut in Haruku Island. Through this foundation, the kewang in Haruku Island have facilitated some kewang leaders from other villages to attend national seminars on coastal conservation and empowerment of indigenous people (Figure 3).

Recently sasi laut has been developed by expanding the objects of conservation, including mangrove ecosystems, the Gosong bird (Eulipoa wallacei, or Moloccan scrubfowl), turtles, and other coastal resources (Figure 4). In addition, sasi luat is supporting marine tourism through a sasi laut festival in Haruku Village (Figure 5). Gender discourse has also been adopted through the representation of women in the local police corps, kewang. This was facilitated through the efforts made by such external parties as NGOs, donor agencies, and universities.

Figure 5: Sasi Laut Festival of Haruku Village

In terms of legislation, the practice of local wisdom in Indonesia, such as sasi laut, has been recognized by the state through various laws and regulations. Political and natural resource governance changes, coupled with the strengthening of marine conservation discourse in Indonesia, make sasi laut more effective for coastal area protection and resources therein.

In Maluku, the strengthening of sasi laut practices is able to answer the challenges of sustainability in the local system, particularly in implementing Traditional Ecological Knowledge (TEK), amid global efforts to develop marine conservation networks. Therefore, the authority of sasi laut management must be responsive to the dynamics of the political system, economy, law, governance, science and technology. In conclusion, the transformation of sasi laut should be aimed at strengthening the capacity of human and institutional resources that are adaptive and responsive to external changes.

References

Central Bureau of Statistics of Central Maluku Regency (2015). Haruku Island in Figures 2015. Available at: https:// malukutengahkab.bps.go.id/publication/2015/11/05/ c7bf99c2cd891d6c31c9263c/kecamatan-pulau-haruku- dalam-angka-2015.html
Harkes, I., and Novaczek, I. (2000). ‘Institutional resilience of sasi laut, a fisheries management system in Indonesia’, conference paper delivered at the Constituting the Commons: Crafting Sustainable Commons in the New Millennium, Eighth Biennial Conference of the International Association for the Study of Common Property, Bloomington, Indiana, USA, 31 May – 4 June 2000. Available at: http://dlc.dlib.indiana. edu/dlc/handle/10535/2314
Harkes, I., and Novaczek, I. (2001). An Institutional Analysis of Sasi Laut, A Fisheries Management System in Indonesia. Available at: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/42763079_Institutional_Resilience_of_Sasi_Laut_a_Fisheries_ Management_System_in_Indonesia
Mony, A. (2015). Political Ecology on Coastal Resources Management: Case Study of Power Relations on Sasi Laut Management in Haruku Island (Ekologi Politik Pengelolaan Sumberdaya Pesisir: Studi Kasus Relasi Kuasa Pengelolaan Sasi Laut di Pulau Haruku). Master’s thesis. IPB University, Bogor, Indonesia.

Acknowledgements

Our gratitude is expressed to the community of Haruku Village who has assisted us a lot in collecting data for this research.

Les Village, Bali, Indonesia

CCRN — Mon, 05 Jun 2017 17:43:11 +0000

View the complete CCRN’s Les Village Community Story as a PDF

Humayra Secelia Muswar and Arif Satria

Key Messages

Les Village’s marine environment was devastated by a cyanide traditionally used for catching marine ornamental fish, leading to a decline in the local economy and fishers’ livelihood.
Local conservation began when eco-friendly approaches to catching fish were introduced to restore local marine resources.
Local fishers easily adapted to these new community-based conservation approaches as they were in line with karma (Hindu-Bali’s belief) and their way of life.

Community Profile

Les Village is a fishing community located in the east of Buleleng Regency of Indonesia (Figure 1). Les Village consists of 25.57km of coastline comprised of rock, gravel, and sandy beaches. Locals mostly depend on fishing for their livelihood, as the land is very dry and not fertile enough for agriculture. However, residents can find other work as construction workers, merchants, businessmen or in the non-formal employment sectors of farming and animal husbandry. Tourism is not a significant livelihood source for locals.

Figure 1: Map of Les Village (circled), Buleleng district (outlined). (Adopted from Google Map)

Les Village fisheries consists of the seafood and the ornamental sectors. About 100 fishers are active in the seafood sector, while 50 fishers are active in the ornamental fisheries sector (with the village being a significant contributor to the local marine ornamental fish trade). There are four main groups of fishers in this village, one of which specialises in the ornamental fish sector and inadvertently caused damage to the local marine environment by using cyanide to catch fish.

Marine ornamental and seafood fishers have fundamental differences in the way they fish, such as fishing gear, fishing time, fishing pattern, fishing location, the post-capture treatment of fish and their income scheme (Table 1). One important characteristic of the marine ornamental fishers of Les Village is their closeness to their religion. One of the most fundamental belief-systems for Hindu-Bali is ‘karma’, the idea of a balance of life: if Mother Nature is respected, nature will give you the best of what it has, and vice versa. The belief system also plays a role in characterising the fishers, such as their knowledge, role of women, the social structure, and social position of fishers⁽¹⁾.

Conservation and Livelihood Challenges

Initially, nets were used to catch ornamental fish in Les Village. However, an increasing demand in the 1980s prompted the fishers to look for ways to improve their catch. In 1985, the cyanide method of fishing was introduced to support marine ornamental fish market demand^(2,3,4). Fishers discovered that cyanide makes fish lethargic, thereby making them easier to catch^(2,3). Fishers kept the cyanide in a bottle (Figure 2) and sprayed the cyanide in the ornamental fish habitats⁽⁴⁾.

Table 1 Key differences between seafood fishing and ornamental fishing

Beginning in the 1990s and into the 2000s, marine ornamental fish began to be a lucrative commercial commodity. Fishers concentrated on fulfilling their household needs and generating income, while exploiting Mother Nature to satisfy marine oriental fish markets⁽⁵⁾. The use of cyanide made fish easier to catch; however, environmental deterioration began to be felt by fishers in the 2000s. The use of cyanide negatively impacted the local marine environment as live coral coverage fell below 10%, ornamental fish population decreased to under 20% and population of all species decreased to an estimated 10% of their 1986 population⁽⁶⁾.

Figure 2: Fisher sprays the cyanides directly to the reefs to make fish lethargic.

Coral reefs became bleached and only unique ornamental fish were left. Not being able to meet market demand, this development depleted fisher’s income and devastated their social and economic life. Lack of government concern created a sense of abandonment among marine ornamental fishers. Fishers said that the government is only punishing them because of their use of cyanide, but gave no instructions on how to change their ways or preserve the environment. Three reasons, in particular, relate to the root causes of the destructive fishing methods:

1. Fisher’s knowledge. Les Village fishers did not know of any other way to catch fish. Locals possessed limited information about fishing methods, especially since they have no senior high school or higher education. This concern was most frequently raised by fishers. Using cyanide had become transmissible knowledge. Fishers faced a dilemma to survive and had to choose to keep catching fish with cyanide or not be able to eat at all. The use of cyanide eventually became unlawful and Les Village fishers were often detained for violation of the law of using cyanide in an attempt to catch fish. Yet, the government offered no solution, without which fishers would continue to violate the law in order to support themselves and their families. The combination of lack of education and lack of guidance from the state thus established a livelihood dilemma for fishers.

2. Market demand. The ornamental fish trade is part of the global and international market, and whether wanted or not, local fishers are a part of globalised market system. To maintain a livelihood, they must meet a demand that comes from first-world countries. The greater the market demand – in this case, via the middlemen (Figure 3) – the more fish must be caught. Thus, Les Village fishers and the local environment are exploited and marginalized in order to meet the demand of more powerful countries and peoples⁽⁵⁾.

Figure 3: the middlemen and the collected fish.

3. Lack of public and stakeholder awareness and involvement. The marine ornamental fish trade is part of international trade, which involves stakeholders. This means that capitalist industrialisation brings constant pressures on individual firms (big or small) to keep down costs⁽⁷⁾. One of the main ways firms do this is by “externalizing” the costs of their impacts (including environmental, social, and health impacts) – in other words, finding a way to make someone else pay those costs. In fisheries, firms benefit from the environment – they profit from the fish – but they do not pay the full costs of the impact their fishing has on the local fisheries or the environment. In the case of Les Village, fishers were pressured to continue to use cyanide in order to meet market demand. Fishers were put in a difficult dilemma: wanting to conserve the environment when it began to degrade, but lacking the education to know the negative impacts of cyanide and, even worse, lacking support or knowledge about solutions. However, fishers continued to fish as they needed to support their livelihood. Others would profit from their environment and take whatever they conserved if they did not ^(5,7).

Community Initiatives

This situation continued for nearly 20 years. In the early 2000s, when reefs were already damaged and degradation reverberated, government still did not come to help; however, the NGO Yayasan Bahtera Nusantara (YBN) came and provided much needed support to the fishers. Originally engaging the fishers under the guise of a buyer, the YBN provided fishers with training and new equipment for environmentally friendly fishing, thus moving from cyanide to using nets and barriers only. The approach that the NGO helped to implement was particularly successful since it acknowledged the fisher’s belief system, thus helping Les Village fishers transform from the destroyer to the guardian.

The value of environmentally-friendly fishing that was implemented brought back fishers’ consciousness about the balance of life. They realized that using cyanide meant demolishing their own natural resources, since they suffered from the effects of using cyanide: diminished fish stocks, disappearing coral reefs, and heavy debt. Thus, Les Village’s ornamental fishing community worked with the NGO to restore their marine livelihood.

The initiative consisted of the following actions:

Establishment of a new marine ornamental fish group that committed to ecologically-friendly fishing practices (no cyanide), and community-based marine environmental management.
Creation of artificial reefs to enhance Les Village’s marine diversity.
Designing a community-based no-take zone.
Improvement of the belief that ‘karma’ does exist, and that “if we treat our nature good, nature will give us good fish”.

Around 2005, YBN worked with the Marine Aquarium Council (MAC) to legitimise the environmental-friendly transformation on marine ornamental fish trade in Les Village. Not only fishers, but also the middlemen and exporters were certified as eco-friendly actors. Although the certification expired in 2008, fishers continued to apply the sustainable eco-friendly fishing methods. Now, LINI (Indonesian Nature Foundations), an environmental NGO, works with Les Village fishers to continue this sustainable way.

Practical Outcomes

The success of this conservation movement by Les Village’s communities of marine aquarium fishers was a collective effort. Several factors and important actors were involved:

Leadership – The NGO’s leadership was the most powerful tool for motivating this community to move from using cyanide to using environmental friendly fishing practices.
Community Social Capital – The community has very high social capital and unity due to their interrelatedness and common history (Figure 4). Together, they inadvertently destroyed their marine environment, suffered, and are recovering their livelihood. Togetherness and trust is the biggest part of this community’s social capital.
Fisher’s Belief System – Their beliefs as Hindu-Bali teach them to put trust on ‘karma’.
Support Networks – The village has an extensive support network with NGOs, researchers (from universities) and trade chain actors that buy and sell their eco-fish.
Timing – The conservation was done just in time. The NGO came in at a critical ecological time, when fishers were getting more confused and frustrated from suffering from their sinking livelihood and questioning what they were doing to their environment.

Figure 4: Fisher’s family starts their day.

References

Bryant, R. and Bailey, S. (1997). Third World Political Ecology. New York, USA: Routledge.
Frey, J.B. (2012). A community-based approach to sustainable ornamental fishing on coral reefs, Bali, Indonesia. Master’s thesis (Natural Resources Management). Natural Resources Institute, University of Manitoba, Winnipeg, Canada. Available at: https://umanitoba.ca/institutes/ natural_resources/canadaresearchchair/thesis/James%20 Frey%20Master’s%20Thesis%20Dec%202012.pdf
Mansfield, B. (2011). “Modern” industrial fisheries and the crisis of overfishing. In: R. Peet, P. Robbins, M. Watts (eds.), Global Political Ecology, Chapter 4. London, UK: Routledge.
Muswar, H. and A. Satria. (2011). Impact of Fisheries Ecolabelling (Case Study: Les Village’s Ornamental Fish Fisher). Sodality: Transdisciplinary Journal of Sociology, Communication, and Human Ecology, December 2011, pp. 273–296. Available at: https://doi.org/10.22500/sodality. v5i3.9693 (in Bahasa Indonesia).
Pasaribu-Guzina, S. (2013). Assessment of an Environmentally-Friendly Method of Ornamental Fishing Associated with Revenues of Fishers In Tejakula Sub- District, Buleleng Region, Bali, Indonesia. Master’s thesis (Environmental and Management). School of Environmental and Sustainability, Royal Roads University, British Colombia, Canada. Available at: http://hdl.handle.net/10170/641
Satria, A. (2009). Fishers Political Ecology. Yogyakarta, Indonesia: LKis. ISBN: 9789791283885 (in Bahasa Indonesia).
Sentosa, P. (2004). Sustainable Marine Ornamental Fish Business: A Case Study on How to Catch Cyanide to Non- Cyanide Ornamental Fish in Tejakula District, Regency, Bali). Master’s thesis (Environmental Science Studies). Graduate Program, University of Indonesia, Jakarta, Indonesia. Available at: http://lib.ui.ac.id/bo/uibo/detail. jsp?id=73982&lokasi=lokal (in Bahasa Indonesia).

Acknowledgements

The authors would like to thank Les Fishers Community and Dr Arya Hadi Dharmawan for their useful critiques, suggestions, support and insightful comments on this paper.

Ysyk-Köl Biosphere Reserve, Kyrgyzstan

Hillary Web Designer — Tue, 15 Dec 2015 03:50:17 +0000

View the complete CCRN’s Kyrgyzstan Community Story as a PDF

Aibek Samakov,University of Manitoba; aisamakov@gmail.com

Key Messages

Linking the two models of conservation currently practiced in the Ysyk-Köl Biosphere Reserve could improve overall conservation by:

Providing a complementary set of incentives for conservation
Imparting traditional ecological knowledge to future generations
Improving communication between interested parties

Community Introduction

The Ysyk-Köl Biosphere Reserve (YKBR), the largest protected area in Kyrgyzstan, gained international UNESCO designation in 2001(1). The YKBR has a territory of 43,100km2 and an altitude of 1,609 to 7,439 meters above sea level. The YKBR consists of a number of ecological subzones from valleys to high mountains. It is home to 335 species, most of them birds (267), with 39 included in the Red Book of Kyrgyzstan(2,3).

The YKBR is formally protected by biosphere reserve managers who see conservation as a means to protect species diversity. Although the legal documents and acts acknowledge the importance of biodiversity conservation on genetic, species and ecosystem levels, in practice, mostly species-level diversity is taken into consideration, whereas genetic and ecosystem level diversity is
underplayed.

Figure 1. Map of the YKBR(6), red dots show approximate location of sacred sites

Sacred Sites
Sacred sites are “areas of land and bodies of water, as well as constructions and items, which are spiritually or/and religiously meaningful for local people and where sacral practices and rituals are performed”(4,5). Lake Ysyk-Köl, which is considered as a sacred lake by local people, is a keystone element within the YKBR (Figure 1). There are more than 120 documented sacred sites surrounding the lake(4). For traditional practitioners who visit sacred sites, conservation means respect and reverence towards sacred sites, most of which have natural components as well as human-made components, making them biocultural hybrids.

Most of the sacred sites in YKBR are relatively small in size and contribute to biodiversity conservation in an indirect way. That is why sacred sites as community-conserved areas and formal conservation do not have competing interests, which makes these two models of conservation complementary in nature. The major difference between these two models lies in their governance systems: on sacred sites governance is predominantly bottom-up and resemble institutions for managing commons(7), whereas the governance system of the YKBR, and the state reserves within it, is mostly top-down with little involvement of local communities in decision-making and management.

Figure 2. Manjyly-Ata Sacred Site (Photo Credit: Aigine Cultural Research Center)

Conservation and Livelihood Challenges

Community members, both male and female, feel that the conservation strategies in the YKBR have been largely ineffective due to:

• Lack of collaboration between local communities and biosphere reserve managers.

• Lack of community support for YKBR
conservation strategies and activities.

• Neglect of traditional ecological knowledge by biosphere reserve managers.

“We conduct a number of events such as cleaning up the shore of the lake, the March of Parks, round table meetings and discussions to raise local people’s ecological awareness. However, it seems like they [local people] forget everything we talked about during the event as soon as the event is over” – Male Biosphere Reserve employee.
“I wonder if the Biosphere Reserve [i.e. its employees] do any work. They know how to collect money, that’s it. They are supposed to protect nature from poachers but they are “number one” poachers themselves” -Local male from Ysyk- Köl area.

Many local people think that BR is an ecological check-point, where BR employees collect a fee for entering the YKBR. They do not know what kind of an institution the YKBR is, what its functions and goals are, what the BR does – Conservation manager(8) (Note: Ecological check-points were eliminated by Government Resolution May 23, 2013.) I see the sign that says that it is a Biosphere Reserve but I don’t know what exactly they do besides charging fees to tourists for entering the Ysyk-Köl. It is just another way of earning money, I guess. – Local villager(8)

Figure 3. Interview with a YKBR ranger (Photo credit: Aibek Samakov)

Community Initiative

There is little interaction between sacred sites and the YKBR. At this point, sacred sites are not taken into account in formal conservation strategies and sacred site guardians are not trying to reach out to the YKBR. The lack of interaction between these two conservation models can be explained using the ‘path dependency concept’, where past policy and management decisions effect those in later stages(9).

The neglect of sacred sites can be explained by the fact that state-run institutions have always been reluctant to cooperate with spiritual/religious institutions. During the Soviet era, sacred sites in particular, and spirituality and religion in general, were oppressed, and since gaining independence the state has been secular. Thus, formal, state-run conservation has never paid attention to local, cultural (spiritual) mechanisms of conservation.

Local communities, on the other hand, have never received government support in managing their sacred sites. Moreover, during the Soviet era, sacred sites were preserved despite state sanctions against those who visited them(10). As a result, local communities have never relied on state support for managing sacred sites, even after gaining independence.

Figure 4. Interview with Sacred Site Guardian (Photo credit: Kairat Alibekov)

At the same time, in the last ten years, traditional practitioners, sacred site guardians, and NGOs such as Aigine have been active in promoting legal recognition of sacred sites in Kyrgyzstan. Thus, sacred sites and the YKBR co-exist on the same territory and frequently overlap. However, these two models of conservation do not interact and are not used to reinforce each other.

Practical Outcomes

Linking these two models of conservation could improve overall conservation in the YKBR by:

1. Making the concept of biosphere reserves more understandable for local communities.

2. Improving ecological monitoring.

3. Indirectly conserving species and areas.

4. Improving BR zoning.

5. Providing a complementary culture-rooted set of incentives for conservation (in addition to rational incentives).

6. Fostering a biocultural approach to conservation.

7. Collecting and using TEK in conservation.

8. Serving as a communication hub for YKBR managers and local communities.

9. Serving as a platform for local communities’ capacity building

Further Information
For more information regarding the content of this community story please see: Samakov A. 2015. Sacred sites: opportunity for improving biocultural conservation and governance in Ysyk-Köl Biosphere Reserve, Kyrgyz Republic. Thesis, University of Manitoba, Canada. Available for free at:
http://umanitoba.ca/institutes/natural_resources/pdf/theses/Samakov,%20Aibek.MNRM%202015.pdf

Figure 5. Manjyly-Ata Sacred Site (Photo Credit: Aigine Cultural Research Center)

References

1. UNESCO. 2012. Ecological Sciences for Sustainable Development. Issyk Kul. URL: http://www.unesco.org/ new/en/natural-sciences/environment/ecologicalsciences/ biosphere-reserves/asia-and-the-pacific/ kyrgyztan/issyk-kul/ Retrieved on April 16, 2014.

2. MAB. 2002. Biosphere Reserve Directory. Biosphere Reserve Information. Kyrgyzstan. Issuk-Kul. URL: http://goo.gl/16DYQi. (Accessed on May 15, 2015).

3. Ysyk-Köl Biosphere Reserve Statute. 2000. The Government of the Kyrgyz Republic. Signed on January 24, 2000. N 40.

4. Aitpaeva G. 2013. Sacred Sites of the Southern Kyrgyzstan: Nature, Manas, Islam. Aigine Cultural Research Center, Bishkek. Aitpaeva, G., Egemberdieva, A., & Toktogulova M. (2007). Mazar worship in Kyrgyzstan: rituals and practitioners in Talas. Aigine Cultural Research Center, Bishkek.

5. Wild R. & McLeod C. (Eds). 2008. Sacred Natural Sites: Guidelines for Protected Area Managers. IUCN, Gland, Switzerland.

6. Baetov. 2006. Source: www.unesco.org/mab/br/focus/2002Oct/Issyk.htm.

7. Rutte C. 2011. The sacred commons: conflicts and solutions of resource management in sacred natural sites. Biological Conservation, 144(10), 2387-2394.

8. Howlett M. 2003. Canadian environmental policy and the natural resources sector: paradoxical aspects of transition to a post-staples political economy. In: Lee, E., & Perl, A. (Eds.). (2003). The Integrity Gap: Canada’s Environmental Policy and Institutions. UBC Press.

9. Aitpaeva G., Egemberdieva A., & Toktogulova M. (Eds.). 2007. Mazar worship in Kyrgyzstan: rituals and practitioners in Talas. Aigine Cultural Research Center, Bishkek.

See below for the Kyrgyz language abstract for this community story, “Ысык-Көл биосфералык аймагы, Кыргызстан,Табигый коруктардагы жаратылышты сактоого касиеттүү жердердин кошкон салымы.”