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An Inquiry Into the Use, Management and Governances of Reef Resources in Island Communities of the Maldives

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An Inquiry Into the Use, Management and Governances of Reef Resources in Island Communities of the Maldives Changing Reef Values: An Inquiry into the Use, Management and Governances of Reef Resources in Island Communities of the Maldives Mizna Mohamed A thesis submitted in fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Environmental Science University of Canterbury Christchurch, New Zealand October 2012 ii Abstract The thesis is an exploration into the ways in which island communities living in coral reef environments value the surrounding reef resources. This research is conducted in seven communities in the Maldives. A qualitative approach is used as this inquiry involves gaining insight of human perceptions and behaviours. Discussions and interaction with participants in community activities and participant observation were the main inquiry methods used. Specifically, the research focuses on sand from the beach, coral from the house reef and fish in the island lagoon. The exploration of reef values show that multiple reef values exist and they are constantly changing. How communities interact with the resources and how the communities itself had changed over time contribute to this change in resource value. Physical and social factors, such as resource type, availability and location, physical characteristics of islands, community size, and socio-economic conditions, contribute to the changing reef values. Based on these changing values, it is recommended to go beyond one formal governance rules that fits all. Instead local adaptations based on local ways of valuing need to be considered. A most notable change impacting reef values is the migration of families to the capital. This reduces their interactions both with the reef environment and other community members. In addition, the current globalised education is causing the development of a predominantly globalised worldview among the present generations. In this new worldview, the sacred is separated from the secular. Thus, spiritual and moral beliefs have become isolated from resource management practices. I also find it of concern that local worldviews are being negated at the expense of concern for the global environment. I highlight the importance of schooling to instil knowledge about our local environments and local worldviews. It is also through education we can re-integrate the sacred into our practices and such changes need to be starting at an individual level. iii iv Acknowledgements This journey has been challenging yet memorable and surprising with many lessons learnt on the way. I am thankful to Allah for giving me patience, guidance and opportunities through the many people who have helped me in this journey. I am immensely grateful to my supervisors Dr. Nicole Gombay and Dr. John Pirker for their time, involvement and guidance throughout the supervision of this research. The current research into human perceptions is indeed a new adventure, quite different from the work I had undertaken before. I would especially like to thank Nicole for guiding me through this new area and pointing me to literature that has quite fascinated me. This work could not have been completed without the assistance and support from many other individuals and agencies. First and foremost, I would like to mention the communities that I had visited for this research. I greatly appreciate the welcome and support given by my host families, island officials and other members of the community. As the list is many and for fear of leaving out any one person, I would not name individual community members but as per the island customs, I can say about many members that "we have now become good friends". I am indeed indebted to all the participants of this research for their invaluable contributions. I would like to thank the support from conservation project, Atoll-Ecosystem Based Conservation of Globally Significant Biological Diversity (AEC) Project being implemented in Baa Atoll by the Ministry for Environment and the United Nations Development Programme. I would especially like to thank the staff of the AEC project for their constant support during my fieldwork. I would to make a special mention of Dr. Abdulla Naseer from the Ministry of Fisheries, Agriculture and Marine Resources for his interest in this research and continued availability to discuss ideas. I want to thank Marie Saleem, Shahaama A. Sattar, Ibrahim Naeem and Hussain Naeem for their willingness to respond to my queries on the local and scientific aspects of coral reefs and marine species. I would also like to thank Aileen Niyaz and Najfa S. Razee for taking time to read some of the chapters in this thesis. In addition, I would like to thank Drs. Sheema Saeed and Simad Saeed for their valuable advice and stimulating conversations on the environment and the Maldives in general. v The interactive, academic and social, environment at the Department of Geography meant that I did not find myself a lonely PhD student. I want to extend a warm thank you to all my colleagues at the Department and Gateway Antarctica. In particular, I want to mention Marcela Polomino, Siti Kamaruddin, Rijal Idrus, Zahid, Shuhaidha Noor, Mette Riger-Kusk, Marwan Katurji, Erin Neufeld, Joanne Stevenson, Sira Engelbertz and Gabriela Roldan. Marcela and Siti, you have been wonderful PhD companions. Our shared lunches, coffee breaks, discussions about our work and families have meant a lot to me and is greatly missed. I want to extend a special thank you to Steve George for his friendship. I have enjoyed sharing an office with you. I also want to thank Marwan for his willingness to help, especially during my last months at the department. I also want to acknowledge Daniela Liggett who is always happy to share her research experiences. I want to thank the members of the social science discussion group, that the students have organized at various times. The discussions in an informal setting have been a wonderful way to share my work and I have also enjoyed learning about work done by others. Many others from the department have also helped, in different ways, in this journey. I want to especially thank Drs. Deirdre Hart, Garth Cant and Henry Connor. I also want to thank Marney Brosnan, Anna Petrie and Steve Sykes for always being ready to help with any queries I had. I also want to extend my appreciation to the support I had received from others on campus. Foremost, I want to thank Sarah Beaven, who had been my International Student Advisor, for her encouragement and confidence in me. Warm thanks are also offered to the staff at the previous International Student Support. The support extended by the Distance Library Service of the university library has been invaluable in the final months of my work which I completed from home in the Maldives. The time spent away from my home country and family has been one of the biggest challenges of this experience. Within the small Maldivian community in Christchurch, I have experienced many of the gift and reciprocal exchanges that I talk about in this thesis. The gifts that our family received from each members of the community, especially during the time of my pregnancy, is warmly appreciated. Above all I value the strong friendships formed during this time. I want to especially thank Aminath Nazra, Mariyam Shihama, Badhoora Naseer and their families who had helped me during a critical time of this thesis process by looking after my baby girl, Shuaa, whenever I needed help. I add and extend a most heartfelt appreciation to Nazra for our many conversations about this work and also for taking the time vi to read some of my chapters. I also want to thank Abdulla Niyaz for organizing wonderful support, through his family, for my fieldwork in Baa Atoll. My friends, outside the Maldive community, had completed the base away from home for my family and me. I want to thank Anne Reid for being there for me whenever I needed motherly advice. I am also lucky to find lovely neighbours like Olive Randle and Nancy Anderson. I am very happy to have found a friend in Nancy Kim. The earthquakes in Christchurch have been a trying time for everyone and I am extremely thankful for the caring support from all my friends in Christchurch. I am indeed blessed to have such a supportive family. It is hard to continue without fondly remembering my late grandmother, my first teacher. I am thankful for her love, patience and care in bringing me up. I also wish to thank my mother who has always encouraged me in my pursuit of knowledge. My father has been invaluable in his combination of quality grandpa time with ensuring I had time to sit and write this thesis. My little brother now that I am back home, I hope we get to spend more time together. I could not have completed this thesis without the support from many members of my extended family. I want to especially thank my cousins Naani, Marie, Hishma, Fathun and Shabana who at various times in the last year have take care of Shuaa so that I could have time to work. I want to extend my appreciation both to my family and my in-laws for our prolonged stay away is a big sacrifice for them. My children are a joy in my life. Yoosuf and Shuaa, you both make me so happy being your mom. Yoosuf, you have grown up so much in the last four years and I know I missed many moments with you while I worked on this. Yet, you have been ever so patient and supportive, asking me when I would finish and including success for me in your prayers. Shuaa, you arrived in the midst of this journey and have been a little handful since.
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