Culture, War and Sea Turtles in the Republic Of

Secretariat of the Pacific Community ISSN 1025-7497 Issue 21 – October 2007 TRADITIONAL Marine Resource Management and Knowledge information bulletin Editor’s note Inside this issue In this issue we present two contributions that examine complex and important, yet neglected, topics. I sincerely hope that both will stimulate comment, additional research and practical application. The sea turtle wars: Culture, war, and sea turtles in In the first article, “The sea turtle wars: Culture, war and sea turtles in The Republic of the Marshall Islands The Republic of the Marshall Islands”, Regina Woodrom Rudrud, Julie Walsh Kroeker, Heather Young Leslie, and Suzanne S. Finney provide R. Woodrom Rudrud, J. Walsh Kroeker, comprehensive documentation of an ongoing research project to examine H. Young Leslie and S. S. Finney p. 3 human–sea turtle ecology from the perspective of environmental anthropology. The Republic of the Marshall Islands has the horrific distinction Traditional authority and of having experienced close to a century of war and weapons testing, including 12 years of nuclear weapons testing. In that appalling historical community leadership: and contemporary context the authors will conduct, cooperatively with Key factors in community-based the College of the Marshall Islands, an interdisciplinary project on human marine resource management health risks and hazards and the impact of environmental toxicants, such and conservation as those related to war and weapons testing, on the viability of the sea turtle population. The cultural significance of sea turtles and their value as A. Muehlig-Hofmann p. 31 a continuing source of food for atoll populations is to be examined, as will traditional and contemporary Marshallese cultural, ecological and health knowledge regarding sea turtles, and sea turtle “flows” through marine and human ecosystems. Contemporary knowledge of sea turtle ecology, natural history and usage will be compared with historical and ethnographic accounts. (Further aspects of this comprehensive project are summarised in the “Abstract” to the article.) In the second article, “Traditional authority and community leadership: Key factors in community-based marine resource management and conservation” based on research conducted in the outer islands of Fiji, Annette Muehlig-Hofmann looks at a subject that common sense tells us is critical, yet that has basically been ignored in the academic literature and overlooked in practical development. Community-based marine resource Editor management projects are now commonplace in the Pacific and elsewhere. Kenneth Ruddle Yet the approach must contend with complex and varied challenges that Asahigaoka-cho 7-22-511 Ashiya-shi include such rapid change in local social conditions as patterns of resource Hyogo-ken ownership, and such external pressures as outsider and foreign fishers, Japan 659-0012 who place increasing pressure on resources. Muehlig-Hofmann documents Email: [email protected] changes over space and time as perceived by Fijian villagers in their natu- Production ral and social environment, and that require adaptations by the community Information Section, members. The author stresses that such changes are not considered in Marine Resources Division SPC, BP D5, 98848 Noumea Cedex many community management plans, which assume the continued exist- New Caledonia ence of a traditional communal hierarchy and order. This requires urgent Fax: +687 263818 reconsideration to overcome the challenge of adapting to ongoing and Email: [email protected] possible future changes while still supporting local livelihoods. www.spc.int/coastfish Produced with financial assistance from Kenneth Ruddle Australia, France and New Zealand © Copyright Secretariat of the Pacific Community, 2007 All rights for commercial / for profit reproduction or translation, in any form, reserved. SPC authorises the partial reproduction or translation of this material for scientific, educational or research purposes, provided that SPC and the source document are properly acknowledged. Permission to reproduce the document and/or translate in whole, in any form, whether for commercial / for profit or non-profit purposes, must be requested in writing. Original SPC artwork may not be altered or separately published without permission. The views expressed in this Bulletin are those of the authors and are not necessarily shared by the Secretariat of the Pacific Community. Original text: English Secretariat of the Pacific Community, Marine Resources Division, Information Section BP D5, 98848 Noumea Cedex, New Caledonia Telephone: +687 262000; Fax: +687 263818; [email protected]; http://www.spc.int/coastfish PIMRIS is a joint project of five international organi- availability of information on marine resources to users sations concerned with fisheries and marine resource in the region, so as to support their rational develop- development in the Pacific Islands region. The project ment and management. PIMRIS activities include: the is executed by the Secretariat of the Pacific Community active collection, cataloguing and archiving of techni- (SPC), the Pacific Islands Forum Fisheries Agency (FFA), cal documents, especially ephemera (“grey literature”); the University of the South Pacific (USP), the Pacific Is- evaluation, repackaging and dissemination of informa- lands Applied Geoscience Commission (SOPAC), and tion; provision of literature searches, question-and-an- the Pacific Regional Environment Programme (SPREP). swer services and bibliographic support; and assistance This bulletin is produced by SPC as part of its commit- with the development of in-country reference collec- Pacific Islands Marine Resources ment to PIMRIS. The aim of PIMRIS is to improve the Information System tions and databases on marine resources. SPC Traditional Marine Resource Management and Knowledge Information Bulletin #21 – October 2007 3 The sea turtle wars: Culture, war and sea turtles in The Republic of the Marshall Islands Regina Woodrom Rudrud1*, Julie Walsh Kroeker**, Heather Young Leslie**, Suzanne S. Finney* Abstract This document considers human-sea turtle ecology in the Republic of the Marshall Islands (RMI) from the perspective of environmental anthropology and outlines the background and rationale for an upcoming project to be conducted by the authors and the College of the Marshall Islands. In particular, the project will examine the: 1. possible use of sea turtles as proxies of human health risks and hazards, 2. potential for sea turtle bone and tissue contaminant levels to back-calculate the initial amounts of toxicants introduced to the area, 3. feasibility of using chromosomal changes resulting from contamination to determine home ranges in areas impacted by nuclear activities, and 4. impact of environmental toxicants such as those related to war and weapons testing on the viability of the sea turtle population, its cultural significance, and its value as a continuing source of food for atoll populations. The project will also take into account how this cultural valuation can be used to contribute to a sea turtle monitoring programme and population baseline assessment for the RMI. Additionally, in keeping with the concept of je ilo bok, literally “write in the book”, researchers will document traditional and contemporary Marshallese cultural, ecological and health knowledge regarding sea turtles, describe sea turtle “flows” through marine and human ecosystems (including markets and bartering systems), compare contemporary knowledge of sea turtle ecology, natural history and usage with historical and ethnographic accounts, and put that combined knowledge into preservable formats (in both English and Marshallese) for the use of cur- rent and future generations. By focusing on a culturally, traditionally and nutritionally important species and by investigating potential hazards to these species as well as the human populations that rely on them, this project will allow local par- ticipants to help identify and mitigate these hazards as well as gain experience in a wide array of research and investigative techniques that comprise the holistic approach of environmental anthropology. From ethnographic field techniques to sea turtle biology to maritime archaeology, the long-term benefits of this project will serve to decrease the dependence of the RMI on outside experts and provide potential and creative career skills for a future generation of Marshallese. The success of this project relies on the continual monitoring and testing of sea turtle health and population numbers. This cannot be done without trained experts within the Marshallese community to continue the project beyond what is described here. This project will result in real knowledge about the risks and hazards to sea turtles in the RMI environment, and real help on how to maintain cultural traditions in ways that support rather than undermine health. Results cannot be predicted, which is why this research is necessary. Possible outcomes include the finding that some portions of turtle cannot be safely consumed, but others can, consumption reserved for only the most special (and rare) occasions is not a risk (in terms of broader whole-system exposures), or that all edi- ble tissues must be avoided. Regardless of the result, this project will develop significant methodologies and establish the capacity and infrastructure for Marshallese-controlled testing/monitoring of native foods. 1. Maritime and Fisheries Anthropologist, Ecological Anthropology

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