Traditional Marine Resource Management in Raja Ampat

TRADITIONAL MARINE RESOURCE MANAGEMENT IN RAJA AMPAT, INDONESIA A THESIS SUBMITTED TO THE GRADUATE DIVISION OF THE UNIVERSITY OF HAWAI‘I IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF MASTER OF ARTS IN GEOGRAPHY DECEMBER 2007 By Elizabeth Mcleod Thesis Committee: Brian Szuster, Chairperson Jon Goss Lyndon Wester Alan Friedlander We certify that we have read this thesis and that, in our opinion, it is satisfactory in scope and quality as a thesis for the degree of Master of Arts in Geography. THESIS COMMITTEE __________________________ Chairperson __________________________ __________________________ __________________________ ii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS This thesis is based on research carried out under a joint partnership with the Nature Conservancy and the University of Papua. I would like to acknowledge the contribution of my supervisor, Dr. Brian Szuster, and my thesis committee including Dr. Jon Goss, Dr. Lyndon Wester, and Dr. Alan Friedlander for their support and advice throughout. I would like to thank the people in the Raja Ampat, who hosted me and shared their stories, perspectives, and knowledge, specifically the Soltief family - Abdul Soltief, Muhammad Noch Soltief, Muhammad Tahir Soltief, Jainabun Soltief, Halima Soltief, and to Obi Loji, Stevanus Faam, Andreas Mjam, and Dian Boeng. To all of my friends at the Nature Conservancy in Bali and in Raja Ampat and the students from the University of Papua (Universitas Negeri Papua - UNIPA), thank you for your support of this work and your friendship. Many of you were invaluable with logistics, teaching me Bahasa Indonesia, and provided contacts in the villages. To Anton Suebu, Yohanis Goram, Lukas Rumetna, Elisabeth Pasapan, and Abdul Halim this work could not have been completed without your patience, moral support, translations, cultural advice, and ability to adapt to difficult and unexpected situations. Finally, I would like to thank Rod Salm for being the catalyst for this research. His unflagging support, tireless enthusiasm, and inspiration made this work possible. I am truly indebted to you all. iii TABLE OF CONTENTS ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS...............................................................................................iii LIST OF TABLES............................................................................................................ vii LIST OF FIGURES .........................................................................................................viii CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION ........................................................................................ 1 1.1 Nature of the problem ............................................................................................... 1 1.2 Sasi............................................................................................................................ 4 1.3 Study area..................................................................................................................5 1.4 Purpose of the study................................................................................................ 10 1.5 Organization of thesis ............................................................................................. 11 CHAPTER 2 KEY CONCEPTS AND THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK ..................... 12 2.1 Research on Human-Environment Interactions...................................................... 12 2.2 Human-environmental research in a marine context .............................................. 17 2.2.1 Customary marine tenure (CMT)................................................................ 18 2.2.2 Concepts of marine tenure and the commons.............................................. 19 2.2.3 The role of customary marine tenure systems in conservation.................... 22 2.3 Summary................................................................................................................. 27 CHAPTER 3 METHODS................................................................................................. 29 3.1 Research schedule and site identification ............................................................... 29 3.2 Ethnographic techniques......................................................................................... 30 3.2.1 Unstructured interviews............................................................................ 30 3.2.2 Structured interviews ................................................................................ 31 3.2.3 Semi-structured interviews ....................................................................... 33 3.2.4 Participant observation.............................................................................. 34 3.2.5 Archival research ...................................................................................... 35 3.3 Questionnaire design............................................................................................... 36 3.4 Data collection ........................................................................................................ 37 3.5 Data analysis ........................................................................................................... 39 3.6 Challenges and lessons learned............................................................................... 41 CHAPTER 4 PHYSICAL, CULTURAL, AND ENVIRONMENTAL CONDITIONS OF RAJA AMPAT................................................................................................................. 46 4.1 Geography............................................................................................................... 46 4.2 Social and demographic characteristics.................................................................. 46 4.2.1 Language................................................................................................... 46 4.2.2 Population and migration.......................................................................... 47 4.3 Economic characteristics ........................................................................................ 48 4.3.1 Destructive fishing practices..................................................................... 48 4.3.2 Trochus, sea cucumber, and shark fin trade.............................................. 49 4.3.3 Pearl farm.................................................................................................. 50 iv 4.4 Government structure.............................................................................................. 51 4.5 Environmental characteristics................................................................................. 52 CHAPTER 5 TOMOLOL AND FAFANLAP CASE STUDIES..................................... 55 5.1 Social and demographic characteristics.................................................................. 55 5.2 Economic characteristics ........................................................................................ 58 5.2.1 Large scale industries................................................................................... 58 5.2.2 Economic opportunities in villages.............................................................. 60 5.2.3 Dependence on marine resources................................................................. 63 5.3 Perception of Environment ..................................................................................... 66 5.3.1 Perception of marine habitats and species ................................................... 66 5.3.2 Perception of threats to environment ........................................................ 67 5.3.3 Perception of present and future coastal and marine conditions............... 70 5.3.4 Perceptions of those responsible for causing and solving environmental problems 71 5.4 Fishing practices and marine resource harvest ....................................................... 73 5.4.1 Fishing gear............................................................................................... 73 5.4.2 Coastal and marine activities .................................................................... 79 5.4.3 Gender and fishing practices..................................................................... 83 5.5 Conclusion .............................................................................................................. 94 CHAPTER 6 CONSERVATION PRACTICES AND PROSPECTS.............................. 95 6.1 Objectives of sasi .................................................................................................... 95 6.2 Rules and regulations.............................................................................................. 96 6.2.1 Rules and regulations in Tomolol................................................................ 98 6.2.2 Rules and regulations in Fafanlap.............................................................. 100 6.3 Penalties for breaking sasi .................................................................................... 101 6.3.1 Penalties for breaking sasi in Tomolol ...................................................... 103 6.3.2 Penalties for breaking sasi in Fafanlap ...................................................... 104 6.4 Sasi ceremonies..................................................................................................... 106 6.5 The evolution of sasi............................................................................................. 108 6.5.1 Changes in the legitimacy of local authority .........................................

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