Remaking the Landscape: Kelabit Engagements with Conservation
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REMAKING THE LANDSCAPE: KELABIT ENGAGEMENTS WITH CONSERVATION AND DEVELOPMENT IN SARAWAK, MALAYSIA by SARAH LYNNE HITCHNER (Under the Direction of J. Peter Brosius) ABSTRACT This research aims to document an indigenous culture in a remote place in the process of actively re-negotiating its identity and connections to a changing landscape. The Kelabit have always interacted with other ethnic groups and other places; they have never been completely isolated in the secluded Kelabit Highlands of Sarawak, Malaysia. But the nature and the pace of their engagements with the outside world have changed dramatically in recent decades; numerous external forces have acted upon the Kelabit community, from colonialism to missionization to globalization. They have had very little control over some of these forces, but neither have they been passive recipients of changes wrought by these forces. The Kelabit have always displayed great agency, ingenuity, pride, entrepreneurship, and political savvy during their interactions with the world outside the plateau, and these characteristics extend to their current engagements with conservation and development in the Kelabit Highlands. Building on recent advances in the historical ecology of anthropogenic landscapes and the political ecology of conservation, my research employed an array of ethnographic methods to address three main objectives: (1) to document the relationship between cultural sites and anthropogenic landscape modification in the Kelabit Highlands; (2) to advance a multidisciplinary methodology of gathering, monitoring, and analyzing spatial and temporal data from different sources; and (3) to promote a multi-level collaborative approach to participatory anthropological research methods in the context of planning for several possible alternative conservation and development scenarios in the Kelabit Highlands. Included in the five articles that serve as chapters are discussions of transboundary conservation, transboundary community- based ecotourism, community mapping and technology transfer, the Heart of Borneo conservation initiative, Kelabit ethnic identity, and the anthropogenic nature of the Kelabit Highlands landscape. I have tried during the fieldwork and writing processes to move beyond the paradigm of extractive research toward inquiry that is truly collaborative and directly relevant to the Kelabit community at this crossroads in their history. INDEX WORDS: Sarawak, Kelabit Highlands, Historical Ecology of Anthropogenic Landscapes, Political Ecology of Conservation, Transboundary Conservation, Collaborative Research Methods, PGIS, Community-Based Ecotourism, Megaliths, Heart of Borneo REMAKING THE LANDSCAPE: KELABIT ENGAGEMENTS WITH CONSERVATION AND DEVELOPMENT IN SARAWAK, MALAYSIA by SARAH LYNNE HITCHNER B.A., University of North Carolina at Greensboro, 2000 A Dissertation Submitted to the Graduate Faculty of The University of Georgia in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY ATHENS, GEORGIA 2009 © 2009 Sarah Lynne Hitchner All Rights Reserved REMAKING THE LANDSCAPE: KELABIT ENGAGEMENTS WITH CONSERVATION AND DEVELOPMENT IN SARAWAK, MALAYSIA by SARAH LYNNE HITCHNER Major Professor: J. Peter Brosius Committee: Theodore Gragson Julie Velásquez Runk Electronic Version Approved: Maureen Grasso Dean of the Graduate School The University of Georgia December 2009 DEDICATION This work is dedicated to my parents, Anita and Steven Hitchner, and to my sister, Kerry Hitchner. iv ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS This work would not have been possible without the help and support of many people; I regret that I cannot possibly name everyone here. I would especially like to thank the Kelabit people living in the villages and the cities of Malaysia that have helped with this research and have become loved family and friends. First and foremost, I would like to express my love for, and deep gratitude to, my Kelabit parents Supang Galih@Sinah Nabun Aran and Audie Chew@Nabun Aran for giving me a pleasant home in Pa’ Lungan and loving me as their own daughter; I also appreciate the kindness and hospitality of all the people of Pa’ Lungan. Florence Lapu Apu helped in innumerable ways throughout my stay in the Kelabit Highlands and became a dear friend in the process; I am forever grateful for her assistance, counsel, patience, and humor. Poline Bala, Ramy Bulan, Lucy Bulan@Sinah Raben Bala, Gerawat Gala@Tadun Aran, and John Tarawe@Paran Pengiran have consistently provided feedback, advice, and friendship throughout my time in Sarawak and are like family to me now. I would also particularly like to thank the following people for their friendship and support: Joanna Joy Abdullah, Muring Apu, Reddish Aran@Galih Paran and Sinah Galih Paran, Ngimat Ayu’@Belaan Tauh, Dick Bala@Bala Ngimet, Anderias Tapan@Teluna Bala and Sinah Teluna Bala, Alex Balang, Douglas Munney Bala@Tolong Ribuh and Millie Balang@Sinah Tolong Ribuh, Yunus Balang@Pun Lugun and Umi Langub@Ni’er Ayu’, Bernard Chew, Flora Chew, Jason Chew, Sebastian Chew, Jerome Giak, Rose Gerau, Thomas Ibuh, Stanley Isaac Iboh@Paran Keraie, Idris Jala, Sylvester Kalang, Christopher Kelly and Helda Yusuf, David Labang@Raben Bala, David Lian Labang@Lian Raben, Philip Lakai, Philip Lenjau@Liang Ayu’ and Pauline v Jimah@Sinah Liang Ayu’, Pak Lewi, Ridi Lio, Matius Litah@Ketuan Aran and Lapu Aran@Sinah Ketuan Aran, Stephen Litah@Pedingeran Tauh and Morni Pudun@Sinah Pedingeran Tauh, Bujang Long@Pang Ayu, Pun Mau@Litah Ayu’, Peter Matu@Paran Matu, Stanley Misi, Gerawat Nulun@Udan Turun, Tony Paran, Walter Paran@Paran Beruuk, U’un Paran, John Pasan@Pasan Lemulun, Charles Ribuh, Jaman Riboh@Paran Ribuh, Jolly Daut Taa’, Lian Tarawe, James Tarawe, Balang Tepun, Henry Jala Temalai@Midang Aren and Sinah Midang Aren, Dara Dora Tigan, Walter Wak@Doo’ Ngadan, and Ellyas Yesaya. Mula’ terima kasih ngabi. I am also grateful for the assistance I received from Ipoi Datan, Director of the Sarawak Museum; Dr. Paul Chai, Forest Ecologist for the Sarawak Forest Department and Project Leader for the ITTO transboundary conservation project; Datuk Robert Lian Saging@Balang Ngelibun, Director of the Sarawak Immigration Department; and Sarawak Deputy State Secretary Datuk Ose Murang. I also greatly appreciate the help and support of the members and staff of Rurum Kelabit Sarawak (Kuching, Miri, and Bario branches), the Bario Nature Guides Association, and e-Bario Sdn. Bhd. I would also like to thank the State Planning Unit of the Sarawak State Government for permitting me to conduct this research, and Datuk Professor Abdul Rashid Abdullah, Vice Chancellor of UNIMAS, for acting as my institutional sponsor in Sarawak and for providing me with office space and a dormitory during my last few months in Sarawak. To Jayl Langub, Senior Research Fellow at the Institute for East Asian Studies at UNIMAS, and his wife Ann, I would like to express my warmest thoughts and deepest appreciation for their friendship and help with so much more than research. Other people that deserve special recognition for their friendship and assistance are Matthew Amster, Ann Appleton, Robert Basiuk, Andy Chew, vi Kelvin Egay, Cristina Eghenter, Melvin Gumal, Dora Jok, Khoo Kay Jin, Kit Pearce, Mary Sandford, and Anne Schiller. The steadfast support of my advisor Peter Brosius has been immeasurably helpful in guiding me through the research process, and he and my other committee members, Ted Gragson and Julie Velásquez Runk, have consistently provided incisive feedback on my work. They and other professors and administrators at the University of Georgia have helped in innumerable ways; I would especially like to acknowledge the assistance of Robert Rhoades, Carolyn Ehardt, Tommy Jordan, Marguerite Madden, Margie Floyd, and LaBau Bryan. This research was funded by a National Science Foundation Doctoral Dissertation Improvement Grant, a Fulbright-Hays Doctoral Dissertation Research Abroad Fellowship, a U.G.A. Graduate School Dean’s Award, and a National Science Foundation Ethnographic Research Training Grant. I am also deeply indebted to my family and friends, who have been a constant source of love, support, and encouragement. I am particularly thankful for my friendships with Jenna Andrews, Jen Shaffer, Jessie Fly, and Gotzone Garay. Finally, I would like to express my deepest love and admiration for my parents, Anita and Steven Hitchner, and for my sister and best friend, Kerry Hitchner. vii TABLE OF CONTENTS Page ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS............................................................................................. v LIST OF FIGURES ..................................................................................................... xiv CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION AND LITERATURE REVIEW ...................................... 1 Empirical and Theoretical Context of Research ....................................... 1 Description of Research Project ............................................................. 3 Context: Study Area ............................................................................... 6 Island Southeast Asia ............................................................................. 6 Land Rights in Malaysia and Sarawak .................................................. 15 Kelabit Highlands ................................................................................ 17 Theoretical Approaches and Literature Reviews ................................... 20 Historical Ecology of Anthropogenic Landscapes ................................ 20 Political Ecology