Environment and Society Flashcards
Introduction
The people of the pacific have had a variable relationship with their environment. Their relationship has changed over the years due to major events such as colonisation, world wars and natural occurrences. Peopl of the pacific have a always had a strong relationship to their environment. Their culture is rooted to their environment suhc as their traditional clothing, dances and costumes. They recognise the environment as a gift that needs to be protected and their navigation systems, medicine and resources all stem from the environment. Although their relationship with the environment has been and still is challenged by world wars, colonisation and natural disasters, it remians strongly rooted in the environment.
two majors types of islands and atolls - island geography
The pacific island geography consists of two major types of islands: high islands and low islands. High islands are formed by volcanoes and can support many people with their more fertile soil and thick rainforests leading to abundant resources. Providing more opportunity to support people of the island nations. Low islands are islands of coral origin. They formed as a result of sedimentation upon a coral reef or by tectonic uplift. Vegetation is established on these islands which provides resources and nutrients. Atolls are another form of island which surrounds a body of water called a lagoon. They develop with underwater volcanoes called seamounts.
how to use atolls for survival
The people of the pacific use indigenous knowledge and have learnt how to have relationships with the land to understand them. The atolls are have a lack of resources but people have developed relationships with the resources and a connection to the moana which has allowed them to survive. The marakei atoll in kiribati and the funafuti atoll in tuvalu are examples of this. Vegetation on the atolls are usually coconut shurchs, coconut trees, bananas and swamp taro. Ancient ancestors have managed the vegetation and passed this information on which the pacfic people continue to use survive currently. These resources have medicinal purpose, and important for food, creating infrastructure such as walls of houses, canoes or weaving for nets.
ways of organising life
Pacific people have a specific way of organising life. The activities are structured according to traditional roles of families and extended families and this is also reflected in housing arrangements. For example raised rock foundation called yavu are designated for chiefs and sub-groups are placed together so it is easier to send messages or raise alarm in case of invasion. Kinship and blood ties are organised in specific ways such as maori who belong to hapu and iwi which are subgroups. People learn from their elders.
food security, traditional farming, medicial plants
People developed knowledge though many generations and trials for food security and shows how a symbiotic relationship with the environment was crucial to their survival. Food sources were derived from their surrounding environment. The traditional farming system occured where the people would plant crops and leve them to establish for many years and revisit the site years later, and they would used the resources and replant the area so the soil is more regenerated. Crops like coconut, breadfruit, nut trees, bananas, amno and other fruit trees were needed for survival. Farming was practiced to protect biodiversity and their own resources. Medicinal plants are also available in the environment and traditional knowledge of how to use the plants was passed down though the generations, as a way of understanding deep connections to the environment.
how land is managed
Land was managed where tribes had their own territory of customary land and fishing grounds. People are expected to use their own share of resources and allocations – people seeking to use grounds which belong to others need to follow traditional protocols and seek permission from the owners. Land reserves can be marked by leaves tied to the tree trunks and fishing grounds marked by poles. These areas are declared sacred with retributions for those who do not follow.
colonisation
- Colonial establishment was about a colonial spread to gain power and territory, make use of the natural resources available in the land and sea and have airspace and military presence.
- The islands became transitional territories which caused civil wars and the removal of indigenous groups. People became landless, slaves and labourers for foreigners. In 1643 abel tasman was the first european to visit the islands and in the 1830s western christian missionaries began to arrive.
- Foreigners would trade goods with the natives and traditional weaponry was no longer used since people had strong axes, muskets and guns instead of war clubs. The foreigners were a new force bearing goods such as matches, tobacco,clothes and alcohol to trade for food and supply.
- This was the beginning of the power shift and synergies of the pacific and not only did foreigners bargain for food and resources, they began bargaining for land.
- In 1868 Cakobau sold the capital of Fiji, Suva to an Australian people and this land no longer belonged to the native people.
how was trust built?
Trust between foreigners and natives was made through building relationships with the chiefs, as the foreigners studied and relaised that the social structure of the paicif people continued through the chiefs, therefore a new relationship was built. The chiefs became friends with the foreigners as tehy had modern tools, equipment, drinks and food to offer. Foreigners build modern houses with modern materials for the chiefs and this emphasiesed the difference between modern and traditional technologies for the natiev people, as the other native people still lived in thatched houses.
clearing of forests
The islands of the pacific were cleared of forest for commercial agriculture such as mono-cropping, to fuel the colony and the resources created were shipped off of the islands. The pacific islanders were not partners in the new capitalist movement on their homelands the locals were employed as labourers or became slaves.
depopualtion
After the colonisation of the pacific islands, there was a major depopulation of some islands. The european introduced diseases such as measles and typhoid and the natives had no immunity. The europeans also brought alcohol and tobacco which were a major threat to health risks and caused many deaths and blackbirding and labour trafficking caused major deaths as well.
christain church mission
Indigenous knowledge systems were changed with the arrival of europeans, as chirstiany built church missions all over the south pacific islands. This was the beginning of the introduction of the western education system, which was implemented so that people could read the bible and rules were made stating that english should be the first language. Children of status were educated in specially prepared schools and employed by colonial government to wrok the their ministrys. Societal structures were remade and then followed by the natives.
ways of organising life - colonisation
The traditional ways of organising life were changed and disrupted as europeans came up with a rigid was of governing the people, so that there was no longer this fluid way of organising life. A futile system, was created where people are organised into hierarchy and established in a register. The names of every person were written in the book of genealogy were the ‘families’ were constructed by colonial people. This however created conflict between people sharing land that didn’t belong to their family. Because tribes are independent in the pacific with their own ways of goveerning, there was not one governing system that everyone followed, so the introduction of the european governing ways left the pacific people with no power and were forced to abide by these laws.
golbalisation, capatilisation and modernisation
- The pacific islands as a result of colonialism have been globalised, capitalised, and modernised.
- Now people live in cities instead of villages and have commercialsed commodities like burger kings and mc donalds.
- The dynamism of power and political systems have meant that neoliberal policies, marketisation and commodification have turned the land into a commodity.
- Commercialisation lead to the clearing of tropical rainforests for the establishment of commercial farming. This lead to damage of the biosphere and biodiversity from the high tillage soil, artificial means of production and huge machines plowing the land.
- The privitisation of land lead to land becoming a commodity and the rigid social structure and land systems imposed by colonial governments means that land can be sold and no longer belongs to the native people. As a result, people were displaced from their homes as they were forced to leave, to provide land for commercial industries. Most of the land in the pacific is free hold land which means that anyone can purchase the land. This completely disconnects the accessibility and relationship of people and their natural resources. Because of this a lot of land is sold and then used for mining of natural resources.
- Communities are left with little money and destruction of the environment.
- The apcific islands have been altered for tourism purposes, leaving locals with less resources for survival. The establishment of commercialisation of farming and tourism fences out the local people even though they own the land.
efforts to revive IK and bring back more power to native people
Since colonisation, more recently efforts have been made to revive indigneous knowledge systems and bring back more power to the native people. Local enterprises and businesses are being established which serve the community, providing employment and allowing economic opportunities for community members. Thes businesses uphold culture, values and ethos through contribution of sociocultural obligations. Running a business means they can retain their customary land otherwise it will be taken up by investors. Climate smart agriculture and regenerative projects have been started to revive indigenous knowledge. Regenerative agriculture like agroforestry and intercropping and climate smart agriculture that takes into account of carbonsinking are systems that are being taught to the younger generations of pacific people. This helps to bring back these traditional ecological knowledge and also regenerate the environment.
