Most indigenous people have traditional songs, stories, legends, dreams, methods and practices to transmit specific human elements of traditional knowledge. Sometimes it is preserved in artifacts handed from father to son or mother to daughter. In indigenous knowledge systems, there is usually no real separation between secular and sacred knowledge and practice - they are one and the same. In virtually all of these systems, knowledge is transmitted directly from individual to individual
A major Leatherback nesting area was recently discovered in Armila, Panama, home of Kuna Indians who have been protecting these leatherbacks for hundreds of years. The communities of Armila and Yandup (a significant Hawksbill nesting area), over 9 hours apart by boat, are struggling to spread prohibitions on the possession of turtle to all of Panama. They are demanding a return to their traditional turtle protections to rebuild populations decimated by years of outsider’s demands for turtle products for medicinal and consumptive purposes. Last year the Kuna, supported by Ocean Revolution held the first Panama Sea Turtle Festival.
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The Kuna have now established a zone of protection for their sisters
In 2010, Ocean Revolution with the support of The Christensen Fund, brought together Indigenous land and sea managers from across north Australia and North Papua New Guinea for a technical and cultural exchange. The exchange, which took place in Madang Province, had a profound effect on the participants from both Papua New Guinea and Australia. Naomi Hobson, a member of the Indigenous delegation from Australia wrote of her experience: “The trip made me a stronger person and gave me the resolve and determination to work harder with my Umpila families to get things done.” Since returning from the exchange, Naomi has been instrumental in establishing a Steering Group and Advisory Group to set land and sea management priorities for Umpila people (known as The Sandbeach People of Cape York). In a candid moment, Karkum Village youth prepared a short video for the delegation from Australia to view on their return home. In the video, a confident young man spoke openly about his thoughts on the exchange. “We would like this type of networking and communication to be strong and to be carried forward into the future. The future is ours. If we can build such communities, so that we can get to know each other more and force the development, we can bring great change to the whole world.” Highlights of the exchange included the sharing of music and dance, cultural tours, technical exchanges (including presenting I-Tracker to Karkum land and sea managers) and formal and informal presentations from the delegates. The exchange also included several private and public meetings with local PNG landholders, led by members of the Kimberley Land Council, to discuss an ‘Indigenous Negotiations Tool Kit’ being developed by Ocean Revolution. The Indigenous participants from north Australia captured their experience in Papua New Guinea through a series of photographs and audio recordings. These elements have been combined to produce a Story Report for their communities. With the participants’ permission, we are delighted to present these stories to you on the NAILMSA website: visit nailsma.org.au/projects/png.html.
This film was made by Romelia and Eunice Barnett. Led by the Comcáac Environmental Monitoring team, young members of the Comcáac tribe in Sonora Mexico have begun a project of monitoring and restoring the mangroves which are the nursery for their traditional fisheries. They collect "orphan seedling" (ones that have become displaced and dislocated by human impact, storms, and other natural events. They raise them to a survivable size in discarded plastic bottles and then plant them in areas that have been damaged by human and natural causes. This not only restores the "nursery" area. Mangroves are a major "carbon sink" for excess C02 generated by the burning of fossil fuels.
A revolution is going on in Tofo, Mozambique. In the past two years the first 19 Mozambican divers ever to have reached the professional level in the dive industry along the East African Coast have formed Bitonga Divers. They have become the boldest defenders of healthy oceans, sustainable utilization of marine resources, and strong economies. Listen to Rodrigues Temoteo talk about his transformation from a sea hunter to a champion of species protection
The accomplishments of Dr. Andrea Marshall and Dr. Simon Pierce of the Marine Megafauna Association in documenting with innovation and convincing clarity the importance of biodiversity to the future of a country, of providing the scientific basis for preserving the amazing Mozambican coast find expression in this film.
projects
mozambique
The Madagascar Channel is one of the world's most fertile and diverse ocean environments and the entire coastline of Mozambique is considered on of the world's "34 Biodiversity Hotspots." The major stakeholders there, local fishermen, however, are largely unaware of the ocean crisis we are facing. Without electricity, news, tv or internet they only receive information and support from a group of Mozambican activists called BiTonga Divers who visit their villages. Ocean Revolution, The Foundation for the Protection of Marine Megafauna, and Eduardo Moldame University have joined forces to initiate and promote a program of conservation awareness and sustainable economic development in the Inhambane region of Mozambique. Read our latest report on our accomplishments and challenges here.
native oceans: uniting to protect wild and healthy oceans
Over 80% of the world's truly wild places are home to Indigenous peoples. Many are rising to the 21st Century challenges of vanishing oceanic resources by pairing traditional protections with new tools and strategies.
The Kuna of Panama and the Comcáac of Mexico are at the forefront of a growing global network of Indigenous Communities organized and mentored by Ocean Revolution as Native Oceans. Native Oceans provides young activist leaders with a forum, a set of tools and a network capable of meeting the rising threat to wild and healthy oceans posed by climate change, unsustainable resource use, pollution, and coastal development.
Indigenous youth in sea turtle cultures, backed by their elders, have an amazing ability to weave science, economics, culture and spirituality into a community strategy of survival and resistance to these destructive forces.
In December 2009, The Canal de Infierniello, home of the Comcáac was declared a Ramsar site. Ramsar sites are the wetlands equivalent of World Heritage designations
kimberley land council
Ocean Revolution and the Kimberley Land Council partner on the development and deployment of international negotiations, governance, climate change, and carring for country toolkits, research and academic agreements and responsible development for Indigenous communities around the world.
