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Environment
and development in coastal regions and in small islands |
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Environment
and development in coastal regions and in small islands |
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Coastal region and small
island papers 8
Indigenous people and parks
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FOREWORD |
Today there is wide recognition of the need for local-community involvement
in the conservation of cultural landscapes and natural heritage. With their
unique knowledge, skills and traditions, local communities have much to contribute
to the management of these areas. Their involvement ensures ‘wise use’, while
supporting the continued vitality of indigenous cultures. This is especially
important when such sites are inscribed on the World
Heritage List of the United
Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) and are
subsequently included on global tourist itineraries.
One case in point concerns the Moken communities that occupy the Surin
Islands, located in the Andaman Sea, off the southwestern coast of Thailand. The
Moken, popularly referred to as ‘sea-gypsies’, are traditionally a nomadic
sea-faring people who have frequented these coastal waters for hundreds, if not
thousands, of years. In 1981, the Surin Islands were designated a marine
national park, and have more recently been included on a tentative list of World
Heritage sites in Thailand. Concerns have been raised that the traditional
hunting, gathering and trading practices of the Moken may disturb the ecological
balance of the national park. At the same time, the Moken are an integral part
of this cultural landscape and the need to preserve their way of life and fulfil
their aspirations is also fully recognized.
To address these issues, a field
project was initiated in 1997 to explore sustainable development options
with the Moken community in the Surin Islands. The project seeks to strengthen
dialogue between park officials and the Moken to enable them to become active
partners in managing the area and safeguarding its heritage value through the
sharing of knowledge, skills and tools. This publication presents the results of
a series of stakeholder workshops, conducted to design the project activities,
and discusses various challenges facing the Moken and the national park
authorities.
Key players in this initiative are the Chulalongkorn
University, the UNESCO
Bangkok Office, the Intergovernmental
Oceanographic Commission and the interdisciplinary and intersectoral platform
for ‘Environment and development in coastal regions
and in small islands’ (CSI). This field project represents one of 23 CSI
projects, distributed around the globe, which provide for collaborative
on-the-ground action. They are supported by training and capacity building through
university chairs/twinning arrangements,
and reinforced by a multi-lingual, internet-based forum on ‘Wise
Coastal Practices for Sustainable Human Development’ (user name = csi, password
= wise).
Acknowledgements are due to all the participants who, in concert and
through their active involvement, created the conditions for a dialogue which is
anticipated to continue well into the future. Particular thanks are due to
Salama Klathalay, Tone Klathalay and Dake Klathalay of the Moken communities in
the Surin Islands; Mr Sompong Jeerararuensak, Superintendent of the Ko Surin
National Park, and his staff, for their active support and input to this
project; to Ms Sumalee Kositnitikul of the Bangkok Arts and Crafts College, for
contributing handicraft samples and reading materials on ecology and substance
addiction; to Mr Maarten Kuijper of the Intergovernmental Oceanographic
Commission, for his overall assistance with the project; and to Mr Geoffrey
Keele for the initial compilation and editing of this publication. Finally,
particular acknowledgement is due to the project coordinator, Dr Narumon
Hinshiranan, without whose commitment the project would never have been
possible.
Richard
A. Engelhardt
Regional Advisor for Culture in Asia and the Pacific, UNESCO, Bangkok
Douglas
Nakashima and Dirk
G. Troost
UNESCO-CSI, Paris
