Commensurability of scientific and indigneous ecological knowledge in coastal Melanesia: implications for contempory marine resource management strategies: WORKING PAPER

This record describes, and links to a working paper produced through the Resource Management in Asia-Pacific (RMAP) Program based at The Australian National University in Canberra.\n*****\nFundamental ontological differences between scientific and indigenous ecological knowledge systems in coastal Melanesia have resulted in very different conclusions being drawn from similar sets of observations. The same inductive logic may lead both scientists and non-science-trained fishers to conclude that, say, square-tail trout aggregate at a certain phase of the moon in a certain reef passage, but different assumptions derived from disparate ontologies (in this case 'traditional' Melanesian versus scientific) may lead to very different conclusions about why the fish are there. In some cases these differences have significant implications for the way marine resources are exploited, and managed (or not). Examples are presented here of non-scientific ontologies that underpin local beliefs about the biology or ecology of fished organisms that have led to poor management of stocks of these species. The potential for scientific education to 'fill gaps' in indigenous knowledge systems (and vice versa) and thus lead to improved management is discussed in the light of some claims that scientific and traditional knowledge systems are incommensurable. The heuristic value of the purported absence of a (Cartesian) dualistic separation of nature and culture in traditional Melanesian cosmologies (relative to those of industrialised Western cultures) is explored with regard to indigenous conceptions of human agency over resource abundance, and the relevance this has for management and conservation. I also speculate about recent transformations of rural Melanesian ontological frameworks through Western/scientific influences, and the associated differences in knowledge systems between young and old members of society, again with respect to the implications these have for the work of proponents of resource management and biodiversity conservation in the region.

这条记录介绍了由位于堪培拉的澳大利亚国立大学开展的亚太资源管理（Resource Management in Asia-Pacific, RMAP）项目产出的一篇工作论文，并提供了其链接。
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美拉尼西亚沿海地区的科学生态知识体系与本土生态知识体系之间存在根本性的本体论（ontology）差异，这使得二者基于相似观测数据集得出的结论大相径庭。例如，即便科学家与未接受科学训练的渔民采用相同的归纳逻辑，都可能得出“方尾鳟会在特定月球相位下聚集于特定礁道”的结论，但二者源于不同本体论（此处为美拉尼西亚传统本体论与科学本体论）的预设假设，却会就“鱼类为何聚集于此”得出截然不同的结论。在部分场景中，这类差异对海洋资源的开发、管理（或疏于管理）模式会产生显著影响。本文列举了若干非科学本体论的案例，这类本体论支撑着当地对捕捞物种生物学与生态学的认知，却导致了相关物种种群的管理失当。部分观点认为科学知识体系与传统知识体系不可通约，本文围绕这一论点，探讨了通过科学教育填补本土知识体系空白（反之亦然）、进而优化资源管理的可能性。相较于工业化西方文化的宇宙观，美拉尼西亚传统宇宙观据称不存在（笛卡尔式）自然与文化的二元分离，本文围绕本土关于人类对资源丰度具有能动性的认知，探讨了这一特征在资源管理与生物多样性保护方面的启发价值。此外，本文还探讨了西方/科学影响下美拉尼西亚乡村地区本体论框架的近期变迁，以及由此产生的社会代际知识体系差异，并再次分析了这类变迁对该区域资源管理与生物多样性保护从业者工作的启示。