Socioecological Approaches for Combining Ecosystem-Based and Customary Management in Oceania

This paper summarizes various integrated methodological approaches for studying Customary Management for the purpose of designing hybrid CM-Ecosystem-Based Management (EBM) systems in Oceania. Using marine conservation in the Western Solomon Islands as an example, the paper illustrates various interdisciplinary human ecological methods that can assist in designing hybrid conservation programs. The study of human-environmental interactions from a socio-ecological perspective allows us to discern people’s understanding of their immediate environment, differential forms of local resource governance and use (e.g., sea tenure and foraging strategies), and existing conflicts between various stakeholders, among other social and ecological factors. More generally, the paper shows how coupled studies of marine and social processes can foster management regimes that are more adaptive and effective and that move toward holistic, ecosystem-based marine conservation in the Pacific Island region.