“It's up to the clan to protect”: Cultural heritage and the micropolitical ecology of conservation in New Caledonia

This case study from New Caledonia explores the motivations of local people in initiating co-managed conservation projects on customary lands. Kanak villagers viewed “conservation” largely as a means of reinforcing their cultural identity through preservation of their cultural heritage, grounded in the landscape. However, at the same time, they hoped to promote economic development. Ironically, thus, they found it necessary to welcome outside influences—to seek visits from non-Kanak tourists and to request financial and technical support from the provincial government, which had been created by the colonial power. Meanwhile, although a desire to reinforce customary authority structures formed an important part of this search for a unifying cultural identity, the quest for a stable, traditional, shared “past” created new, micropolitical instabilities within the community, conditioned by expectations of financial gain and by sources of social status. A “micropolitical ecology” approach revealed that a conservation program grounded in customary authority would be the only acceptable solution, although it would be difficult for villagers to agree on who filled customary roles. This study indicates the importance of gaining a clear understanding of intra-community dynamics and of community members’ perceptions of external groups, in order to design appropriate strategies for co-management.