A decade ago, representatives of indigenous groups, village and district governments and church councils from Pasi and Mbromsi islands attended a workshop to discuss Island-based Natural Resources Management Regulation.
Island-based Natural Resources Management Regulation aims to reduce pressures and conflicts over ownership and management rights, particularly for locations that are co-managed by few villages and even inter-islands.
By following a participatory approach grounded by the ethos of LMMA, participants of the workshop were empowered to share their ideas.
Consensus prevailed when participants understood that this type of arrangement can provide an overarching rule to manage their natural resources collectively. And that they can weave their history in the arrangement by using original names of locations in each village and using their language to describe terms.
As summarised by an indigenous representative:
“The village regulation is good, but somehow it is even better when we have island regulation so we will not work alone. I am happy that adat rules are included in this regulation”, said Bapa Cos, Dewan Adat Byak.
This story was adapted from a Story from the Field: United to protect Upper Padaido Islands written by Sandra Tjan.
