Pohnpei's watershed forest reserve: towards sustainable management

Abstract

Generally little is known of traditional systems of terrestrial forest management in Micronesia. What little we do know suggests a complex approach that has been developed over thousands of years. However, as with corresponding traditional marine resource management systems, rapidly increasing population and an expanding cash economy has led to growing resource degradation. In the meantime, the traditional management system has been slowly eroded through the conflict of values and perceptions that have accompanied change from a traditional to a more modernized society. This paper describes the traditional management system for Pohnpei's forests and presents a case study of the development of a community-based management scheme for the island's remaining forest resources, based on traditional island institutions and practices.