John Aini & Paige West: Decolonizing Conservation in the Pacific--LIVE

In this searching conversation, two internationally renowned experts on and advocates for Indigenous cultures and sustainability in Papua New Guinea discuss the evolution of conservation across the Pacific. In looking toward an Indigenous future of environmental management, they see a reconnection of people to place, a transfer of resources from carbon-producing and former colonial powers, more robust knowledge sharing between environmental scientists and traditional ecosystem stewards, and, not least, greater respect for the Pacific’s Indigenous communities. If Oceania is to survive the climate crisis, they contend, environmental solutions have to be equitable, collaborative, and local.
Speakers: John Aini, Indigenous environmental activist, founder of Ailan Awareness, New Ireland, Papua New Guinea; Paige West, Claire Tow Professor of Anthropology at Barnard College and Columbia University, co-founder of the Papua New Guinea Institute of Biological Research; and Alexander Mawyer (moderator), director of the Center for Pacific Islands Studies.
Lead Sponsors: School of Ocean and Earth Science and Technology, Hawaiʻi Institute of Marine Biology, Center for Pacific Islands Studies