Feeling the tides of change: Restor(y)ing visceral ecologies of mangroves in the Pacific Islands

Objetivo

‘Feeling the tides of change: restor(y)ing visceral ecologies of mangroves in the Pacific Islands’ aims to critically reframe mangrove conservation’s past and future by addressing the overlooked emotional, affective, and embodied dimensions of ecological management. The urgency of this research is the growing attention to carbon values of mangroves, with insufficient attention to socio-cultural contexts of mangroves for Pacific Island communities on the frontlines of climate change. The research objectives are to: analyze the colonial and (neo)colonial legacies of mangrove management practices in Fiji and Solomon Islands, particularly the emotional-affective enclosures that shape perceptions of mangroves as undesirable; use participatory storytelling with Pacific Islander youth to re-story and remap mangrove ecologies; and develop a theoretical framework for mangroves as visceral ecologies. Drawing on decolonial and feminist political ecology, the research will achieve these objectives by first conducting critical archival research of mangrove management in colonial periods and through (neo)colonial industries (tourism and logging). Then, contemporary conservation practices of government and NGO agencies on the ground will be examined through mixed qualitative methods. Through a two-year participatory digital storytelling internship with Fijian and Solomon Islander researchers and youth, the project will move beyond (neo)colonial management by developing counter-narratives that re-story mangroves as sites of cultural meaning and plural embodied values. Ultimately, the project proposes an innovative theoretical framework of 'visceral ecology of mangroves', challenging conservation to integrate emotional, sensorial, and affective dimensions of human-nature relations to become more holistic and effective.

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