Assessment of Community Attitudes and Knowledge of the Local Environment Around Cherokee Sound, Abac

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Assessment of Community Attitudes and Knowledge
of the Local Environment Around Cherokee Sound,
Abaco, Bahamas

• Amelia Moore
• Department of Ecology, Evolution, and
  Environmental Biology
• Columbia University

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General Purpose

• To conduct ethnographic research in Cherokee
  Sound in order to determine local attitudes
  towards Marine Protected Areas (MPAs)
• To pilot data collection techniques in the region

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Funding

• Funded by the American Museum of Natural History,
  and CERC
• Through the Center for Biodiversity and
  Conservation

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Cherokee Sound

• Population of approximately 160-180 on Great
  Abaco Island
• Descended from Carolina loyalists
• Main community occupies 1 square mile
• Adjacent expansion area of Yellowwood is larger
  and more sparsely populated

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Reasons for Selection

• Extensive history of marine interaction
• Relatively closed community
• Wide range of marine environments adjacent
• Support from the local government

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Specific Goals

• Understand perceptions of change in marine
  resource availability
• Identify trends in local resource use
• Identify what drives social and ecological change
• Identify sources of environmental information
• Identify perceptions of regulation utility

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My Questions

• What are the main types of interaction with the
  environment?
• How has the local environment changed over time?
• What is the extent of environmental education?

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Methods

• Participant Observation
• Personal Interviews
• Surveys
• Field Notes

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Pilot Results

• Both formal and informal fishing regulations
  guide resource extraction
• Shift towards non-extractive fishing and tourism
  and occupational multiplicity
• Threats to the ecosystem may be more land based
  than marine
• Residents are generally agreed on areas that need
  protection
• Television provides the main form of
  environmental education

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Pilot Results (Cont.)

• Changes in infrastructure lead to recent changes
  in household activities
• Decrease in importance of commercial fishing
• Direct experience is important informal education
• Fishing and hunting are cultural ways of life for
  residents

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Discussion

• Community Based Conservation (CBC) and
  Participatory Management
• Emphasis on peripheral communities
• Coexistence of humans and the natural environment
• Examines interest groups, resource use motives,
  conflicts, and behavior
• Participation factors into program success at
  each stage
• This is not a question of development

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Further Study

• Need for more systematic data collection in a
  longer field season
• Comparison to other case studies
• Report presented to members of Cherokee Community
• Survey revision

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Thank You

• Paige West (Barnard College/Columbia University)
• Meg Domroese (American Museum of Natural History)
• Kenny Broad (University of Miami)
• Saundra McLaughlin Michelle Murdock
• Residents of Cherokee Sound

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