Social Evaluation Study for the Milne Bay Community-Based Coastal and Marine Conservation Program png/99/G41 Jeff Kinch April 2001 unops contract for Services Ref
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Service Centres The main township of Bwagaioa is located at the eastern tip of Misima island and is the centre for the District Administration of the Samarai-Murua district. Along with local and district government offices, the township has a residential area, a guest house, several churches, a bakery, several trade stores, two fast food outlets, fuel outlets, two second-hand clothing shops, hospital, community school, high school, liquor outlets, Public Motor Vehicles (PMVs), truck hire, sea transport services, market, fresh fish outlets, police station, and a harbour. Bwagaioa is the main service centre for the Deboyne Islands (CBMMCA 2) and Brooker (CBMMCA 3). Samarai is the closest service centre for the Engineers (CBMMCA 2) and Ware (CBMMCA 3). Its services include a hospital, local and district government offices, residential areas, two guest houses, several trade stores, fuel outlets, rural-health centre, community school, liquor outlet, sea transport services, copra marketing board sub-depot, market, power station, port facilities, and several churches. People from these CBMMCAs and those from Nuakata and East Cape (CBMMCA 1) also utilise the facilities and services of Alotau, the Provincial capital. Transport By comparison with most Provinces, transport is the major limiting factor to development in Milne Bay Province (Hunting-Fishtech, 1990). Shipping is irregular and the tradestores in the CBMMCAs often run out of foodstuffs and other necessities. A study in 1975 on Milne Bay transport systems highlighted many issues (UPNG, 1975), but there has been little improvement since. The old system of small plantations buying from smallholders, trade stores and trade store-owned workboats collapsed twenty years ago along with the shipping networks of Steamships and Burns Phillips, and has not been replaced. The CBMMCAs are remote, with the exception of East Cape, which has road access to Alotau. The cost of transporting cash crops or other products from the islands to outside markets sharply reduces profits on most goods. There is a need to improve coastal shipping facilities, with Provincial owned wharves and jetties upgraded and sites for potential new wharves and jetties identified. Local entrepreneurs have numerous work boats supplied for transport needs, and there seems to be a recent resurgence in boat building in the Province, possibly linked to the high prices being paid for marine resources. Better transport facilities will alleviate pressure on community transport needs but may incresae pressure on marine resources as people have better access to exporters based in Alotau. Police Police resources are inadequate at present within the CBMMCAs, which greatly reduces their enforcement powers. There are concerns that the level of criminal activity among unemployed youths may increase. Equally, given the location on important international sea-lanes and its very large number of islets and reefs, there has always been the concern that international criminals could use the area as a staging and warehousing point for their activities. Piracy is becoming a concern in Milne Bay waters (see Israel, 2000c). Police either have to come from Alotau, Samarai or Bwagaioa to investigate criminal activities or illegal fishing. This remoteness makes enforcement difficult, especially since police at Bwagaioa and Samarai have no watercraft. The Bwagaioa police station's radios were not operational until early 2000, and its HF system still does not work. A mobile and well-resourced police contingent is necessary for surveillance and investigation of illegal fishing activities and to monitor disputes. The Village Court System The Milne Bay Government is to ensure that the Village Courts System is working effectively, resulting in the achievement of law enforcement at the community level with new village courts to be established in all council areas. Whilst the responsibility for the management of the Village Court system has devolved to the District levels, none of the funds necessary for such management have been similarly devolved. This is a major obstacle to tackling some of the more evident problems confronting the courts. For example, the record keeping system of the Village Courts at Misima is extremely weak (Jackson, 2000). The original Village Court system was based on custom and issues that they were best dealt with by the community. The Village Court would then graft customary wisdom onto the formal judicial system. Unfortunately, the great majority of cases have little to do with custom but with breaches of LLG regulations, land disputes and petty civil and criminal offences. Knowledge of custom appears to be of less value than a good general education and a thorough if basic legal grounding. The latter is especially important if the system and its operators are to retain the respect of an incresaingly sophisticated and more literate village community (Jackson, 2000). There are currently no Village Court Officials in the Misima District. Consequently the Village Magistrates Courts in CBMMCA 2 and CBMMCA 3 are not supervised properly. Additionally, the LLGs throughout Zone 1 have not yet passed any new set of Council Rules and Regulations, so that many court officers are unclear as to what rules to enforce (Misima Mines Limited, 2000) and to date no training for village magistrates has been accomplished in most of the CBMMCAs. Because of lack of funds, the District Court magistrate has not, in the past three years, been able to hear cases anywhere in the Samarai-Murua District other than in Bwagaioa. Four Land Mediators have been appointed to Bwagaoia under the Land Disputes Settlement Act to serve the whole Samarai-Murua District. All disputes must go before the Land Mediators before they will be accepted for hearing in the court. Land Mediators’ work must be supervised by a District representative of the Department of Lands. Unfortunately, there is no such representative in the District. Worse, the Land Mediators, who are to be paid by the Village Courts Secretariat, are often not paid at all. Under these circumstances it is perhaps unsurprising that the overwhelming majority of cases dealt with by the Land Mediators proceed unresolved to the Local or District Courts. In turn, most cases, once decided, are almost universally appealed. The Provincial Land Court has never been able to sit in Bwagaoia and most disputes remain unsettled (Jackson, 2000). Harmony Ink provided training of Village Recorders within the Louisiade LLG to help set up a conflict mediation mechanism to resolve tenure and resource ownership and use disputes (see Egan, 1998; Harmony Ink, 1998). Recommendation: 12. Build the capacity of Village Recorders, Magistrates and District Court systems to actively enforce community rules and regulations related to resource use and management. Government Capacity Where conservation initiatives are taking place under certain Wards it is good policy for long-term acceptance and collaboration to involve the LLGs offices of the MBP (see Krimbu, 1998). The LLGs will be one area of providing and disseminating information as well as solving disputes. The Districts play a crucial role in the New Organic Law, as they constitute the forum where bottom-up planning processes within the LLGs link up with the Provincial administration. It is at the District level that the funds made available to Provinces and the LLGs are used to implement the plans, policies and laws of the various LLGs. Unfortunately, the introduction of Organic law in 1995 failed to give any directions as to how the various levels of governments were to manage the change. Unfortunately there is little capacity within existing government agencies to do this. The issue of management capacity of community and government organisations is one of the greatest weaknesses for the MBP at local, district, provincial and national levels. This highlights the urgent need for some serious reform and institutional strengthening. The issue of management capacity of government organisations is one of the greatest weaknesses of conservation initatives in PNG. This issue of government capacity has underlain as well as undermined much of the history of such initiatives within PNG since 1975. For example, there is a severe lack of government capacity to implement a working national system of Wildlife Management Areas (WMAs) from government to community levels (see van Helden, 2001 for details of government policy and mechanisms for the incorporating protected areas). Subsequently, there is almost a complete absence of government support and backup of WMAs, for example the Lake Lavu Wildlife Management Area on Fergusson Island in Milne Bay. Another example of the Lands Department’s recent operations in Milne Bay Province described by Jones and McGavan (2000) shows a further lack of capacity of the government. In this case the National Government removed itself from a compensation dispute involving land under lease/lease back tenure arrangements, leaving the onus on Milne Bay Estates to adjudicate landowner claims and to take over elements of the role of the State at the Provincial level. The implications of these matters described above are that, to the extent that the MBP is dependent on both National and Provincial Government bureaucracies for both initial implementation and sustained management, there are major problems and risks. The picture for the MBP is not all negative. All LLGs in ZONE 1 have active debate amongst generally keen Councillors, reasonably good administration support and staff members who are active and interested. The Louisiade LLG has already produced its own Five-Year Plan, and the other two LLGs are in the process of developing theirs as well (Jackson, 2000). LLGs that are informed appropriately of the MBP can create a Conservation Management Committee under section 25 of the Organic Law on Provincial Governments and Local-Level Governments, and these would be responsible for monitoring conservation-related activities within the LLG (van Helden, 2001). Also section 44 of the Organic Law on Provincial Governments and Local-Level Governments allows for room to draw up Local-Level conservation laws which stipulate the establishment of set-asides, the seasonal closure of fishing areas or matters of policy vis-à-vis dive boat operators, foreign fishing vessels and intruding fishermen from other areas (see van Helden, 2001, for greater detail). Recommendation: 13. Recognize and address the need for institutional strengthening and capacity building at all government levels. Ward Development Committees The bulk of the population within Zone 1 is far more aware of general planning issues and problems regarding resources than in any other part of PNG. Communities have participated very extensively in the development of Ward databases, profiles and planning processes (Jackson, 2000). Some of these activities are detailed below. MML from 1996-1998 sponsored Harmony Ink, a PNG-based NGO to assist primary stakeholders to develop plans based on their needs at the village level in an effort to ensure that the MML's closure plan is relevant and sustainable. This was a valuable exercise that gave many people in CBMMCAs 2 and 3 an opportunity to discuss issues of concern to them for the first time. Harmony Ink conducted leadership courses involving Councillors, WDCs and women and collected social and economic data from Wards in the Louisiade LLG area. They also supported the development, implementation and monitoring of a Council and District plan, provided training of Village Recorders to collate community profiles and were also instrumental in setting up a conflict mediation mechanism to resolve tenure and resource ownership and use disputes (see Egan, 1998; Harmony Ink, 1998). In 1999, a planner contracted through an AusAid affiliated organisation began training processes specifically formulated for the development of Provincial, Local and Ward Level plans. Through these processes the development of a simple bottom-up format for training of WDCs and Village Recorders was instituted. This required a continuous facilitation of District Staff until the WDC capacity was built up, after which less outside assistance was needed (see Nolan, 2000). One of the things stressed throughout this process was that Ward Development Plans (WDPs) must include 'legitimate' needs, and not things that ought to be done by businessmen or women, or things that villagers could do for themselves on a self-help basis (Milne Bay Provincial Administration, 2000). It was also stressed that monitoring the success of a WDP is not just the responsibility of the WDC, it is the responsibility of all the people who live in the Ward. Self-evaluation and monitoring will also be an important aspect for the viability of the MBP. Finally, the Milne Bay Provincial Data System (PDS) was set up to list the development needs of the Wards, and the resources that exist within each. This was determined with the active involvement of the people who reside in the Wards and all Village Recorders of the ZONE 1 have been trained in community mapping exercises and population analysis (Milne Bay Provincial Administration, 2000; Papua New Guinea Government, 1999). All the assets present in the Ward, including aid posts, classrooms, water supply systems, etc and human resources that might be present in a Ward are recorded. The PDS run by the Management Information Systems (MIS) of the Milne Bay Administration will be a valuable asset to the MBP. A remarkable feature of the WDCs of the Louisiade LLG is how many people are involved in them. In the majority of cases WDCs consists of six members (including the Councillor) of whom, consistently, two are women. But in some cases more than six eager individuals were appointed. In others each member had an alternate or a secretary and in yet others each member had their own sub-committee of three or four persons. The consequence was that in some cases as many as a quarter of the adult population was directly involved in the priority deciding process. More remarkable still was the fact that none were paid or received cash allowances for their work. This makes the WDCs an interesting vehicle for managing community interests in the field of resource management. Using WDCs under the umbrella of the LLGs will enhance the long-term sustainability of the MBP. Summary and Conclusion While health figures, such as life expectancy at birth, have not improved, literacy rates and education indicators in general have risen and provide a unique opportunity to create a learning community centered around regionally community-based design for management, monitoring, evaluation, and adjustment of CBMMCSs that are coordinated at appropriate scales. It can also provide opportunities for improving economic welfare, and addressing population and health care issues. The high literacy rate also suggests that people in Milne Bay are able to participate in uncomplicated data collection and project monitoring activities. Most people can afford to pay for their children to attend the local primary schools, though secondary education is usually beyond the financial reach of most families, and a large proportion of children receive no formal education beyond sixth grade. Education will need to play a big and important role in the MBP as most Milne Bay villagers lack a basic conservation philosophy and environmental awareness (see Kinch, 2001). Education can be used for three main conservation objectives: reducing unsustainable practices; providing the incentive for CBMMCSs; and increasing the enforcement capacity at the community level. In order to facilitate the future management of marine resources by Milne Bay people, community-based education is needed on the general ecology of coral reef eco-systems and how they are affected by human activities on land and sea. This needs to be enhanced and developed for the long-term success of the MBP (see Mitchell et al, 2001). Generally, the health status of people in the Province has been on the decline over a period of twenty years due to the lack of sufficient financial and manpower resources to effectively implement various health care programs (MBA, 2000). If health issues are not seen to improve the Provincial Government will be more concerned with increasing health rather than conservation or resource management issues. Communities will react similarly. The emphasis by the people themselves on family planning is indicative of an already high level of community awareness of population growth and its potential problems. Reducing the level of resources required to keep people healthy (through promotion of primary health care services and prophylactic devises such as mosquito nets) may reduce harvesting pressure on commercially valuable species, and this may need to be investigated by the MBP. Police resources are inadequate at present within the CBMMCAs, which greatly reduces their enforcement powers. A mobile and well-resourced police contingent is necessary for surveillance and investigation of illegal fishing activities and to monitor disputes. There are currently no Village Court Officials and consequently the Village Magistrates Courts are not supervised properly. The issue of management capacity of government organisations is one of the greatest weaknesses of conservation initatives in PNG. Having said this, the picture for the MBP is not all negative. Opportunities for the MBP include the existence of politically astute and articulate community leaders, both men and women. All LLGs in Zone 1 have active debate amongst generally keen Councillors, reasonably good administration support and staff members who are active and interested. The Louisiade LLG has already produced its own Five-Year Plan and the other two LLGs are in the process of developing theirs as well (Jackson, 2000). WDCs have recently received considerable capacity building as part of government initiatives to develop Ward Development Plans, and all members have particpated in this activity. Village Recorders have received training in social mapping, census analysis and conflict mediation. Chapter 7 The Subsistence Economy Land Pressure and Food Security There seems little doubt that land pressure and shortage, as well as lack of food availability, are both current and future problems in Zone 1. Signs of these problems include (i) a greater awareness and tension over land availability; (ii) marginal land previously uncultivated, now being brought into cultivation; (iii) the clearing of traditional food tree and established cash crop areas, for subsistence gardens; (iv) a spread of kunai grass, weed infested areas and generally degraded land; (v) a steady reduction of forested areas; and (vi) a general reduction in bush fallow length (Callister, 2001; pers comm). Food security, has probably improved since the late 19th century throughout Zone 1, in particular a reduction in severity of the customary period of food shortage between February and April. This is likely due to changes such as the introduction of crops like sweet potato and cassava and the increased freedom for inter-island trade. The introduction of new crops, brought by Pacific Island missionaries aided in the diversity of crops grown and assisted in food security. Missionisation and subsequent pacification also opened up new avenues for trade and better food security. If food security based on subsistence and increased incomes based on cash cropping are to be achieved, some changes in either agricultural practices or population growth rates will be necessary. Mitchell et al (2001) are trying to address some of these issues. In 1994, Ware islanders estimated that local production accounted for only one third of their food supply. The figures from Kinch (1999) suggest that crop production may be supplying only half of the necessary requirements. It is highly probable that in the not too distant future women will probably have to work harder to coax a harvest from exhausted soil or travel even farther in search of new land to clear (see Byford, 2000). As with the other islands in CBMMCA 2, agricultural food security at Brooker and Ware (CBMMCA 3) is very vulnerable to the climatic extremes of drought and cyclones, but especially susceptible to drought. All islands in the Zone 1 have experienced one complete crop failure every decade since the 1870s (see MacIntyre 1983a; Hayes, 1993), and government food relief has been a regular feature in recent decades. Examples below from Brooker in CBMMCA 3 also clearly illustrate this problem: When I visited Brooker in January 1978, I found the people subsisting on coconuts and fish, their gardens having been devastated by drought and by a cyclone in November 1977. In late 1978 visiting Brooker Islanders told us that because there was almost no water on the island, they were roasting fish or boiling it in salt water and having to throw away the broth, a great blow because fish broth is prized in the Louisiade Archipelago virtually as much as the fish itself (Lepowsky, 1978). . . . [on] the island of Brooker all the tree leaves and grass turned to brown colour, the people find it hard to plant their yam seeds, and also the food crops are badly damaged. It is a fact that the people live on fish, coconut and rice. The people of Brooker travel to Duau and Misima mainland to get foodstuff . . . It is fact [that] the food gardens are no use as the hot sun [has] cooked or burnt up all the food crops (Gomedi, 1987). This failure of crops contributes to increased pressure on marine resources. People need to dive for marine resources to trade with more agriculturally well-endowed islands or for sale to commercial enterprises in order to acquire cash to purchase tradestore staples such as rice and flour. Government supplying of rice and cooking oil has occurred regularly in recent years. The importance of these government rations has changed from previous times when it was considered more of a windfall. In the western end of the Calvados Chain, the three islands of Bagaman, Motorina and Brooker were the hardest hit in the whole subdistrict by the cyclone. These people are primarily traders, and as soon as possible, they set about rebuilding their canoes so that they could recommence their voyages. They were rationed from Bwagaioa for about two months, but this issue was discontinued when it was discovered that on receipt of two weeks rations for about 170 people, the community would proceed to hold a day-and-night feast until, in about 3 days, everything had been eaten (Misima Sub-District Office, 1953). Harvesting and management of marine resources to cover agricultural deficiencies provides both threats and opportunities for the success of the MBP. Brooker people (CBMMCA 3) regularly catch fish and trade to other more agriculturally rich communities on Misima or market them to fresh fish buyers at Bwagaioa or sell them smoke-preserved at market. Poor gardens combined with poor resource management will lead to decreased production affecting both food security and community wealth. Good management will mean that high valued stocks will be available for export, bringing increased prosperity and food security (see Munro, 1997). This is particularly important when you consider that within the Province, 80% of people are involved in subsistence. The food replacement value would be in the order of K58+ million (Mitchell et al, 2001). Agriculture In the past people say that gardens in the CBMMCAs were smaller and there was a heavier reliance on subsistence gathering. Foods included the pith of banana trees, wild yam, wild bean, pawpaw, mango, curry nut, breadfruit, Polynesian chestnut, Malay apple and others. Some of these species are planted or husbanded. Gerritsen and McIntyre (1986) showed that a mere 0.075 hectares (or less) per head of garden land was required to sustain the population at that time and at the standard of living of that time. Of course, given the agricultural system in place, this also required that between seven and ten times this amount of land per person needed to be in fallow, recovering between rotational cultivations. Thus depending on the length of fallow allowed for, each person would require between 0.525 and 0.75 hectares of land for their sustanance (exluding forest resources). We know the population and the land area area but we do not know how much land is suitable for what forms of cultivation. People in Zone 1 say that in the past they planted one garden per year, and men accompanied women to their garden for fear of attack. Produce from this garden provided their subsistence needs and ceremonial requirements. Along with poor mobility and poor labour cooperation in historical times, gardeners were restricted by the use of stone axes. With the coming of steel axes and digging sticks, agricultural practices were modified from small clearings with large trees left to the slash and burn swidden style of gardening used today. Pacification brought greater security, safer mobility and allowed more people to participate actively in the making of gardens resulting in larger gardens. The introduction of new crops, brought by Pacific Island missionaries, aided in the diversity of crops grown and assisted in food security. This increase in food resulted in an increase in frequency and size of gatherings, work parties and mortuary ceremonies (cf Berde, 1983). It allowed for more wide-ranging trading and subsequently built up interfamily alliances as people married into other villages and islands. The following descriptions of agriculture in the three areas largely summarise information collected by the PNGAS in 1994 (Bourke et al, 1994; Hide et al, 1996) and in the case of Brooker, Kinch (1999). CBMMCA 1 The three communities associated with this reef area divide into two groups in terms of agriculture: East Cape on the mainland, and the two island populations. The East Cape community was described by PNGAS in 1994 as part of a wider agricultural system (0510). In the East Cape area this system is characterised by gardens located on steep, mainly grass covered, mountains and hills from Cape Frere (Girumia) to both sides of East Cape. Short grass areas are rarely cultivated, except on East Cape. In valley bottoms and on river terraces, woody regrowth taller than 10 m and between 15 and 20 years old, is cleared and burnt (PNGAS 1994). The main crops are yam (D. esculenta), sweet potato, cassava, coconut and taro, (with cassava, coconut and sago more important toward East Cape), and a wide range of other crops including yams (D. alata and D. nummularia), Chinese taro, Alocasia taro and banana. Severe drought is a relatively frequent occurrence. Two plantings are made before fallowing. Fruit and nut trees are significant sources of food. The planting of new gardens is usually between October and January. In contrast, the two island communities of Nuakata and Iabam/Pahilele were assigned by PNGAS (Hide et al, 1994) to an agricultural system (0519) found widely from the Samarai Islands in the south to the Amphletts in the north, with a reasonable amount of local variation. Gardens are cut in fallows of tall woody regrowth between 10 and 20 years old. The main crops are yam (D. esculenta and D. alata), sweet potato, cassava, banana and coconut, with a wide range of other crops including taro, sago, Amorphophallus taro and Alocasia taro. There is usually a second planting before gardens are left to fallow. New gardens on Nuakata are mostly planted between October and January (Mallett, 1996). Sticks or logs are laid around the slope to form rectangular plot markers in most yam gardens and these sometimes reduce soil erosion. Yams are usually not staked. Yams and sweet potato are planted in small mounds. Overall, sweet potato and cassava are more important foods than yam. Fruits and nuts provide significant amounts of food seasonally, in particular breadfruit, Polynesian chestnut, Java almond and mango. They are usually most abundant between November and February and are thus available as the supply of stored yam dwindles. CBMMCA 2 Although the PNGAS in 1994 distinguished between two different agricultural systems in the two island groups of the Engineers and Deboyne Islands (0512 – which includes islands in the West Calvados Chain as well as the Engineer Islands - and 1514 respectively), agriculture is broadly similar throughout, with minor local variation. Typically, the fallow vegetation is low woody regrowth, less than 10 m high and 5 to15 years old. Clearing and planting of new gardens usually occurs between August and January. Gardens are subdivided into plots. Cassava, sweet potato, banana, yam (D. esculenta) and coconut are the main crops, with others including yam (D. alata), taro, Amorphophallus taro and Queensland arrowroot. Gardens are usually planted twice before fallow. Yams (mainly D. esculenta but with some D. alata) predominate in new gardens, with other crops planted in separate sections or at edges. Cassava, sweet potato and banana predominate in replanted gardens. Yams are not staked. Gardens are laid out on a grid pattern, with plot dividers of wood, primarily for the purpose of organising work and production. However, on steep slopes these dividers also serve to retain soil. Household gardens are not usual but were seen on Tubetube where all pigs are kept in solid pens made of coconut tree trunks. Fencing is very variable, dependent on the location of pigs. The main difference between agriculture on Panaeati and that on the Engineers is that a small proportion (c. one quarter) of Panaeati gardens are characterised by longer fallows (>20 years) of tall woody regrowth that usually contains many old fruit and nut trees such as breadfruit. The undergrowth is cleared, some but not all trees are cut down, and the vegetation is dried and burnt. Banana is the predominant crop, but it is interplanted with a wide range of other crops. In addition, households plant two to four yam gardens each year on soils that vary in their ability to retain moisture (see Berde 1974; 1979). Community scheduling of agricultural work activity, noted in 1970-71 (Berde 1974), continues to the present with community discussion on Panaeati focussing on the need for sequential plantings of sweet potato to avoid shortages of supply. On Panaeati, the woody regrowth fallows on the eastern side, in particular, contain considerable numbers of a small, fast growing leguminous tree (known locally as kasiu, probably either Schleinitzia novoguineensis or Adenanthera pavonina). Left standing as dead trees after clearing, they give a distinctive appearance to gardens. People don't use manure or plant legumes to regenerate the soil. The use of legumes has been trialed at Misima but to no great degree of success. Tree crops provide important foods throughout the islands, especially breadfruit, Polynesian chestnut, Java almond, mango and golden apple. A number of such crops are irregularly distributed: e.g. there is no Pangium edule, galip and pao on Tubetube. Tulip (Gnetum gnemon) was also said to be less common on smaller islands than on larger islands. Sago is absent on islands Kwaraiwa, and Dawson, and scarce on islands such as Skelton, Tubetube (where it was established relatively recently; MacIntyre 1983a). Tewatewa appears to have more of such food plants than other islands. Sago leaves for thatching are imported by Brooker and the Deboyne Islands from Misima, while people from the Engineer Group islands import them from Basilaki or Normanby. People at Panaeati now make gardens next to houses or on Panapompom due to an infestation of African snails. Snails are voracious eaters and eat the leaves of yams thus stopping the tuber from growing. These snails were said to have arrived at Panaeati in 1980 when a woman brought in contaminated potato seedlings. With people coming to Panapompom to garden this is causing problems as people are clearing forest indiscriminately and land disputes result. African snails are now found on the Samarai Islands, Misima and Sudest. CBMMCA 3 In 1994, the PNGAS survey described Ware agriculture (System 0513) as consisting of two agricultural subsystems, distinguished on the basis of different fallow vegetation types and crops grown. Each type occupied about half the total cultivated area, with one based on woody re-growth, the other on grassland. Overall, cassava, sweet potato, yam (D. alata), banana, and coconut are the main staple crops. In the first subsystem, gardens are made in short woody re-growth, with short fallows of 5 to15 years, on the lower slopes of the central ridge forming the backbone of the island. Some are also made under coconuts on flatter land. New gardens are mainly planted with yam (D. alata), but include other crops. Second year gardens mostly contain sweet potato, cassava and banana. Yam, sweet potato and cassava are planted in small mounds. Yams are staked and new gardens are mainly planted between September and December. By contrast, the grassland cultivation of the second subsystem is highly distinctive. There is a patchwork of small, unfenced gardens and grass fallow on both sides of the main ridge running the length of the island, but these are more numerous in the south. On the lower slopes, stones are removed from the surface soil and heaped along plot borders. Fallow periods probably range from less than 5 years to 10 years. After the grass fallow is cut and burnt, the soil tilled. New gardens are planted with separate plots of yam (D. alata), sweet potato, and cassava, all planted in small mounds. Two plantings are commonly made before fallow. Yams are staked and coconut leaves are used as mulch to retain soil moisture. In and around the single large village on the southwest coast of the island, bananas and sugarcane are planted in small household gardens. Immediately behind the village is an extensive area of mature fruit and nut trees, interspersed with gardens. Similarly on the north coast, the coconut and nut/fruit tree belt on flat land immediately behind the beach, which is fringed by low woody regrowth below the grass-covered main ridge, is extensively gardened. The agriculture of Brooker was grouped in 1994 (PNGAS, 1994) with that of the islands in both the Engineer Group and the West Calvados Chain (System 0512), as described above. In summary, this comprised shifting cultivation using fallow vegetation of low woody regrowth, with fallow lengths of only 5 to15 years. Recent detailed work on Brooker suggests that fallow length is usually only 4-5 years (Kinch, 1999). There is no sago on Brooker or Ware. Currently Brooker people utilise three main islands for gardening purpose, these are Brooker itself, Panawidiwidi and Panapatpat (also called Panala’alan). Families stay for two or three weeks on these other islands when work is required in their gardens. Table 39: Number of Gardens by Island for Brooker (CBMMCA 3): 1999 (Source: Kinch, 1999)
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