Resource dependence

For the purpose o f my thesis, the important reason for understanding resource use patterns is because it affects on people’ s cooperative behaviour. A concern about the ‘ rough proportionality’ o f management costs and benefits (Ostrom 1998b: 7) means that villagers generally perceive it to be fair that those who contribute more to maintaining the management system should be the ones who receive the most benefits from the system. Gibson (2001) argues that more resource dependent individuals find greater value in the long-term sustainability o f resources. I f this is correct, then I expect to find that, with the higher level o f dependence on coastal resources and the same set o f rules restricting fishing activities, the people o f Wai should be more w illin g to pay higher costs. In contrast, Cuvu residents should be less cooperative with regard to M PA or tabu management. Let me first explain how the resource use patterns in the two districts differ.

As explained above, the residents o f Cuvu have better opportunities to find a paid jo b due to the geographic location o f the district. While Wai residents sell fish and other marine products for their income, Cuvu residents only catch them for own food28. This difference reflects the frequency o f fishing, as shown in Table 4.7. Both men and women o f Cuvu go fishing less frequently than the residents o f Wai. Box 4.1 presents a typical week fo ra woman livin g in Lomawai village o f Wai district.

s Although it does not happen often at all, a buyer from Suva visits the Cuvu villages upon request and buys dried sea cucumbers from the villagers.

Table 4.7 Frequency of fishing

Cuvu Wai

Male Female Total Male Female Total

1-2 days per week 17 (70.8%) 21 (61.8%) 38 (65.5%) 13 (50.0%) 14 (46.7%) 27 (48.2%) 3-4 days per week 5 (20.8%) 9 (26.5%) 14 (24.1%) 10 (38.5%) 15 (50.0%) 25 (44.6%) 5-6 days per week 2 (8.3%) 4 (11.8%) 6 (10.3%) 1 (3.8%) 1 (3.3%) 2 (3.6%) Everyday 0 (0.0%) 0 (0.0%) 0 (0.0%) 2 (7.7%) 0 (0.0%) 2 (3.6%) Total 24 34 58 26 30 56

Box 4.1 A typical week of a village woman

This is a typical week schedule o f a woman who lives in Lomawai village. She has a husband who does not have a regular paid job and five children whose ages range from 6 to 22.

Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday Sunday

Attend community regular meeting and work for common benefits Attend women’s group meeting

Go fishing Go fishing Go fishing

Go to town market in Nadi and sell her catch Attend church service

She normally takes another villager’ s boat when she goes fishing and spends five hours at sea. She pays US$0.57 per trip to the boat owner for the ride. The owner can accommodate five women in his boat. The main fishing equipment she uses is a spare, and she does not own a net. When the tide is low, she also collects shellfish and sea cucumbers. On Saturdays, she takes a public bus at 6 a.m. to go to Nadi and sells her catch o f the week at the town market. On one Saturday in November 2004, she did not sell finfish and only sold shellfish, sea cucumbers and sea weeds in the market. She earned US$49.42, which was the total income for the family for the week. The family spent the income on the follow ing items:

Some food items and necessities obtained in Nadi market (flour, garlic, onion, toilet paper and washing

powder) 17.10

Community fee 5.70

Bus fare to Nadi 3.42

Boat fare________________________ l .71

Total US$27.93

The family kept the remaining US$21.49 for further needs, such as school fees, church donation and food.

In addition, Wai residents are more dependent on marine resources, not only as their income source but also for their food, compared to Cuvu residents. Table 4.8 presents the

sources o f food in the two districts. Both in Cuvu and Wai, the respondents identified gardening as the major source o f food. Many families grow food crops, such as cassava, taro, yam, vegetables, banana and pawpaw in a private fam ily garden and harvest when they eat. Fishing is also important in both districts, as a sim ilar percentage o f survey respondents stated fishing to be the major source o f their food, 65.5 per cent in Cuvu and 65.6 per cent in Wai. Despite the fact that fishing is not a major income generating activity in Cuvu, the residents consider marine resources to be important for their life. A resident described the importance o f coastal resources:

Even people in the village who w ork, they go fishing fo r their food. It is not only fo r people in this village [on the coast], but even fo r some people liv in g inland, fish is important. 1 mean, something from the sea or river. (V illagerö o f Cuvu)

Table 4.8 Sources of food

Most important food source Number o f respondents

(Multiple responses permitted)

Cuvu (N=58) Wai (N=61)

Fishing 38 (65.5%) 40 (65.6% )

Gardening 54 (93.1%) 50 (82.0% )

Food from shops 40 (69.0%) 14 (23.0% )

Livestock 2 (3.4%) 3 (4.9% )

Supply from relatives 4 (6.9%) 5 (8.2% )

Other 0 (0.0%) 1 (1.6% )

A difference is found in the percentage o f people who answered that food from shops is important. Sixty-nine per cent o f Cuvu villagers answered that food from shops is the major source o f their food, while only 23 per cent o f respondents in Wai consider this to be so. Since Sigatoka town is close to Cuvu villages, it is logistically easier for the residents to obtain food. Furthermore, with a small cash income, many o f the residents o f Cuvu are able to purchase food from shops. Also in the Wai District, there are some small

shops, mainly owned by Indians. These are close to the villages and the villagers buy food items, such as milk, tea and flour. Some Fijian families residing in villages also run small businesses, selling other residents limited food items, such as tinned tuna and sugar. However, although it is possible to buy the food items from these local shops as well as markets in Sigatoka and Nadi towns, for the majority o f the residents who do not have a regular income, farming and fishing remain the major sources o f food for their day-to-day life. Thus, even though the percentage of the respondents who consider fishing to be their main source o f food is almost the same in both districts, people’s dependency on fish for their own food is higher in Wai than Cuvu because Cuvu residents buy more food from shops.

Although it was difficult to measure, all my interviewees in both districts indicated that they were satisfied with MPA, or tabu, and showed their willingness to continue in the future. The common reason for residents’ satisfaction in both districts is the perceived increase in their fish catch. Due to the benefits, both Cuvu and Wai residents think that it is worth having tabu in part of their customary fishing ground or qoliqoli to maintain their marine resources:

We’ve seen a lot o f changes in tabu, like the abundance o f fish. So, our future should be alright with our tabu. (Villager 13 o f Cuvu)

If all places are well protected and properly managed, the resources will com e back. (Villagerl7 o f Cuvu)

It [the condition o f marine resources] is going to be better. In our village, our life is from the sea. Cost o f living is very high. We plant our cassava, we eat fish, we catch fish and sell fish. I think the marine resources will be better because o f the tabu area and we need tabu. (Villager2 o f Wai)

Marine life there is depleting. Now we have tabu...we stopped fishing [inside the tabu area]. By the time we w ill open, we w ill have plenty fish then. That’s the main purpose o f tabu, to increase the fish population. It is important. (Villager3 o f Wai)

This overall satisfaction may indicate that perceived costs and benefits o f tabu are roughly balanced. In other words, although the level o f resource dependence differs between the two districts, the residents show the same levels o f willingness to cooperate in their conservation actions.