An institutional analysis of sasi laut in Maluku, Indonesia

All the villages, except Nolloth, expect a further decline. Seri fishers are significantly more negative
(Duncan’s test, p=<0.013) than Nolloth and Hulaliu fishers. The fishers noted modernization,
individualism and competition as the main causes for the decline in communal action.

Table 16.24. Differences in tradition of collective action in case study villages.

Discussion of village issues

Older fishers and fishers with longer experience in the fishery, and fishers who thought sasi
was important, had a less negative perception of change (Table 16.22). Perceptions were also
more positive when fishers had more expensive gears. Fishers wanting changes to fisheries
rules had a more negative perception. Compared to the past, Nolloth and Hutumuri fishers
noted no change in the discussion of village issues but all the other villages noted a decline,
especially in Hulaliu (Table 16.25).

At the moment, Hulaliu and Haruku have the lowest score on discussion of village issues;
Nolloth has the highest score. In Nolloth, most traditional structures are in practice through
which the common villagers are represented and village issues discussed. Nolloth fishers are
also happy with sasi and the existing rules, and they are older. Nolloth is politically the most
stable village of the six. This allows the village leader to be more transparent compared to, for
example, Hulaliu, where the village leader and his government have to operate carefully in
order not to provoke the opposite parties in the village. This is also the case in Haruku. The
only correlation from Table 16.22 that helps to explain the relatively negative perceptions of
Hulaliu fishers, is that the Hulaliu fishers particularly want to change their fisheries rules.

Together with Nolloth and Hutumuri, Haruku fishers are optimistic about the future and they
expect an improvement of open discussion in the village, which indicates that they perceive
their political problems to be temporary. In all other villages, fishers expect a further decline.
These results support the general conclusions of the larger performance analysis, i.e., that sasi
villages have greater levels of discussion, at least in the absence of severe political stress.

Village harmony

All villages have a negative change in village harmony, except for Nolloth where it is stable
(Table 16.26). The greatest decrease (most conflicts) is in Seri. The differences between the
villages are significant in the Duncan’s test, but not in the Anova. A negative perception of

Comparative Analysis of Case Study Villages 233

<<   <   246   247   248   249   250   251   252   >   >>