The University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa will host the inaugural Eleanor Sterling Memorial Lecture, which will focus on discussions involving the Indigenous transformation of environmental conservation in the Pacific. This year, the launch event will host two international experts who are advocates for Indigenous culture and sustainability in Papua New Guinea.
John Aini and Paige West will discuss the evolution of conservation across the Pacific. In looking toward an Indigenous future of environmental management, they see a critical reconnection of people to place, that targets science and stewardship.
- Who: John Aini and Paige West
- What: Decolonizing Conservation in the Pacific
- When: Tuesday, March 12, 6:30 p.m.
- Where: Art Auditorium, UH Mānoa Campus
The event is free and open to the public. Organizers urge those interested in attending to reserve seats by registering online.
“The University of Hawaiʻi has been at the forefront in bringing indigenous knowledge and western scientific traditions together in order to advance sustainable ecosystem stewardship,” UH Mānoa Provost Michael Bruno said. “We are excited to have anthropologist Paige West and Indigenous activist John Aini join the conversation here on Oʻahu. They have played a foundational role in pushing environmental conservation to include Indigenous perspectives and rights not just in Papua New Guinea but across the Pacific.”
Pacific Island nations face an array of environmental threats. Large environmental NGOs traditionally addressed these problems with little consideration for the people living in the ecosystems they’re trying to protect—even though these communities in many cases have been sustainably managing their land and seascapes for centuries. In response to Indigenous advocacy and deepening environmental crisis, however, this approach is starting to change.
“We are honored to host John Aini and Paige West for the Eleanor Sterling Memorial Lecture,” said Megan Donahue, interim director of the Hawaiʻi Institute for Marine Biology (HIMB). “Paige and John have worked to critique and elevate marine conservation practice, forging a more holistic and biocultural perspective of sustainability, very much in spirit with Professor Sterling’s work.”
About Aini and West
John Aini is the founder and director of Ailan Awareness, a marine conservation and Indigenous empowerment NGO in New Ireland, Papua New Guinea. He is a chief in three cultural groups there. He is a co-founder of Ranguva Solwara Skul, a school dedicated to teaching Indigenous and scientific knowledge in Papua New Guinea.
Paige West is a professor of anthropology at Barnard College and Columbia University. She is a co-founder of the Papua New Guinea Institute of Biological Research and the Ranguva Solwara Skul. She serves as the director of Columbia’s Transdisciplinary Research Lab.
Eleanor Sterling was a director of HIMB. She was a pioneer in advancing biocultural approaches to biodiversity conservation, placing cultural concerns at the forefront.
Event sponsors include: Center for Pacific Island Studies, HIMB, Kaimana Beach Hotel and the School of Ocean and Earth Science and Technology (SOEST).
The Better Tomorrow Speaker Series is a joint venture of Hawaiʻi Community Foundation, Kamehameha Schools, and the UH Mānoa, with assistance from the UH Foundation. Series sponsors include the College of Tropical Agriculture and Human Resources, Scholars Strategy Network, SOEST and the Ulupono Initiative.
