Relational ontologies in Oceania: a serious path to widely engage transformative change in ocean management choices?

Do Oceanian ways of relating to the ocean can lead to the transformation of ways of managing the ocean and human-nature relations?

Various Islander cultures within Oceania maintain strong links with the elements that surround them, be they other people, animals, plants, ocean, rivers or even thunder or cyclone. They do not isolate humans from nature, but instead think of their relationships with others in terms of associations: sea-land, shark-lizard, turtle-woman... This relational ontology, this way of thinking and experiencing the world and the ocean in terms of links/connections, is a force that is all too often forgotten, and one that should help to produce a new shared relationship with the ocean, rich in the diversity of ways of being engaged in the world, ways of being engaged in the ocean.
In New-Caledonia, the ocean is a place of high value, a heritage place for all inhabitants. For the Kanak native people, it is meaningful in many ways. It is not only a source of biodiversity but also a central element in their social and political organization. Above all, the ocean is an integral part of their cultural and social identity.

This oral presentation, prepared by a marine anthropologist from a public research institute and a customary ocean referent for the Customary Senate of New Caledonia, is mainly based on ethnographic surveys carried out over the last 11 years and workshops conducted with customary representatives and young people. It will examine the significance of the kanak terms used to define the sea, the ocean and the beings that inhabit it. It will demonstrate how, for the Kanak, the ocean is the source of all life, and discuss the various dimensions ascribed to the ocean by Kanak people. It will highlight that the ocean is an "ocean of values, connections, practices and discourse", and that it entails responsibilities. Finaly the presentation will look at how Kanak and customary representatives are engaged in the management policies in New-Caledonia with a particular focus on the management committee of the Coral Sea Natural Park. It will describe how the introduction of relational ontologies within the context of Oceanian management practices and regulations represents a transformative shift enabling the creation of novel relationships with the ocean.