Between Two Laws: Tenure Regimes in the Pearl Islands

Abstract

The Tuamotuan pearl-farming boom, currently into its second decade, has led to an intense scramble for limited land and lagoon space. Fieldwork on Takaroa Atoll has shown that Islanders have generally successfully defended their landholdings from alienation by selectively retaining aspects of their traditional tenure systems. They have been less successful with their lagoons, claimed by the Tahitian administration as part of the public domain. The current situation is a chaotic free-for-all, potentially leading to disastrous overexploitation of Tuamotuan lagoons. Emerging postcolonial administrations and their management consultants are urged not to neglect the claims of small outlying communities.