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Paper short abstract:

Within the broader narrative of climate change that dominates stories from the Pacific, the paper explores the Fijian concept of tabu (taboo, prohibition) to map out the complex ways in which people imagine their future(s).

Paper long abstract:

With climate change as an ongoing reality the Fijian government is highlighting a new sustainable development regime to better fit with future challenges. Through this, they wish to inform the population of the physical reality of climate change, and equip people with knowledge to make the right choices for their future. However, the national climate change narrative does not include the lifeworlds of all Fijians. In some places climate change is not such a pressing matter in daily lives, and their choices for the future may seem to collide with the general advice from the government and the international community regarding climate change concerns. Through ethnography from a rural island in Fiji, the paper explores the local concept of tabu (taboo, prohibition) to map out the complex ways in which people imagine their future(s).

Traditionally, tabu has been used to ban fishing in a certain area for a limited period to secure maximum profit. Today such tabus are of a more permanent character, and together with newer forms of fishing bans they are meant to secure food resources for future generations. This modern idea of using the principle of tabu as a form of risk management differs from the local one. Fishing bans from the government is developed from a climate perspective and lacks convergence in the village. So, how do people experience the state's emphasis on resource management? Moreover, what are the various relationalities underlying the different tabu practices?